Hired a landscape designer?

[tonic]

I'm thinking about hiring a landscape designer to pick and place plants in my backyard. Has anyone hired one before? How much does it cost for just the design part? How did you go about finding one? I would do the actual planting myself.

I'm just curious how much something like this might cost and if its feasible. I live in Northern CA.

[snowzilla]

I haven't, but this is something I've been considering doing as well - we bought our current house at the end of last summer, and the yard needs major work. I also don't recognize most of the existing plants, so I need an expert to point out what is worth keeping - and tell me how to care for it properly!

I hope someone can weigh in on this for us. :)

[cari2]

We are in the process of hiring one. We have interviewed three and are deciding who to go with and what exactly we want to do with the yard as we have a few possibilities. We asked around for references for two, the third we chose because we have seen the truck at quite a few homes around town and they have a good reputation. The design/consultation was free from all three, but they would be buying the materials and installing. I'm not sure how much it would cost for just a design.

[jajacobsen]

I am currently in the middle of a major landscape design project. Our yard had many, many issues and I didn't know how to analyze our soil or what changes might e needed (soil amendments, tress removed) and what plants would do well in our area. So I hired a landscape designer.

Our landscaping project encompasses two phases. The first is the design process. Thsi included drawn plans and lists of specific plants. These were done by an experienced landscape designer who charged me $99/hour. Our large yard took six hours of work, but smaller yards coudl be covered in 2-4 hours.

The designer met with me at my home, and I had a list of needs which I thought should be addressed. They were not necessarily specific outcome, but problems. Like: Dogs wear grass off in rear area and thus are always covered in mud. Or, we need privacy between our home and our neighbors. I described my problems/wants rather than stating "We need a privacy fence" or "We need new turf laid in the back." I did it this way because I wanted to see what his ideas would be for solving teh problem -and some of them were ideas I had never considered!


Additionally, I provided him with a copy of the survey of our lot. He took some photos, scanned them into his computer, and using CAD, modelled some ideas so I could see before and after. Thsi gave himteh idea of things I specifically liked and did not like.

From these quick models and my feedback, he developed detailed plans which look very much like blueprints, which detailed specifically the soft and hardscaping involved in our design. Example: number of bushes of specific mulch to be used, number and size of specific plants and their placement, etc. I saw the plans for more fedback, an dthen he finalized them. These plans were of the type that they could have been used for competitive bids from various landscapers. That would be the installation phase of landscaping.

We actually went with his firm for installation, because they were competitive and had developed the plans and so I felt they would "have to live with them" rather than citicizing themm, etc that another firm might do. e have made a few more design changes in the installtion process.

If you have a large project, I think the above is the way to go. If you have a small project, a local nursery could possibly come give you some design ideas, often for free or for a nominal fee with a discount on plants purchased from them.

HTH!

[tonic]

jajacobsen - How did you find the landscapers that you interviewed? Thanks so much for the suggestions/advice!

[jajacobsen]

I went to the project/service desk at a Home Depot Lanscaping store (different from the main store) and asked them for recommendations. Since they use certain landscapers for projects purchased through Home depot, they had a list of "pre-vetted" landscapers. I knew these landsacpers would not be teh cheapest, but tehy would be established companies who coudl meet our needs and would be around for a period of time (not go out of business like a true independeant would). Interestingly, we ended up using a firm owned by two guys about DH and my age, with whom we have a good rapport. So it's a nice fit. They've got horticulture degrees and employ about 25 employees.

The process described by Cari2 works as well, but you don't get a set of plans that way (you may get drawings, just not proper plans which can be used for bids). However, your initial costs are nothing (or little) and you may not need biddable plans.

We needed plans since our project was MAJOR (tree removal, retaining walls, re-grading) dollars and needed to be put out for bid. A friend of mine is doing a small redesign project in her back yard and just went to her favorite local nursery that offered design services. I think the total cost is like $100, an d then she gets a discount on plants from them. That works well on a small project.

However, you get what you pay for. Free or minimal cost design services means that you're probably getting a designer's "standard" answer to a set of problems. They will have several pre-thought out designs that they will pull from. It won't be truly customized, think outside the box type design. Again, that may not be necessary. They will know and be able to identify existing plants and can recommend what will grow well in your areas. Theycan recommend plants to solve common probelms.

Our situation was complex. We had well over an acre, 300+ trees lot which had had very little proper landscaping done in the entire 30 years the house/subdiv had existed. We also have two large dogs which roam teh lot, and we really are outdoor people and wanted a landscape plan that utilized and enhanced the entire yard.

