Landscaping done right takes some planning. When it comes to large residential landscaping projects, you have two choices: Try hobbling together the many qualified professionals needed and attempt to serve as the go-between for them all. Or, you can turn to a Landscaping Designer and Project Coordinator to manage your project from concept through completion.
However you choose to do it, the process has 3 basic phases.
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The 3 D’s of Landscaping Plans and Execution
1. Design
Your landscape architect will want to know what your goals are, to see pictures of ideas that you love, spend some time on your property, and get a feel for the intended uses of the space and any issues it has. Armed with that information, they can design solutions to your problems. Your designer can create settings that match your personal idea of beauty, and enable your property to better meet your needs. This is the most creative part of the process.
2. Decide
Your designer will present you with options. There will be ideas that range in cost, beauty, effectiveness solving landscape issues, and many other factors. Although your landscape designer will likely have a top recommendation, you don’t have to take the suggestion. Before deciding against a designers recommendation, make sure you understand why they think it’s the best course of action for you. Is there a large difference is cost or timeline? Does a change in the plan eliminate a key benefit to your landscape? Consider your options carefully before moving forward.
After your first round of decision making, revisions are made and presented to you for evaluation a few more times until you approve a final plan.
3. Do
The “do” or construction phase consists of the building process. During this phase, the designer and contractors will work closely together to bring to life the design plan created in the previous phases. At the end of construction, after testing and cleaning, your yard will have been transformed into a space that is ready for you to enjoy with friends and family.
How Long Does A Project Take From Design To Completion?
To get from initial design, through two revisions, to a completed design, it depends on a variety of factors.
- From the day you complete a contract and make a deposit, your site will be measured and project analysed within about a week. This is the start of the “Design” phase.
- Your first design review will be about 2 weeks from your site measurement date. Between reviews, revisions are made.
- The second design review will be 1 to 2 weeks later.
- Your final design review will be 1 to 2 weeks after the last.
- A Master Landscape Plan is delivered 1 to 2 weeks after the final design review.
- Construction, or the “Do” phase, can vary highly. Depending on your land and goals, expect from two weeks to two months.
It’s safe to begin your landscaping plans three to four months ahead in most cases. But until you speak to a landscape architect, you can’t know if your case is an exception to that rule. It’s always wise to start earlier that you expect you need to.