Details Landscape Art is a landscaping professional with a variety of projects throughout Sonoma County, Marin County and Napa County. And these landscapes range in price from smaller, inexpensive postage stamp size gardens, to large high end estate landscapes. There’s no question that landscaping is expensive. The ultimate cost of a landscape project is a function of the size and elevation of the property to be landscaped, the types of elements to be included, and the materials chosen. A larger property will typically cost more than a smaller one, a project on a slope will certainly cost more than a flat one, adding water features and elaborate stone work will increase the price, and choosing flagstone is more expensive than stamped concrete or aggregate.
Homeowners almost always have a budget or a dollar range they would like to keep to. Rather than skimp on what they really want to stay within the budget, or try to do too large an area at once, we offer the opportunity to stage the project over time…sometimes several years. A good landscaping professional can draw a design or sketch, bid the project in the approximate sequence of installation, and then indicate which elements can be installed independently of other elements, and propose a schedule that meets the homeowner’s financial timing.
After the demolition of the existing unwanted landscape elements, the first stage is usually the hardscape…patios, walkways, retaining walls, stonework, major grading, water features. These are what we call the ‘Bones of the Garden’. It does not make sense to install these elements after the ‘softscape’, as these hardscape installations are generally messy projects. Sometimes the hardscape itself can be broken down into stages, but it’s often economically more efficient to do them together.
The next stage is the softscape, which usually makes sense to do all at once. Once the soil is amended, plants or sod need to be installed right away…once the plants or grass are in they need to be irrigated…then the ground need to be mulched with bark or else weeds will soon take over.
Access is another factor to be considered. If the backyard is going to require the use of heavy equipment, a side yard may get trampled or a fence may need to come down temporarily to gain access. If a swimming pool is to be installed and tractors and dump trucks are required, then these project should be done first, especially in the rainy, muddy winter months. So accessible may affect the sequence of the stages.
The other possibility on a larger project, is to stage the job by area or sections i.e. back yard now-front yard later or vice versa Often homeowners try take an estimated budget and stretch it too thin. Trying to landscape too large an area with limited resources often yields a sparse project that cries out for filling in after the job is complete.
Details Landscape Art is a landscaping professional, and we work hard to make it feasible for the homeowner to get what they want in the long run.