Your landscape is your outdoor home environment. The same care used to build your home is necessary when installing your landscape. A professional landscape design will be to scale, show placement of items such as plant material, bed lines, and retaining walls, and will list quantity and variety of materials.  The design can be used universally as the blueprint for how your landscape needs to be installed.

Imagine remodeling your kitchen by just buying things that look nice and hoping they work together.  It may work out but more than likely it wouldn't, causing quite the headache.  Would you even consider hiring a contractor to remodel your kitchen who didn't present an organized design?  The same can be said for your landscape contractor. Professional landscape contractors have the training, experience, and ability to develop an organized landscape design.

The value of a proper landscape design is often overlooked.  Improperly designed landscapes can cost some significant money to correct, sometimes even more than the initial landscape itself.  Your professional design will take into account the grade of your lot, where land engineered swales are located, the growth habit and climate preferences of plant material, and HOA landscape standards. This will help to avoid future costs such as tree removal for trees planted too close to your home, drainage installation to aid in moving water since there is now landscaping in your swale preventing the swale from doing its job, and sometimes complete re-installation of your landscape if it doesn't meet HOA requirements.

Professional landscape contractors will schedule an appointment to meet at your home to discuss your landscape needs and wants; they will need a plot plan or mortgage survey so have one available. It is also common practice for professional landscape contractors to charge a design fee. You can ask before you schedule an appointment if a design fee applies.

The end result... a beautiful outdoor space to be enjoyed for years to come!