Landscape Design
Associates, Inc.

As I drive into your driveway the process begins. My trained eyes see your property for the very first time. I look for pleasant views and areas to screen. I look at the lay of the land and the style of the home. I note people, pets and types of activities as I walk to the door.

When we first meet I begin to understand the style of your life. I notice colors and materials you have selected to use in your decor. I ask open ended questions as I seek to understand your landscape desires. I love to hear your thoughts and ideas and view sketches. Pictures of areas with elements or styles you like are very helpful. Doing image searches for these elements or areas on the internet is also very helpful. It helps me understand what you are looking for in your new spaces. Now we can begin to discuss the opportunities.

I like to stand in the space and begin to imagine the changes we can make to meet your desires. At this point we are becoming more specific and can begin to identify shape, size and materials to be used. We together can begin to imagine how these spaces can be used. How these spaces can be sheltered, shaded and furnished. Is all about you and how you intend to use the space. I continue to listen to you and begin the design in my mind.

At this point in time I like to show you my portfolio and begin to take notes. Every client is unique but often finds parts of previous projects that they would like to be incorporated into their design. This is very helpful and with further description of the photos we can begin to personalize the design even more. As the portfolio is viewed and discussed, I continue to fill in my notes of likes and dislikes. We continue to move closer to creating an early conceptual.

A rough conceptual design is a drawing that begins to represent a specific area of your project. An area often developed is the main walk out of the back of the house, usually off the kitchen People love to dream of what this space could be and how much they would enjoy using it. With the information gathered I begin to sketch the basic layout of the space. Input from the client is welcome, as we continue to develop the design. We begin to identify transitional areas or walkways verses highly valued useable space. We try to minimize the transitional areas and maximize the usable areas. We can begin to deal with elevation or slopes. We address the screening of unwanted view and focus on or frame views we desire. We add elements such as fireplaces, fire pits, water features and shelters. All this is done in rough pencil sketches stressing desired elements and spacial use relationships. This sounds complicated but it is not. This is easy and fun and encourages your input into the development of the design. In the notes I gather additional information about theme, color, material likes, and plants desired.

All parts of the site relevant to the design will be measured to scale and photographed. Elevations and grades will be noted if necessary. Existing plants and other elements will be located and noted. This information will be taken back to the design studio where a scaled base map will be created.

Once the base map has been created we put trace paper down over top, the new base map and begin the design. Using this drawing, photos, notes and the rough conceptual sketch a refined concept is begun. This is a fun process which allows me to use my imagination while combining shapes, sizes, forms and elements together resulting in a well-tuned and highly defined conceptual plan. A plant maintenance guide, PMG, and smorgasbord style proposal regarding costs in now created.

At our next meeting I present the color rendered scaled drawing, discuss what we did and why. Elements and materials selected are reviewed and the smorgasbord style proposal is fully explained. At this point, options and phases are discussed and formal agreements can be made.

The Master Plan is a design that takes into account the entire site. The steps are the same as the conceptual but the entire site is measured and designed. Due to the amount of information considered, when creating a master plan, I often advise the presentation be broken up into 2 steps. Step one contains the conceptualization and arrangement of the hardscape areas of the design. Areas like patios, decks, walkways, walls are arranged. Element such as; structures, pools, fire pits, fire places, bars and outdoor kitchens are developed and discussed. The goal here is to get the hardscape right first. Then by the conclusion of the first design presentation meeting all revisions to the hardscape will have been made. Now is the time to proceed with developing the planting and lighting plan to accent and support the hardscape. At the next and meeting the hardscape, plantings and lighting plans are review and pricing and phasing is established.