The “BASICS”

Step 1: Project Briefing + Site Assessment

My goal will be to maximize your site usage by identifying relevant constraints as well as landscape opportunities. I can then help you to overlay your vision to create a site layout that just WORKS!

An initial briefing consultation is essential to achieving your final landscape vision. We would normally meet on site where I can see what the site looks like, how your vision might fit within it, and what further detailed information about the site may be needed to take us to concept design and beyond. Most importantly however, you’ll be doing most of the talking. My job is to make sure I fully understand what it is that you want to achieve.

Where necessary, but particularly on projects where I am part of a consulting team, I will prepare explanatory drawings, to illustrate graphically how constraints, landscape opportunities and ideas might overlap.

Step 2: Concept Design

.. provides a firm basis for discussion so you can rest easy your design is heading in the right direction.

I NEVER start design work on a computer. It’s ALWAYS on my tried and trusted drawing board with a thick (at least 2B) pencil and a good supply of butter paper where my “scribbles” gradually take shape to a landscape that I KNOW will work! (I don’t like surprises later in the design process!) I will often schedule a second consultation based on my initial scribbles. This allows us to make any changes necessary to ensure your requirements are going to be fully met.

Now it’s time to prepare the Concept Plan. The objective of the Concept Plan is to present the “structure” of the landscape – that will include the essential “hard” elements (paving, walling, level changes, screening, etc). Planting would not normally be detailed at this point, apart from notation of the general planting “structure”; for example, “tall shrubs”, “ground cover”, “shade trees”, etc, etc.

Although the plan is a “concept”, it will always be drawn precisely to scale (one of the benefits of CAD!) so that a well-qualified landscape contractor could start to implement the plan, should you choose to skip the next step (Step 3). Be aware of course, that as a “concept”, certain detail design considerations will still need to be determined. For example, if there is to be say, “stone walling”: What will be the finish? Will it have a “capping”? If so, what will the capping look like? How will the walling abut adjacent paved areas? .. and so on.

Step 3: Detailed Design Development

This is where the “nitty-gritty” of the concept is refined and developed to construction documentation standards appropriate to the project.

I place a lot of store in fine detailing: “.. my aim is to leave as little as possible to the imagination of the contractor.” That helps ALL of us – and especially the Contractor – to understand what is to be built and where it is to be built, before it is built!

Step 4: Detailed Planting Design

This is the all-important finishing touch.

I routinely prepare the Planting Plan as an integral part of the construction documentation set. Alternatively, it can be prepared as a stand-alone document as a supplement to the Concept Plan.

Detailed planting documentation would include not just positioning of plants, but technical specifications for species, quantities and sizing, as well as planting methodologies.

Step 5: Implementation Services

Make sure works are constructed to the intended standards!

You can relax while we do the heavy lifting. We can call for competitive tenders on your behalf, make appropriate  recommendations and carry out periodic inspections and certification of works in progress.