The project is underway now. It starte din Feb and we hope to be finished by June. Parts of it were done by teh landscapers but a lot of it has been done by DH and myself to save costs and add personal touches. The highest compliment is when your landscape designer says "Wow! I'm gonna borrow that idea from you to use in future projects. You guys have made real progress in the three weeks we have been off site." Right now we are in a particularly muddy stage and so I keep telling myself it wil all be worth it by summer. Realistically, the yard won't really start to look good until next spring, when we have grow in with all the new plants.

[tonic]

We are in the process of hiring one. We have interviewed three and are deciding who to go with and what exactly we want to do with the yard as we have a few possibilities. We asked around for references for two, the third we chose because we have seen the truck at quite a few homes around town and they have a good reputation. The design/consultation was free from all three, but they would be buying the materials and installing. I'm not sure how much it would cost for just a design.

Cari2 - I'll ask you the same question, how did you find the people you interviewed?

[tonic]

I went to the project/service desk at a Home Depot Lanscaping store (different from the main store) and asked them for recommendations. Since they use certain landscapers for projects purchased through Home depot, they had a list of "pre-vetted" landscapers. I knew these landsacpers would not be teh cheapest, but tehy would be established companies who coudl meet our needs and would be around for a period of time (not go out of business like a true independeant would). Interestingly, we ended up using a firm owned by two guys about DH and my age, with whom we have a good rapport. So it's a nice fit. They've got horticulture degrees and employ about 25 employees.

The process described by Cari2 works as well, but you don't get a set of plans that way (you may get drawings, just not proper plans which can be used for bids). However, your initial costs are nothing (or little) and you may not need biddable plans.

We needed plans since our project was MAJOR (tree removal, retaining walls, re-grading) dollars and needed to be put out for bid. A friend of mine is doing a small redesign project in her back yard and just went to her favorite local nursery that offered design services. I think the total cost is like $100, an d then she gets a discount on plants from them. That works well on a small project.

However, you get what you pay for. Free or minimal cost design services means that you're probably getting a designer's "standard" answer to a set of problems. They will have several pre-thought out designs that they will pull from. It won't be truly customized, think outside the box type design. Again, that may not be necessary. They will know and be able to identify existing plants and can recommend what will grow well in your areas. Theycan recommend plants to solve common probelms.

Our situation was complex. We had well over an acre, 300+ trees lot which had had very little proper landscaping done in the entire 30 years the house/subdiv had existed. We also have two large dogs which roam teh lot, and we really are outdoor people and wanted a landscape plan that utilized and enhanced the entire yard.

The project is underway now. It starte din Feb and we hope to be finished by June. Parts of it were done by teh landscapers but a lot of it has been done by DH and myself to save costs and add personal touches. The highest compliment is when your landscape designer says "Wow! I'm gonna borrow that idea from you to use in future projects. You guys have made real progress in the three weeks we have been off site." Right now we are in a particularly muddy stage and so I keep telling myself it wil all be worth it by summer. Realistically, the yard won't really start to look good until next spring, when we have grow in with all the new plants.

It sounds like your project was MUCH larger than mine. I basically have a backyard thats mostly concrete and pool. Around the concrete deck are planters that I planted a bunch of stuff in and most died.

Here is my backyard:
http://photos.nondot.org/2007-03-31-Backyard/normal/HPIM4210.jpg

So its not a ton of places to plant, but I am having a hard time knowing what to plant. So I just thought a designer could help me out. I don't necessarily need anything fancy and will probably keep the planters as is, but I also want it to look nice. The pool is being remodeled starting next week..

[BeachBum]

We've hired one, but work hasn't begun yet.
Ours charges 18% of the total costs. He does design, sends out for bid, and oversees installation.

For what you've described I think your best bet is to go to a nice nursery. Most of the nursery's in my town provide those types of services for free or a small hourly rate assuming you buy plants from them.

[Jennifer]

This is all pretty interesting to me. We've got a project probably between the two described here in size - we put in a pool last year and are comfortable landscaping the beds around it in the backyard ourselves - but in the process completely destroyed our front yard - there is really nothing left of it.

We never loved the layout of the yard - and now that the front walk needs to be replaced (we had to tear part of it out to trench for the pool electrical), we tore out the tree we hated and the sprinkler system is destroyed - this is a great opportunity to reshape our front yard from the ground up. The problem is we've got a few "issues" to address and have not been able to agree on almost anything...it's been 8 months since we destroyed the yard so we REALLY need to get something new in this summer.

