As a landscaper, I love it when clients have a design! When a client comes to me with a design, I know my team will be able to fulfill expectations to perfection, since everybody from the client to the inspector, even down to the lowliest laborer, sees the EXACT same vision.
Imagine an entire week with your spouse or s/o where you agree on everything because someone with future-vision created a detailed plan of your week based on what you both love and what works for your lifestyle. That's the kind of relief we feel when we work with a great designer! We know we can get it right and create a masterpiece.
Big civil projects, like overpasses, apartments, or bridges, require a designer, an engineer, and a general contractor. The architect envisions the project, the engineer ensures its strength and safety, and the general contractor coordinates the workforce, machinery, and materials.
Just like "real" construction projects, a landscape construction project often requires a designer and a contractor. Landscape Architects, or L.A.'s, rule the design world. Regular landscape designers have limits on what they can design. Almost anyone with a MacBook and a car can become a designer, and most will label their plans as "CONCEPT" or "NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION" for liability's sake. You can build a landscape designer's designs, but you best have years of experience in construction or engineering to make the correct judgment calls on how to build the design.
A landscape architect can specify engineered and structural components like walls, paving, sheds, and utilities due to their special training and licensing. They often undergo the over 14,000 working hours in a management position to earn their license, just like a landscape contractor needs to obtain their contractor's license. The best designers are, or were, contractors at one time. They will know what materials are easy and available and which are a nightmare to source or work with. When designers make practical designs, everyone wins.
Unlike big civil projects, the landscape project usually succeeds with only a landscape architect and a landscape contractor. Both parties usually have overlapping knowledge of what it takes to reach the finish line strong - if both parties are skilled at their job. This shared knowledge fills the role occupied by an engineer on "real" construction jobs.
A good contractor can often salvage a terrible landscape plan by using years of experience in construction, as well as asking for your opinion on style and placement frequently. However, a bad contractor can't make a good plan look or last the way you wish. Therefore, if you have to choose one or the other, we recommend "Mediocre plan, savvy contractor".
Yes, even your crudely sketched aerial on graph paper you did with crayons and pencil is better than no design at all!
Good Designs Have A Key
To assume is to make an ass out of you and me. Every design needs each part to be clearly labeled so we know what each thing is. Designs get confusing when a clearly visible fixture is not labeled clearly. Without a key, we can ASSUME the green blob is lawn, the grey squares are concrete, and the big rectangle void in the middle is the house... but are we sure?
GREAT Designs Have Numbers, And A Seperate Key Sheet
We love seeing "pointers" on the sidelines with arrows leading to fixtures. Each "pointer" has a number bubble corresponding to a feature name, description, or picture on a separate sheet. This method keeps the blueprint clean and allows designers to provide detailed information. For example, instead of just "Grass," designers can specify "RTF Tall Fescue Sod" with a photo or notes like "Do Not Install This Product Between May-Aug."
Good Designs Reduce Maintenance
A finished product shouldn't be prohibitively expensive to maintain. Areas with a lot of wind drift and nearby grassy plains should specify a weed barrier or thick groundcovers to combat the year-round war against wind-drifted weeds. Backyards that can only be accessed with stairs should probably skip the turf lawn if the gardener can't get his mower down there. A design for an Airbnb shouldn't have a high maintenance veggie garden or fast-growing plants by walks or driveways, and commercial areas shouldn't have excessively messy trees that dirt up the entryways and carpets of the establishment when 1-2000 people step inside.
GREAT Designs Compliment Architecture
A chaparral-inspired landscape will come off a little odd in a heavily forested lot with a small log cabin as a dwelling. A good designer will be familiar with home design and architecture, and will suit the landscaping to complement the house and surrounding biome, not distract from it. The ardent designer may see the log cabin and forest and present a "Lake Tahoe Vacation" theme with big boulders, short pine shrubs, and ruddy gravel paths - or a "Far East" theme with bamboo, Japanese maples, and delicate ferns. Which design is the best one? You be the judge.
Good Designs Respect The Zone
America is divided into 10 planting zones based on winter temperatures. Sonoma County is in Zone 9. Plants in this area should be hardy to Zone 9, but extremely cold-hardy plants should be chosen carefully. Some plants require freezing for their life cycle, while others don't thrive in hot, dry summers. Hiring a local designer who understands these nuances is crucial for a lasting landscape, rather than relying on online resources like Tilly or Bacqyard.
GREAT Designs Can Play Mind Tricks
Perception of a landscaped area is easy to alter with colors, textures, and sizes. A genuinely talented designer can make an area feel private with a hedgerow, create an epic journey with curving paths and thoughtfully placed visual barriers, make a "secret spot" in a previously underutilized area, make a yard look bigger with certain placements, shrink a big area by swapping around some features, create a more hostile look for areas where you don't want trespassers to venture with brutalist looks or spiky plants, or create a warm comforting entrance by using bright colors or soft textures.
Good Designs Stand Out - But Not Too Much
Certain neighborhoods have certain vibes. A radical, modern look in a historical old-town neighborhood can flare up tensions with the neighbors - and look tacky in comparison to its surroundings. However, a traditional landscape with a touch of contemporary will get stares, oohs, aahs, and comments for all the right reasons. Walking the neighborhood and choosing a few things you like from nearby homes, and requesting those elements plus a few strategically placed head-turners will usually get you a radical look without appearing anti-social or lowering your home's value.
Great Designs Play With Odds And Evens
As a rule, odd numbers look naturalistic and dynamic, while even numbers look structured and conservative. Plantings in odd numbers often give a more relaxed feeling, whereas plantings in even numbers look planned out and manmade. That said, using even numbers for manufactured products, like stepping stones, walls, or lights, often looks a little "better built" or better planned, while odd numbers can look a little eccentric. These rules aren't really rules, more like loose guidelines, and they help create subliminal feelings. Someone may not know why a certain area feels uncanny and oddly threatening, or why an area feels relaxed and inviting, but it's a culmination of small things that often lead to the vibe of a whole.
Should you require the services of a top-tier designer, please contact us. We take pride in connecting our clients with the most reputable professionals in the industry. Our network consists solely of designers known for their exceptional ability to create popular designs and collaborate effectively with discerning clientele.
Sam Winglewich - Owner, Winglewich Landscape Contracting
707-755-0612 - winglewichsam@gmail.com
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