A successful landscape design-build project requires planning ahead and detailing the finish. Details Landscape Art installs fine gardens throughout Sonoma County, and it is not accidental that these projects turn out beautiful. Planning ahead and detailing the finish means nothing more than careful thought about all the elements before a job begins, and caring enough when a job is complete to take care of all the little details and cleanup thoroughly.
Whether or not we are required to draw a design (not all jobs need a design), we have to figure out how we will do certain things and where certain elements will be placed beforehand.
Planning Issues:
- If there will be plants or low voltage lights on both sides of a driveway, how will we run drip irrigation tubing or lighting wire across the driveway? Is there a ‘chase’ or sleeve underneath through which we can feed drip tubing or cable? If not, we must plan on going under the house or all the way around the house.
- Where will the irrigation controller and or lighting transformer be located? Is there a convenient and available electrical outlet in the garage or on the exterior of the house? If not, an electrician must be called to install an outlet.
- Where will the lawn and drip irrigation valves be located? Is there a hose bibb we can tie into?
- What is the soil type? Adobe clay? Sandy loam? This will affect the amount and frequency of water to apply.
- If there is any excavation to be done, such as for a French drain, is there room on site to lose the excavated dirt or must it be hauled away?
- Is there easy access to the job site? If the project is to be in the back yard, is the fence gate wide enough to pass through or must we take down a fence panel and reinstall it afterwards?
- Are deer present? This will definitely affect plant selection.
- Are there privacy issues to be addressed with trees and screening shrubs?
- Is there available space to stage materials during the project? Frequently we need to stage materials on the driveway, which may lead to…
- Parking issues – is there enough street and driveway parking available for the homeowner and the contractor?
Detailing the Finish:
- We always leave a landscaping project spotless. New and existing patios and walkways are thoroughly washed, and the driveway is left clean.
- New are sure to leave new plant material free from dead leaves, and any job dust on the plants are lightly washed off.
- Landscaping project create a lot of debris. Although we do not generally do any hauling, we dispose of whatever debris we can in the owner’s garbage and recycle bins, and help the owner arrange for any remaining debris to be hauled away.
Planning ahead and detailing the finish is our standard modus operandi. Planning ahead prevents many unforeseen issues and surprises, and detailing the finish leaves a neat, clean beautiful project worthy of the name Details Landscape Art!