Funds are limited (but reasonable I think for the job) - so we are willing to install in stages and do some of the work ourselves.

I know I should really hire a designer to help us come up with ideas - but honestly after doing our kitchen (mostly DIY - but a few contracted out elements that did NOT go smoothly) and a disaster of a pool build I'm feeling burned by contractors generally and don't trust anyone we used so far either for help or recommendations - so we're nervous right now - and afraid we'll spend all our landscaping money on a designer with nothing to show for it in our yard...

I'm getting some good general ideas here (oddly enough I came into this forum today to post this exact question!)...and would love to see pricing like jajacobson saw - but am afraid Northern California is pricier than Georgia! If anyone in the greater bay are has used someone they liked or has any references I would LOVE them...I really need to get moving on this - but like I said I'm pretty nervous just cold calling places! (and unfortunately my neighbors landscaping is less than inspired - so I haven't seen anyone who I want to ask for advice from - I think a local nursery did free layouts for most of them - as they did for the previous owner of my house!).

[cari2]

Tonic - two were recommendations from friends in town who have done work. The third is a well-known company in town but I don't know anyone who has personal experience with them. My job is much smaller than jajacobson's: new lawn, new fence, rip out out existing railroad tie steps and putting in pavers or bluestone, rip out existing shrubs and put in foundation plants, etc. We received plans that look like blueprints, but as far as I know we don't need to go further than that (maybe because nothing needs to be bid out?) Each company recommended plant material, sizes, etc but we will go to the nursery with whichever company we choose to make sure we are all on the same page. And of course they each have their own pricetag... I do think a lot of company's that are doing the design and installing may roll the design into their overall costs so it seems free.

I think in your case I agree with BeachBum when she said:
For what you've described I think your best bet is to go to a nice nursery. Most of the nursery's in my town provide those types of services for free or a small hourly rate assuming you buy plants from them.

Jennifer - good luck with your project. I hear you on it being pricey. We got full design plans for the yard but are doing it in phases, first the backyard (so the kids have a place to play) then the front. We have a small yard and I had sticker shock. I am in northern nj so I expected it to be pricey - but ouch!

[jajacobsen]

Jennifer, if you have sprinkler/irrigation issues, walkway issues, etc - you need a landcsape desgner and a fullscale landscape firm that can do both hard and softscaping. Unless you have a wealth of knowledge in this area, the average layperson (even really talented ones) just doesnt know everything. Landscapers who do this all the time have a wealth of experience (and big heavy equipment) to draw upon.

Additionally, an experienced landscape designer may be able to listen to both your and your DH's ideas and concerns an dcome up with some ideas that will satisfy both of your needs.

Home Depot has a really good program to assist people with Landscape Design. First, tehy will put you in touch with a landscape designer (as tehy did us), whi wil charge you an hourly rate. Ours was $99/hour and this rate was set by Home Depot. This may be a national rate; I do not know. Thsi designer will draw the plans as I have described above. These plans are yours and you can put them out for bid.

But if you do decide to do the work through the landscape designer's firm, who is a subcontractor to Home Depot, you can finance the work through Home Depot's Home Improvement Loan (HIL) program. This gives you an interest free 6 month draw period while the work is being done, and then converts to payments over 36-60 months at a fixed interest rate, ranging from 7.99-17.99%, depending upon your credit.

We decided to go with our landscape design firm to do the installation, for many reasons, but having the easy financing was a huge plus to us. We plan to pay it off (or mostly off) at the end of the six month interest free period. This is not interest deferred - it is completely interest free during the first six months.

The cost of our work is not cheap. I wil share with you that it is upwards of $50k. For that, thae andscapers:

Regraded our rear yard and installed a tiered stone retaining wall system, and two sets of steps.

Installed a flagstone patio and walkways, and created a bed system around our home and in the side yard and planted literally hundreds of foundation plants and trees.

Removed our existing overgrown bushes that were crowding our windows.

Brought in fill dirt and levelled certain areas.

Created a system of raised beds for our fruit and vegetable gardens.

And they will kill our existing shoddy sod (4-5 different types and tons of weeds), till and amend the soil and reseed it so we have a lawn by June (about 20,000 square feet of lawn)

They expanded and installed our existing irrigation system that was in the front lawn only to the back and side lawns

Ran electrical lines for landscape lighting/future pond


Are responsible for the additional "grow in " labor that the newly seeded lawn will require

Demolition and debris removal

Plus some other stuff I forget.

