Garden Plans

We begin the development of a garden plan with a series of consultations with the homeowner. Most homeowners have an intuitive sense of what they would like to see developed in their landscape. It is our job to ask them the right questions that will help give form and substance to these innate feelings that people often have difficulty putting into words. When homeowners think of garden plans, they may be visualizing something that exclusively involves the planting of various vegetation elements. Such things as flowers, shrubs, hedges, and even small trees typically come to mind when we consider the form and beauty of a garden. While these elements do indeed constitute the organic aspects of gardens, there are many more things to consider when developing plans for the overall landscape.

During our consultation, we seek to not only pinpoint the aesthetic sensibilities of our clients, but also the things that matter to them in terms of lifestyle, activities, entertainment, and peace of mind. People seldom have only one expectation in mind, but a rather a whole litany of needs and desires they are looking to fulfill. When they step beyond the threshold of the doorway into outdoor space, they look to enter a whole new world of experience that brings both new sensory perceptions and new states of consciousness to bear upon their perceptions. Most of these expectations reside at the unconscious level, which is why our consultation process is both in-depth and ongoing. Open dialogue and clear communication help us to bring these expectations to the surface so we may better develop garden plans that speak to every element of our clients’ minds and emotions, not just the surface value of visual aesthetics.

In this respect, garden plans are both global and multidimensional. By itemizing the emotional and intellectual qualities of the resident that the landscape will ultimately reflect, the scope of the project is much easier to establish, and the details of the landscape more readily fall into place. Gaining a clear picture of how homeowners intend to enjoy their garden enables us to plan many details that otherwise would be overlooked or arbitrarily added after the fact. For example, if we learn during our meetings with a couple that they want a special part of the yard set aside just for them, it then becomes clearly evident that something like a private fountain and private patio will be in order to accommodate their sensibilities. People looking to entertain large groups will probably find great benefit in larger patios around swimming pools and enjoy the convenience of outdoor rooms where cooking and serving drinks can be done without having to run back inside.

Other purely aesthetic elements of garden plans can then be developed around these functional keynotes so as to better integrate any structures we commission into the organic elements of outdoor space. Trails for people to walk through, natural swimming pools, special fountains built to mimic waterfalls, trellises, and arbors are just a few of the many things we will add to the landscape that add depth and dimension to the organic components of the landscape. When it becomes necessary to subcontract certain experts such as swimming pool contractors to add these specific elements, a detailed garden plan drawn to scale helps to better coordinate the implementation of the project both globally and specifically. Subcontracted specialists are better able to see their individual creations as parts that relate to a greater whole, and they are better able to focus their energies and talents toward the creation of highly specialized forms that simultaneously contribute to the overall aesthetic that our design team ultimately has in mind.