Question: My husband’s biggest concern is that a plan done by a residential landscape designer will be amazing, but we won’t be able to afford to actually implement it. How would you suggest we handle this so that we have a design and a yard we love, but also that we keep it to a manageable budget?
Answer: Having been a professional residential landscape designer since 2004, I help my clients with construction management as well as master planning. During the construction management phase, I source competent, trustworthy installation contractors and oversee the the project to make sure the work sticks to the intended design. Knowing a family's budget helps keep the design reasonable. Then, I can keep install costs from being significantly altered by installers who don't understand low-cost yet very effective permaculture techniques.
A lot of residential landscape design installers don't know certain things can be done differently. This is because they've worked mostly with mainstream designers. I am firm in having teams use much less expensive products than the standard, but with great results, for instance. I help my clients avoid a much higher initial outlay, level of maintenance, and ongoing resource cost. This means less water bills and avoiding the cost to have crews mow, blow, and go every week.
By adhering to time-tested methods using the wisdom of Nature, my focus is on low-input, high-yield design strategies while restoring the landscape to a state of health and self-care. This approach to residential landscape design brings maintenance and water bills way down after the design has been installed.
To learn more about how regenerative landscape architecture can reduce your costs and labor, schedule a FREE coaching session.
