Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.
A. I provide landscape design and installation services for single family residences, estates, apartment complexes, streetscapes, parks and playgrounds. Our focus is on landscapes that require a minimum amount of water and we incorporate boulders, river rocks, statuary and site furniture based on an artistic theme that works with the site. We provide expert maintenance and irrigation services as well.
Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A. When you are looking to hire a landscape designer, make sure the landscape designer has done projects similar to what you need to get done. Check their portfolio to see samples of their work and to see if their style resonates with what you are wanting to create on your property. Most landscape designers specialize, so ask for a free consultation to determine if their skills and style match with what you are needing. It goes without saying but it is important to underscore that the professional must have a friendly disposition and a great attitude and be able to get along well with all types of people. An ego has no place in a service based business. The professional must leave a confident, pleasing, lasting impression on the customer because in this kind of service, when we are designing personal space, the customer will always be reminded of the experience within which this space was created.
Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?
A. Communication is key in building any relationship whether it be professional or personal. The designer should be able to easily communicate with both the owner and construction crew and be readily available to answer questions, problem solve and be flexible in the working out of details. Also, the designer should provide hands-on service during the construction process to make sure the design is implemented according to plan.
Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?
A. How much design/construction experience does the design professional have?
Has the professional previously done the type of work you are requesting of him/her?
Where has the professional done previous work?
What are your rates?
What services do you provide?
Is the designer/contractor licensed?
How involved is the design professional in the implementation process of the design or service?
Who runs the crew that implements the service?
What is the time frame to provide your service?
Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?
A. As the owner of the company, my work stands out because I LOVE what I do. I have dedicated 20 years of my life to landscape and garden design and pursued a Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture to formalize my education. I personally attend to each customer in the initial design phase of the project and I treat each garden as if it was my own space. I bring all my undivided creative energies to that garden to make sure that the landscape resonates with the surrounding environment and that each plant is in the right place. I am a sustainable design professional and bring my experience to finding the best ways to cultivate the most beautiful gardens without negatively impacting the earth. That would mean reusing materials on the site to create new walls, berms or pathways, using low-water use plants or drip irrigation or making sure run-off from the property is minimized. My company's motto is "cultivating a beautiful world...one garden at a time" and we live that motto every day!