I only share this infoo to give you some idea as to the scope and cost of the project. Additionally we were very honest about our desire to to do some of the work ourselves to cut costs. Both Dh and I work so we had to be able to choose items to do taht would not hold up their work. However, we can do a LOT of things ourselves (we have done 60% of our home renovation and expansion ourselves). We have had some poor experiences with contractors taking FOREVER, and so we wanted to be very clear as to roles and responsibilities and star and stop times.

We agreed that we would:

Remove 24 trees from the property

Remove an existing 6" 1/2 acre pen from the property that was unsightly and rebuild a smaller 6" 1/6 acre pen for our dogs (we reused materials but this was very hard work).

Clear most of the debris and branches from the rear 1/4 acre of teh property that was completely overgrown. We would purchase and lay pinestraw in the area (over 200 bales so far!)

Install all landscape lighting

Install 14 trellisses on the new dog pen and plant clematis on them to soften the look.

Install stepping stones in mulch footpaths that they had graded.

Plant 24 azaleas in rear of house/plant all annuals in front of house.

Build an arch at entrance to path and gazebo at end of path (foot of yard)

Install a soaker hose system of irrigation to water teh foundation plants and trees.

Note that our projects took plecae either before work began (tree removal and fence work) or after they were finished so as to not impede their work. This shaved $15-20k off the costs (as in it would have been over $65k).


Even with our projects the landscapers were a resource to us in asking questions, even if we did (are doing ) the work. The work is kinda at an ugly stage right now, so I really hope it all become worthwhile very soon. I'll post pics when things are done.


Hope this gives you some food for thought.

[Jennifer]

jajacobsen - thank you very much for the additional information! Your project sounds QUITE large - but I bet you will really enjoy it when it's finished. I think turning a large space into a useable one can be pretty hard!

I totally agree with you, we do need some professional help. We have a basic front yard for our area (albeit slightly oddly shapped since we have a roughly wedge shaped lot with the house and driveway at a strange angle) - with all of the "yard" on one side of the house - the other side being garage and driveway apron...the yard isn't that big - not more than 1000 sq feet (and I think that's quite generous). We want to change our current front walk to an expanded curved walkway to be more charming (and useful against the driveway) and get the bones of a sprinkler system, planting beds and a lawn installed ASAP...with probably main anchor plantings in now as well...from there we want a "plan" so that we can do most of the additional plantings ourselves, but in the meantime we and our neighbors won't be looking at the landscape free mess that is our yard!

We think we need either a full service firm to do a plan and get the hardscape and any needed grading and lawn done for us - or a design only firm to give us plans we can "stage" and put portions of out to bid. I took over being the general contractor on our pool build - so I know I can manage everything - and honestly things started going MUCH faster once I did - but it's a lot of work and frustration!

One last thing - have you been happy working with Home Depot? I've always stayed as far away from them as possible - they have a pretty "iffy" reputation around here - but I dont' know how much of that is because they are really hard to work with - and how much is due to people avoiding large corporations!

tonic - your yard will be lovely with the planting beds restored and the pool remodeled (although from your photos it doesn't look bad now!)...I think you've gotten great advice - find a local nursery you like and take photos and planting bed measurements in with you - I bet they can help you put a great plan together - with good advice on what will grow/thrive in your area. Depending on where you are in the Bay Area, Navlets does a pretty good job with this sort of thing - the service is free if you buy a certain $$ of plants from them. Do you know if you want something tropical - or more local? We're in a lucky climate zone - lots grows here! If you feel you don't have enough planting areas (and I know we don't around our pool either) - you can grow some great things in big containers to give you a little more lushness (we opted to go this route since our yard is SO small that leaving just a few planting areas and then container planting would give us much more flexibility for entertaining etc).

Lots of interesting projects going on! We'll have to share updates and photos!

[jajacobsen]

Through teh Home Depot HIL program, Home Depot provides teh financing, but puts you in touch with local contractors whom tehy hav eore-vetted as to financial stability, reputation, etc. You really have a working relationship with the contarctor rather than the Home Depot. HD does provide a little oversight in that the contractor only gets paid by them - not you, and you have to sign off at certain points so they can get paid. Also, there is an opportunity for feedback for or aganst the contractor.

That said, we used this same program a year ago for a structural addition to our home. While I am happy with the end result, I will not recommend the contractor due to excessive delays, etc.

We were leery to do the program again so we only agreed to meet with the landscape designer (LD) for plans, and then consider their bid. We immediately estalished a rapport with the LD, an deven more so with the owners of the firm, who personally visited our home. These guys are degreed horticulturists, who visit all sights at least once in the design phase before theu sign off on any plans.

