Subject: New Homeowner Needs Advice on Selecting Landscape Designer

From: [email-masked] (scott.d.brenner)
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 13:59:52 GMT

My wife and I bought a house last Fall.  We've got just under half an
acre of property.  The yard is primarily grass, but there are about
30-40 trees of all sizes scattered about.  Some were planted by the
builder (dogwoods, white pines, spruce, etc.) and some were there when
the land was still virgin woods (many cedar, an oak, etc.).  The former
owner also put in some nice shrubs and small trees (hollies, Japanese
red maple, boxwoods, burning bushes, scrub pines, norweigen spruce,
etc.)

There are some problem areas that I'd like to do something about.
These include minimizing the view of a chain link fence (we back to a 
golf course), hiding some utility thingies near the sidewalk, and
making the overall landscaping seem a bit more "coherent."  I'd also
like to make everything "nicer" (I know this is hard to define and
explain to someone else; I plan to drive around and videotape other
people's landscaping that I like.)  

I'm willing to spend a few years achieving my goals and thought it
would be a good idea to get a landscape designer or landscape architect
to make a plan for me that I could implement (on my own) over the next
few years.

So... does anyone have any recommendations on how to pick a good 
designer/architect?  Or would this be a waste of money?  Is there
something else I could do?

Please send advice and recommendations directly to me at the e-mail
address below (not the one in the headers).  I'll post a summary of
responses if requested.

a T d H v A a N n K c S e

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scott D. Brenner                  AT&T Consumer Communications Services
[email-masked]                             Piscataway, New Jersey
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From: [email-masked] (Christine Owens)
Date: 23 Mar 1995 05:48:57 GMT

>a T d H v A a N n K c S e

BEFORE you shell out the money for a landscape designer, 
hail yourself off the the library and check out some books
on landscape design.  Also, try to get on as many plant
catalogue mailing lists as possible -- not that you are going
to buy, but you can often get good ideas from the photos.

Second, get a firm idea of a budget in mind.  You can really
spend on a yard -- mine has more the $10,000 planted in
it!  If you can spread the cost over several years, that is
great; but you are still talking about serious money.

Third, if you can get free advice from your local ag
school, county extension office, or a good friend -- whose
taste in plants you admire -- with a green thumb, this
will probably be just as good as any advice from a
designer.

Finally, if you do decide to hire a designer:

1)  Try to find one not associated with a specific nursery, 
or who charges independently of the nursery for his / her 
services.  Many plant nurseries will offer free design advice;
but the quality varies highly, and the advice tends to push
plants stocked by the nursery.

2)  Ask to see a portfolio.  The designer should be able to
show you photographs and drawings of other work s/he
has done.  Look at this work for two things -- style and
plant choices.  If the designer has a consistent style, make
sure it is compatible with your taste -- one who has 
worked in a variety of styles is probably a better choice,
as s/he is likely to be more flexible.  Look for repeated
use of certain plants.  Designers are like all the rest
of us -- they have favorite / detested plants.  If every
single design this person has done has, for example,
azaleas; and you positively loathe the things, this is
not a good match.

3)  Get the names, addresses, and phone numbers of
three former clients.  Call and ask if you can visit
to see what the designer did with their yard.  Ask if
they were satisfied with the work and the work
style of the designer.

Good luck.

Chris Owens

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From: [email-masked] (Christine Owens)
Date: 23 Mar 1995 05:48:57 GMT

Good luck.

Chris Owens