Why do we need a landscape designer?
To create a sustainable long term value, to enjoy the outdoor spaces of your property, to create beauty and wildlife habitat to be enjoyed all year from inside and outside your home. A professional landscape designer can create a plan to fit your budget, your maintenance budget and fulfill your needs and desires without making costly mistakes and wasting years in which a garden of your dreams could be growing.
Hiring a landscape design professional could be one of the smartest investment decisions you’ll ever make: overall, landscapes can add as much as 15% to the value of your home compared to other houses on your street. (Source: www.RealEstate.com, www.AppraisalInstitute.org)
Sources to find a designer: professional organization such as the American Society of Landscape Architects–ASLA; and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers–APLD; are good starting points.
• ASLA – http://www.asla.org/ (see Firm Finder)
• APLD – http://apld.org/ (see Find a Designer)
What is the biggest misconception about landscape design?
Some of the biggest misconceptions is that landscape design services are expensive, that the homeowner can not afford to hire a professional landscape designer and that a professional landscape design will create high maintenance costly gardens.
What could builders do that would make your job easier?
Builders can ensure the most successful outcome for client and profitability by inviting a professional landscape designer to help guide the landscape/outdoor spaces from the beginning of the project (home construction or renovation). Assessing best location to site buildings, testing soil, creating a drainage assessment and plan. Another valuable tool is including a Certified Arborist in the beginning of the project–ensuring existing valuable trees and shrubs are protected from construction damage such as: soil compaction from machinery and trucks parking and better soil practices. Inviting a professional landscape designer into project from beginning will help create a more valuable, more beautiful, final home and property–a great value for builder and home owner.
What are chronic problems you come up against?
Construction damage to tree trunks, shrubs and roots from machinery and vehicles, compacted soil from construction equipment and parked work vehicles on trees root zones, poor quality soil used on property (sometimes clay soil excavated from digging of foundation is used in planting areas), construction debris (sheet rock, concrete blocks, rubble, trash) buried on property. A newly constructed home is often quickly landscaped with plants, which may look good now but will not survive and thrive, plants may be eaten by deer or other wildlife or will quickly outgrow the area they are planted in.
What drew you to landscape design?
The mix of design, art and horticulture, the joy of being outdoors in all seasons experiencing the beauty and grandeur of nature and wildlife. The challenge and excitement of carefully listening to a clients program (wishes) and bringing that dream to reality in three dimensions with living plants. Caring for and seeing a garden mature over the years is the greatest joy.
Can you say something about designing for all seasons.
A truly noble garden is beautiful in all four seasons. Using native plants adds much interest to your garden and animates it with wildlife – attracting local and migrating birds, butterflies and other wildlife. Evergreens are often forgotten for important winter views such as kitchen and dining rooms. Berries add interest and attract birds in winter months. Interesting bark and colorful stems illuminate the garden during winter. Long blooming and re-blooming plants such as ‘Endless Summer’ Hydrangeas, ‘Limelight’ Hydrangea, oak leaf Hydrangeas (native), Knock Out family of roses and Drift series of roses provided months of flowers, foliage, structure and colorful bark in your garden with little care required once established.
Do you plant with an eye toward increasing a home’s performance? (Strategic shading to reduce cooling load, etc?)
Yes strategic planting for sun and shade is crucial to a successful truly success landscape and reducing energy costs. Creating shade on the east and west side of residence is important to shade home during hot summer months with deciduous trees (reducing cooling costs), these will drop their leaves in fall allowing warming sunlight to heat home in winter. Taller evergreens trees planted northwest of residence will help break cold winter winds (reducing heating costs).
What are the biggest don’ts in landscape design?
The biggest mistakes are the wrong plant in the wrong place. Mantra for success: the right plant in the right place. A quick inventory will create a successful landscape: first step is ask what the site requires or your goals: shade, flowers, privacy screening etc.? Then ask from where will area be viewed: from road, from master suite, from pool area, etc.? Are deer present or other wildlife, which may eat plantings? What seasons will site be used or viewed: such as patio pool area used in summer or four-season privacy screening, etc. Once above questions are answered the site requirements will inform plant choices. Local cooperative extensions (UConn, Cornell, Rutgers, etc.) can help identify the right plant for your site.
Does the existing home or the existing landscape drive your design approach and do you try to strike a balance between the two?
Yes the homes architectural style is a key factor in the design process as is site characteristic (topography, exposure, etc.). The link between indoor and outdoor spaces is very important. To easily travel between indoor spaces and outdoor areas informs the landscape design. My design approach is
to harmonize with the existing site topography and plantings. The other factors are the site conditions: wind, sun, shade, soil, exposure; these inform the design.
Resources:
University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension
http://www.extension.uconn.edu/
Arbor Day Foundation
Cornell Cooperative Extension
Rutgers Cooperative Extension
https://njaes.rutgers.edu/extension/
American Society of Landscape Architects – ASLA
ASLA – http://www.asla.org/ (see Firm Finder)
Association of Professional Landscape Designers – APLD
APLD – http://apld.org/ (see Find a Designer)
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