“We are enjoying our front yard tremendously. I can’t wait for the plants and trees to fill out. You’ve made our front yard more than a yard, but a really nice place to hang out in.”
What to Expect
My hourly rate for meetings, design work, bidding assistance, drawing preparation and construction observation is $200.00 per hour, to the closest quarter hour. I attempt to provide an accurate number of hours your project will take to complete, including a final presentation meeting. You may choose, at that point, to take control of your drawings and project or to continue to use my services to get bids from contractors and provide construction assistance.
We start with a one hour consultation meeting at your site where we will discuss your ideas for your garden, walk the site, measure the site if you haven’t already done so, photograph the site, and share information. If your site is small, sometimes I can draw up a quick sketch then and there. If not, I will bring the site analysis information back to my office to draw up to scale and work on the design we have agreed on.
Every property is different. Every client is different. I will attempt to the best of my ability to listen to your needs and be as clear as I can about design costs. You can expect at least two, possibly more, meetings. If I bring information home to draw up plans, you can expect at least 2.5 hours of design work for a small property. The plan will itemize plants, show layout of any hardscape work, and note any construction requirements so that you or a contractor can build your project.
A large property or a property with front and back gardens to be designed often takes 8-14 hours to design, prepare final working drawings, detail any specific areas, and communicate back and forth. I hand draw everything, which saves time from preparing a set of computer (CADD) drawings.
I will only bill you for the time I work on your project and therefore have avoided fixed estimate or fixed fee schedules. I will, however, provide a not to exceed cost for all design services, which I will try to stay under to save you some money. My hourly rate for hand pruning, laying out plants, providing art or pottery or plants for the new garden is $85.00 per hour. I like to maintain control of the plants to issue substitutions if necessary and check the quality of the plant material.
Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions. I welcome comments and criticism to improve the way I serve my clients.