The Proposal
We come to meet you and learn as much as we can about your wishes – and needs – and about the site itself.
Once we have as much information as possible, we write a proposal to clarify the brief and detail the scope of work and associated fees to design your garden or landscape. This is the basis of all further work. The proposal is not the landscape design; it lets you know the steps we will go through in the design process. With timelines and costings outlined, we then move into the design phase.
The Landscape or Garden Design
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A topographical survey is necessary for every project to provide the base for all design work. You either provide us with one, or, for smaller gardens, we can undertake the survey ourselves (for larger gardens and landscapes we will commission one).
We get to know your land and everything that affects it:its environment - built and natural, historic and social
its patterns - people, weather, traffic
its spirit, or genus loci,
the constraints on it imposed by councils, regulations,
planning, budgetsthe opportunities and possibilities.
We work into this our understanding of your needs and what you hope to achieve in your landscape and garden; we consider everything it could be for you. The detailed design process is built on our research and a guiding concept or philosophy. We design places that are perfectly functional, address your requirements, and most of all, are inspiring and beautiful.
We discuss the initial concept design for a Master Plan with you and amend as you wish. We might use sketches and elevations to help explain the ideas. -
The planting plans are detailed and include schedules and notation as necessary. We provide a plant portfolio of the plants we are recommending to you, which tell you about each one. An average garden has between 20 and 30 species and each plant is chosen for its suitability to meet many criteria; soil, climate, size, flowering, shade, stabilization.
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You may need Landscape Plans to support your DA (Development Application) or CDC (Complying Development Certificate). We are qualified to do this and will provide detailed plans notated specifically for your local council requirements.
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Once the concept designs are agreed upon, we draft the final Master Plan in fully scaled CAD drawings which include lighting plans, material suggestions, perspective drawings and elevations as necessary.
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Stage 5 is when the building of a project gets underway. Once the Master Plan and planting plans are agreed and signed off, we can provide a Scope of Work and technical construction details on which contractors provide quotes and then build. We can recommend and brief contractors for you.
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Each contractor brought to the job will have a direct contractual relationship and liability with you. We coordinate, liaise and work to make sure that the project runs smoothly and that the garden or landscape is built to the highest standards. Being available and on site is critical to assist with problem solving, design consultation and ensuring every detail is built and installed as planned.
Maintenance
When the project is finished, we discuss and can arrange aftercare and maintenance. We work with landscape building and maintenance contractors whose quality of work is known and trusted, and with who we have developed strong and close relationships. As each garden requires unique treatment, we stay with the project until its completion.