They have met every deadline and gone the extra mile to ensure the quality of work. That does not mean there haven't been issues. Any project this size has issues. but my calls have een promptly returned and issues addressed, even if it meant evening or weekend trips by the principals. Overall, I am very happy.

Grading and hardscaping aside, our plan sounds similar to your in that they established beds and foundations and irrigation, and then we can fill in with additional plantings over time. They understand that for most active people who are are not senior citizens, adding plants or mulch to your own beds is the most cost effective. Usually, landscapers are people who really like plants, an dlike working with clients who really like plants as well. So they know you'll probably want to do some things yourself.

In all cases, I would get pland first, and then take them, think about them and build in some time and $$ for revision. I am sooo glad we did as I love some of the changes that evolved. Get a bid from the LD for the installation/implementation, as well as one or two other firms. Thsi will make you feel better about the cost.

Just a comments. You can do this in phases but it wil cost more over time. Our LDs felt it was much more cost effective for them to get teams and equipment on site and complete all portions rather than continuing to come back. The ONLY reason we are on hold now is that we are waiting for it to get warm enough to seed grass. Do not wait too late in the season because 1) landscapers wil be very very busy if not completely overschedules and 2) foundation bushes do better at becoming established when the weather is mild.

DH andI have finished renovating our entire home over the past 18 months. We did 60% ourselves, subbing out structural elements, etc. We have used HD, Lowes and local hardware and supply firms. While we don't love HD, we don't love Lowes either, but these two do carry a broader reange than our local hardware and supply places.

[tonic]

tonic - your yard will be lovely with the planting beds restored and the pool remodeled (although from your photos it doesn't look bad now!)...I think you've gotten great advice - find a local nursery you like and take photos and planting bed measurements in with you - I bet they can help you put a great plan together - with good advice on what will grow/thrive in your area. Depending on where you are in the Bay Area, Navlets does a pretty good job with this sort of thing - the service is free if you buy a certain $$ of plants from them. Do you know if you want something tropical - or more local? We're in a lucky climate zone - lots grows here! If you feel you don't have enough planting areas (and I know we don't around our pool either) - you can grow some great things in big containers to give you a little more lushness (we opted to go this route since our yard is SO small that leaving just a few planting areas and then container planting would give us much more flexibility for entertaining etc).

Lots of interesting projects going on! We'll have to share updates and photos!

Someone on another board suggested Navlets too but I am in South Bay :( If you hear of any nursery that does it in south bay, I would love to know. I checked Summerwinds and Almaden and they don't seem to. I have more on my list to check. Since you have gone through the pool building process you know what an expensive venture that is (I also checked out your lj). I do think I just need a very simple plan as I don't want to spend lots of money (the pool remodel is costing quite a bit). Hopefully I can find some nursery to help me. Thanks again! Oh and if you have pictures of your pool, I'd love to see them!

jajacobsen: Thanks so much for all the helpful information! It sounds like you did a lot more than we plan to. I'll still check with Home Depot to see about that program and see if it would help us out even though we don't want to redo everything.

[jajacobsen]

tonic - you aleready have a workable footprint around your pool, so I would imagine your project would be SIGNIFICANTLY less in scope. The reason your plants may have died in the brick planters is that they may have become too dry. Yopu may want to consider an eco friendly system like soaker hoses in your planters that would be hidden by mulch. We are doing those in our beds and they work GREAT.

In any event, a landscape designer certainly could advise you as to plants and correct watering and feeding techniques. Check at HD or some of teh larger garden centers. I could give you lots of names but they are only for garden centers here!

[tonic]

tonic - you aleready have a workable footprint around your pool, so I would imagine your project would be SIGNIFICANTLY less in scope. The reason your plants may have died in the brick planters is that they may have become too dry. Yopu may want to consider an eco friendly system like soaker hoses in your planters that would be hidden by mulch. We are doing those in our beds and they work GREAT.

In any event, a landscape designer certainly could advise you as to plants and correct watering and feeding techniques. Check at HD or some of teh larger garden centers. I could give you lots of names but they are only for garden centers here!

Thanks! We actually have a sprinkler system that we installed ourselves and most of the hose is buried. Water wasn't the issue really, I think I just planted the wrong kind of plants and mistook many for prennials when they were not. I'm going to get the Sunset Western Garden book.. that should help. We also use bark but I'm not as happy with this as it attracts bugs. Hopefully I will figure this out in the end (with our without a landscape designer). Thanks again for the help and suggestions!