Huangshan, China by Chi King
“For many years I dreamed of a garden which would be my respite from the world. A little bit of paradise, right outside my door.” Alison Kerr, 2010
No matter how much you love your family you sometimes need a little escape, and the closer to home the better.
What holds you back?
Here I was imagining a place where butterflies would flit by, birds raise their young, and natural Kansas flowers provide rest for weary eyes.
The reality was different – a bland, bare-grass, imported-plant, baking-in-the-sun piece of suburbia. What to do?
I wasn’t even convinced that I could communicate my needs to a professional landscape designer even if I set aside the cash. Unfortunately, that proved to be true.
The Professional Landscape Designer I Hired
One day, while flipping through a local, free, gardening magazine I came across an ad for a professional landscape designer who was offering home landscape design with a difference – specifically for the person who wants to do their own implementation work, gradually, over a number of years. That was me!
I was so tired of how my backyard looked (and the front). I was so stuck. I was not making my dream garden because I just didn’t have the overall picture in my mind. I couldn’t figure out where to start digging and planting. So, I called the landscape designer. But I made a mistake; when the designer came by to visit with me, I hired him even though my instincts told me not to.
The Wrong Garden Designer Can Be an Expensive Mistake!
Have you ever gone against your better instincts? What happened? Did it end up working out? I really wonder why we do this. Sometimes I think we are overly optimistic. Other times I know I’ve been complacent. And then there are instances where I’ve just not wanted to say “no”. This time it was complacency.
I thought any design was better than no design. At least it would be a place to start. I was wrong. When the garden designer came round he quoted me $350, which seemed manageable, if more than I’d have preferred. So, I went against my instincts, told the guy what I wanted, and waited with baited breath, but not a whole lot of faith, for the garden plan of my dreams.
Garden Designers Are Not Mind Readers!
The garden plan I got for $350 from this professional landscape designer was a disappointment, and a waste of my money. There’s no other way to say it. It did not excite me, it was a basic plan which included things I’d asked for. It didn’t add anything to the style of my garden that I couldn’t have thought of myself. What it did add was plants. I later began to doubt that the landscape designer had even measured up my plot! I’ve since learned that desirable, professional garden designers charge in the region of $750 – $1,750.
You’ve heard it said, “You only get what you pay for!” I was still determined to have a plan for a garden I would totally love. I’ve looked at landscape design books before and I didn’t think that would work for me. Once again I was stuck, when along came Rachel Mathews of Successful Garden Design. I took Rachel’s Beginner’s Garden Design course online earlier this year – a success story for me (and my garden) which is still in the telling.
More About Doing Your Own Home Landscape Design
After my experiences, I thoroughly recommend doing your own home landscape design and working with Rachel Mathews. She has almost 20 years of design experience and has helped countless homeowners realize their garden dreams. But not only is Rachel experienced, she is a gifted teacher, she makes doing your own garden design manageable, she makes it fun, she makes it affordable, and she is both caring and a professional.
Rachel has just released a new home study course in landscape design and I’m going to be walking you through the Great Garden Formula on Tuesday. At the same time, I’ll be addressing the kind of questions I had about Rachel before I decided to work with her, and giving you an update on my own garden design, and where I’m at in my extreme backyard makeover.
If you have any specific questions you’d like me to address about doing your own home landscape design please leave them in the comments. Have you considered having your garden designed, would you be interested in doing this yourself?
Whether you are thinking of hiring a garden designer, or contractor, or are looking into doing your own design, you might want a free copy of Rachel Mathews’ The 7 Steps to a Great Garden – the road map to crafting your dream garden.
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Oof, what a shame! You must have been very disappointed!
I’ll look forward to the garden design posts! In my world, garden design is something that happens to other people…I feel a twinge of guilt about this, because artists are supposed to be good at this sort of thing, but in my case, I just shove stuff in the ground and then realize four months later I have Made A Terrible Mistake. I have read books on it. They do not seem to imprint any skills on my brain.
