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I just got a great design done by Beth at Durham Landscape Design from Bright Leaf Landscaping. I just wanted the design, but they will also manage installation (overseeing subcontractors.) They do design hardscapes. The plans included a site map and photos of the plants they recommend, and the cost was $150. I recommend them!
NoneOfThis, who did you end up using? We have Design-A-Yard coming out tomorrow for a consultation. They said the cost is a fixed fee of $299 for a half acre or less full design.
digging up an old thread I know, but we had Design-A-Yard come out and do our design. They were very nice and seemed to have quiet a few cool ideas for what to do with our landscaping. We haven't received the design yet but the nice thing is that you retain their services for 1-year. That means if you change your mind on something they can redraw it or offer advice up to 1 year from the purchase.
That means if you change your mind on something they can redraw it or offer advice up to 1 year from the purchase.
Speaking from experience, they are less than enthusiastic when you do this. And they seemed to take it personally when we modified the plan on our own (e.g., substituting a hard to get specialty-order plant in their plan for another similar plant easily obtained at a local Home Depot).
For those of you who have used a landscape designer, how did it work out? Did the plants they put in survive? Did it end up looking the the way you wanted it to look?
We hired a landscape designer at our last place. As others have mentioned--plants that required special ordering (many died within two years), and disgruntlement if we wanted changes.
I like edible landscaping and have planted blueberries, a dwarf fig, couple pomegranates, raspberries, herbs, tomatoes, etc.
Wish I knew of a reasonably priced landscape designer who was passionate about edible landscaping and butterfly/pollinator gardens.
We have had mixed results - it really depends on the individual person doing the design and how well you communicate your preferences and requirements (if you know what they are).
For our yard in Raleigh, we hired a designer through the nursery that used to be at the corner of Lynn Road and Six Forks (I think there's a drug store there now). We were new to NC, and wanted local help selecting plants and placement. After a couple of years I came to hate what they recommended to us as much of it required ridiculous maintenance and pruning to keep it from becoming rapidly overgrown. The pruning required to maintain a reasonable size left those plants in a less-than-attractive state.
In Chapel Hill, we hired an individual designer to select plants for areas we had already defined. She helped identify plants and bought them for us using her wholesale connections. We provided a lot more input into that selection process than we did the first time, and are much happier with the results.
Laura did some landscape design for my wife and I and we were pleased with the results. She spent a few hours out in the yard, drawing on graph paper and handed them over when she was done. Everything was keyed and labeled with type of plant. We implemented part of her design in the beds in front of the house and so far they look fine. The annuals started blooming the past week, so there's some nice color in there. Hope to implement more of her suggestions later, but have some hard-scape work to do before that.
She did recommend a couple landscape companies to do the work, but their estimates were beyond what I was willing to pay. I found an independent guy that does landscape work on the side, very reasonable. He probably saved us $5-7k over what the other companies wanted to charge. I've been a little put out by what some of the landscape companies want to charge. I never realized it was a lucrative business these days, but guess some folks are fine with spending obscene amounts on their yards that they'll most likely never get anything back for when selling the house.
OP here. I was promised designs and estimates that never came and calls from designers that never called, so I put the project on a back burner. Would love to revive it, but hate to stir up all the false promises and hope again. I still would be willing to work with someone reliable.
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