The sum of its parts

This image has nothing to do with today's topic, but I really wanted to use it.What I do want to say today is that a successful garden design is/should be more than the sum of its parts.  For this post, those parts are the client, the site, and the designer.  Someday down the road, I will post again to talk about different parts (like design+installation+maintenance, or a variety of other bits).Let's consider:The Client: Their responsibility is to give the designer the information that person needs in order to generate something appropriate.  They should have an idea of what they want to spend, some input on how the space will be used and by whom, and if there are any aesthetic preferences, those must be made available - preferably in the form of images and not words.  If the client isn't clear about what they want from the designer, the designer may (let's hope not) assume a scope of work that is inaccurate, thus opening the door for disappointment and frustration on both ends of the relationship.The Site: The site brings a whole host of elements to the table just by being there.  There may/will be existing structures, neighboring properties or views, grading and drainage issues, slopes, soil properties, existing vegetation, the angle of the sun, the quality of the light, this list could go on and on.  Without the site's involvement, anything designed would probably fall into the realm of art or fantasy.  The site knows what it looks like now, what it wants to look like, and what it can offer.  The designer must listen to the site's input, and the client must understand that there are some things you cannot change without changing the location itself.The Designer: When a client and a site come to the purview of a designer, the designer has the responsibility to consider a whole host of issues in response, including things not discussed with the client at the initial meeting.  The design solution (sounds so static, but it isn't!) must be safe, first and foremost.  It must meet the criteria of the project's design program (things the client asked for - can be physical elements or intangible wishes).  The solution needs to be responsive to the site's unique characteristics: the use of the site (private gardens can be very different from public parks, or weirdly similar), the budget, existing materials and spaces, and the environment among other things.  The designer's goal is to find inspiration in the unique blend of the client+site, add their own technical expertise and an artistic touch, and pull off something that is both functional, safe, and appealing.The whole of the Client + Site + Designer = a design solution (we hope an installed one!) that exceeds the sum of its parts.  The result is something that speaks to the client in a meaningful and maybe unexpected way, respects the site and the environment it is in, and is visually enticing.  The designer would, of course, add that it should be of a quality that they would want in their portfolio, but I digress.

Wasting money 101

Rosa 'Iceberg'

There are more ways to waste money needlessly than there are to save.  I say that based on my years of experience seeing clients do things that I could not have made up.  Truth IS stranger than fiction!!If I had a nickel for every time I turned to a co-worker and said "No, really.  I didn't make it up!" ....Let  me tell you a story:I once spent many hours developing a planting plan for a large, historic tudor home owned by a couple who's only comment on the firm's written questionnaire was that the wife didn't like the color orange or roses.  I left messages and sent several e-mails asking for a quick phone call to try to narrow down what she did like so that I had some direction from them on the design.  I presented the drawings in a few meetings with the husband having never heard back from the wife.  Finally, after a couple of months, she attended a design meeting.  She came into the room and plunked down a stack of magazine clippings of images that she liked, plants she was drawn to, etc.  She had heard all my messages, and wanted to respond, but didn't let me know that she was doing anything at all on her end.  As it turned out, she had a strong preference for white flowers and chartreuse foliage.  In fact, she didn't like much that wasn't chartreuse or white.   Never mind that the quality of the light at their home was too harsh for white and chartreuse without something else to set it off (like a nice deep green).  She also noted that she likes shrub roses, but not hybrid teas.  Had this client spoken up sooner, they would have saved thousands of dollars in design fees and I would've saved a lot of time.The one thing they did right in this story was to speak up before we were under construction.  It is far less costly to change directions on paper than it is in the field.

Why hire a designer?

No, seriously, why should anyone hire a designer?  I am one, but I don't do it for the money, believe me!  If I didn't adore garden design, I wouldn't be doing it.

I am sure I'll come back to this again and again.  First off, let me note that there's a difference between hiring someone whose job it is to design for your project and act as your advocate vs.  someone who's job it is to buy (and markup) the materials, install the elements, maintain it, or do any other sales-affiliated work.  This 'sales' person could be an ambitious gardener, a design-build company, or a straight-up contractor.  There is overlap everywhere, as soon as I say that contractors can't design, someone will send me a link to a contracting company that hires professional designers.

If knowing that the person you hire is interested only in the safety and aesthetics of the project, and is advocating exclusively on your behalf, you should hire a designer.  It is your designer's job to be cost-conscious and to listen to what you need.  I have worked in firms that charged design fees based on construction cost -  I always hated that.  There isn't a design fee difference in designing a patio out of bluestone vs. limestone or brick.  If your fence is Pine or Redwood, the details take the same amount of time to draw.  However, those folks in the 'sales' business have a different profit margin based on the cost of the materials you select.

I worked for a while as a designer at a retail nursery.  It was my job to design plantings for people's homes.  I was expected to use the plants currently in the nursery and not ask for a special order.  If the client bought their plants from the nursery, the design fee (a whopping $50.) was waived!  In addition, my clients got planting plans that were specific to the time of year that they hired us in.  If someone came in during summer, they got summer season plants.   The good part was that I could actually pull aside the materials I was proposing and set them aside for the client to see in real life.  Today, I rely on digital images, sketches, and visits to multiple nurseries instead.

So why hire a designer?  The expectation is that the design work will be well-rounded, fitted to your budget, lifestyle, and aesthetics.  The designer should help you make sound decisions based on form and function, not their own bottom line.

It begins...with what clients don't know

I've been thinking about blogging for a while now, wondering why anyone would spend time shoving their opinions out to the world and what it might be good for.  I read a number of them, some blogs I actually look forward to reading, some I see again and again when doing google image searches.  Somedays, I image search about as often as I inhale.So I got all arranged to blog.  I made a list of topics I'd like to comment on, looked through blogs I like, considered photos from my existing image library, and took a lot of notes.  I thought I'd get Organized (with a capital O!) and put post topics in some kind of order, set a schedule, blah, blah.  However, today it is 88 degrees outside, I have a prospective new client on my mind, and I don't feel like worrying about The List.SO!  My prospective new clients.  We had an initial consult, I sent them a proposal.  I am nervous that they'll see the design fee estimate and freak.  What they don't know is that I started 'work' practically the moment they called.  Well before our first meeting, I've seen their house.  The first thing I do is google the address or drive by.  That is all it takes to get my design ideas going.   I already have a pretty good idea what I want to do for their front yard, at least the layout.  They didn't have any strong feelings about it in our first meeting, so while I wait and hope that they sign the proposal, I have plant palette ideas, a layout, and some maintenance suggestions already  in mind.  They haven't paid me a cent, but I can't NOT design the garden.Clients often bellyache about design fees, the amounts of money they spend before they see any changes to the site.  For them, this is part of the day, another thing on the to-do list.  For me, it is all consuming.  I think about it at the grocery store, in the car, on my nightly walks around the neighborhood.  I re-design each (almost) house as I walk by or critique what is already there.  Being a designer (I imagine) is different from being a cable installer or a secretary or even a doctor.  When I leave the office, ideas are all around me.  Plants, colors, textures, materials, are between me and everywhere I go.  Site plans are in my head, what the client said is on my mind, the job comes with me.  I garden at home and take pictures of everything.  I am on the computer late in the night and most weekends, solid... and I wouldn't have it any other way.