Garden Design for Others
I had the opportunity last season to work in several area gardens, either in starting to restore them, maintaining their good looks, or redesigning them for people eager to install and maintain a lower maintenance but beautiful garden. I’m sure I will be doing more of the same this season, and have plans to get started as soon as the weather permits. Perhaps this is something you’d like to consider doing for others, so I thought I’d write about the steps to take in designing gardens for someone other than yourself.
Initial contact- layout the steps that need to be taken to complete the design process. These include the initial consultation; the measure and photographing the outdoor space as-is, drafting and design of the garden as is, and projecting new planting areas to fit the client’s needs and finally the presentation of the finished design to the client. The potential client at this time has probably seen a garden you have designed, either yours or someone else’s, liked what they saw and wants one like it, or they wouldn’t be calling you, so be prepared to quote fees for your time.For this initial contact, a fee per hour worked amount works, and a range of time from minimum to a high middle range of time will let the client know what they can expect. Alternatively, you could charge for the initial consult, and then quote a price to design the garden.
Initial Consult: Get to know the client- what do they like to do in their free time?, do they entertain, like to build things, have children or grandchildren? Pets? Do they travel a lot, or always stay home? Where do they like to go when they travel? What do they want to have in their garden, why do they want a garden? Go out and wander around their property with them, talking about what they like, what they don’t like, what they’ve tried, what they’d like to see, and access what features are good, what needs to change, the amount of sunlight available in different areas, what the neighbor’s yards are like. Look at the architecture of the house, the style of their interior, discuss colors, and possible plant budget. Roughly assess the soil- sandy, clay, loamy? Take lots of notes to refer to when you measure. My initial consultations are frequently in the evening, and I run out of daylight to measure, so I make arrangements to return for measuring and photographing the garden and property. I generally quote a price for doing the work, and collect an initial 1/3 payment to proceed with the work.
Measure: I bring a hundred foot tape, a 25 foot tape, a sketch pad, clipboard and my camera. All of the features of the garden are sketched out and measured- including any permanent features such as decks or hardscaping, buildings, fences, etc, the soil needs to be assessed, for drainage and quality,and samples taken for testing if necessary; Make note of overhead wiring, meters, anything ugly that needs to be screened from view, anything beautiful outside of the property that can be visually included in the garden. Make note of where compass north is for predicting shadows.
Drafting and design: I draw out the garden the old fashioned way- using a pencil and tracing paper on a drafting board using an architect’s scale. There are computer programs available to do the layout, but in the end, it isn’t the tools used to design the garden, it’s the end result that is important. I draft out the garden as is, then overlay another piece of sketch paper to play around with the beds, their purpose and how they should look. I think about what plant material can be used in those beds to get the desired look and amount of maintenance and make note of that as well- doing some research if necessary to find the right plants. A final drawing is created, noting which plants are to be used, existing plants that will remain, any new hardscaping to be included, etc. Before the presentation, I have copies made of the design- 2 or 3, to make note of any changes that need to be made after the presentation.
Presentation: I bring a few books that have photos of the plant material, marked, the plans, and plenty of enthusiasm. The plans are laid out on a table and I ‘walk the client through’ the plans, discussing all the features, what purpose they serve, who benefits, what they will look like, why the plant material was selected, where it can be purchased and planted, and if the client is doing the work themselves- where they should start and how to start.
The gardens I design are generally for people who want to be hands on gardeners- they really want to do it themselves, but aren’t knowledgeable enough yet to know what to plant where and why. They want a beautiful garden, but don’t have a lot of time to spend on it, and they are willing to do an entire landscape if they knew how to break it down into planned sections that can be achieved over a period of years. Some of them already love to garden and know a lot about the individual plants, but don’t know how to coordinate them all into a beautiful look. Others have a bit of basic knowledge, have made a few mistakes, and want to avoid making more in the future. That’s where I come in- designing and painting with plants, making a potentially beautiful garden for people to enjoy working, entertaining, and relaxing in.
See you in the Garden!
Ellen Leigh
Below are some basic gardening tips to get you started on creating your dream garden
Gardening Tip 1. Consider your plants health as well as your own. Ensure you keep yourself well hydrated whilst gardening. As most gardening is done in the sun, involves physical labour and is very engrossing, it is easy to work away for hours on end without noticing the time flying by. Keep drinking lots of fluids and make sure you are wearing adequate sun cream and a hat. Your garden will only suffer if you are in bed for a few days with dehydration or sun stroke. Remember, skin cancer is still one of the top killers so dress appropriately.
Gardening Tip 2. Design your garden before you start digging. Your time and energy is precious so don’t start digging holes and planting plants without having a garden design first. You may choose to employ a professional garden designe or you may just want to draw your desired garden on a piece of paper yourself, depending on your budget. Either way if you have a plan of what you are doing and what you want to plant where, you will save yourself many back breaking hours digging and planting unnecessarily.
Gardening Tip 3. Make a list of the tools and materials you will need. After creating your garden design, list the tools and materials that are required to create your masterpiece. You may need specialist equipment like heavy earth moving machinery that needs to be hired and booked in advance or you may wish to plant exotic plants that need to be ordered and grown specially. You don’t want to get half way through your project only to find you cannot get a piece of equipment on hire for 2 weeks. When this happens it is very frustrating and can sometimes hold up the entire job.