Fortunately the birds and bugs are unconcerned by my design skills or lack thereof, and being surrounded by trees, the neighbors don’t get a vote. And as Henry Mitchell once said, the chief goal of the garden is to delight the gardener, so it succeeds on that level.
UrsulaV´s last blog ..Rags and Tatters
“I have read books on it. They do not seem to imprint any skills on my brain.”
UrusulaV, I think what I have to share about Rachel’s course will shed some light on this problem.
And, yes, the birds and bugs don’t care how things look, though for the homeowner there are some benefits to putting plants in the “right” place and achieving the big picture you’re looking for.
“…the chief goal of the garden is to delight the gardener…” I love your enthusiasm and tenacity Ursula. I agree! Keep doing what you are doing. Keep experimenting and learning.
Ouch – no fun! The hubby & I have lived in our home for four years and can’t figure out where to start when it comes to the backyard. And so we do nothing, which is getting a little old.
I’m looking forward to reading your upcoming posts on this topic.
Debi´s last blog ..Fun Friday- Take a Flashlight Walk
“The hubby & I have lived in our home for four years and can’t figure out where to start when it comes to the backyard. And so we do nothing, which is getting a little old.”
I totally relate Debi. It took me about 10 years, and Rachel’s help, to get beyond where you’re at. There is hope! Thanks for your comment
Alison, I know exactly how you feel. You hear yourself saying, “yes” and you mean “no”. You don’t ask questions and your instincts scream, “ask! ask!”. We all have our moments of complacency but sounds like you’re on track now. Well done. I’m not quite ready to landscape but my sprouting muscles are flexed.
Katie´s last blog ..Do You Have a Chair of Your Own
Thanks for commenting Katie. I’m busy researching and I’m learning a ton of stuff about beansprouts that I didn’t know. It’s going to be really fun to share all that and to grow them together.
Alison, I was an APLD-certified landscape designer for many years, and I’m horrified by your story. One way to select a landscape designer is to look at their portfolio, or to drive around and look at other landscapes they’ve done. But you have to verify they actually did them. It’s too easy for crooks to make stuff up and claim it as their own. You can also check to see if they are a state-registered business and check the BBB to see if any complaints are issued. It’s pretty much the same thing as hiring a remodeling contractor–you want recommendations. The bad ones can damage more than your pocketbook! Glad that you have found a solution, though. Designing your own landscape is a good idea if you have the time, and a REALLY good idea if you are actually a gardener, as it makes the placement of plants and hardscaping an organic part of your gardening efforts. My favorite clients were the ones who were truly gardeners, and it was rewarding to help them come up with long-term plans they could install themselves over time.
Meg´s last blog ..Life and Writing a Cooking eBook- an Update
Meg, now I’m going to put myself in the crazy position of defending the designer! He did show me some other designs he’d done. And he did try to incorporate things I’d asked for in the plan. But I needed a designer who could go beyond what I could imagine for myself. I was more interested in having a good layout than in having a list of plants to put in.
I was after a natural design and I should have asked around more before committing. Now that I know more about design, from working with Rachel Mathews, I’m most disappointed that this designer mostly suggested plants. And he’d put in plants I hate, like lollipop-shaped boxwood shrubs, which are standard fare for my area, but I’d never choose. If he’d designed a layout that I liked though I’d not have cared about the specific plants.
I think a landscape designer should spend time getting to understand the client’s needs and offer several sketches, rather than just one design. But I guess $350 wasn’t enough to get that kind of design. Thanks for the suggestions on BBB etc. I hope anyone here who is thinking of hiring will be more thorough in figuring out their needs and choosing a designer than I was!
Sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience with your landscape gardener. Personally I had a very good experience with a landscape gardener and out garden turned out very well but my idea was very different to yours! Hope it turns out okay in the end!
Harriet´s last blog ..BlackBerry Torch 9800
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