Design Services

Consult: $100/hour

Can't afford a landscape or planting design? Need some quick ideas or a gut-check about permitting, materials, plants, trees, or constructability? Looking for an on-the-fly napkin sketch as we brainstorm? Want to DIY the work? I'm happy to come out for a consult at the rate of $100/hour (inclusive of travel time from Greenbelt MD) and provide whatever support you need to kick-start your project, keep things running smoothly, or triage problems. This can include ongoing phone or email support, also billed at the same rate.

Schematic Landscape Design

What is a schematic design and why might you need one?

Schematic designs are great for big-picture thinking about a property, and it is important to get the big picture right before focusing on the details. You might need a concept design if you find yourself saying:

Often I arrive at a site to discover big issues like deck steps cutting off access to the yard or an awkwardly narrow patio. It isn't uncommon for the offending feature to have been installed only a year or two ago by a well-meaning contractor who didn't have training in thinking about the space as a whole. It's always best to hire a designer first, as the cost of design is a small fraction of what you will spend on install, and you definitely want to get it right the first time.
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Unlike many other designers, I ask questions about your preferences throughout the process, including sending out a design questionnaire. I also like to provide several design layout options if possible. Each design will have its own pros and cons and I like clients to be involved in choosing their preferred design or creating a combination design. For each concept, I work through the grading (site elevations, slopes, steps, etc.) enough to confirm that the design is feasible. The final package includes the concept plan(s), several sheets of precedent images, existing conditions plan, and cross-sections or elevations as needed. In some cases, a concept design may be enough to hand off to contractors to construct a project. For more complex designs, a construction set with details, permitting, and/or engineering may be required. Concept designs cost an average of $2,500. Smaller sites are not always less expensive- it can be very challenging to fit everything into a rowhouse lot with a lot of three-dimensional constraints.

Two Rowhouse Schematic Design Options:

A design for a rowhouse back yard with a large upper patio terrace, bike storage built into the slope underneath the patio, and a lower lawn terrace with a shade tree. Bluestone steppers form a walk along the east side of the yard.Another option for a rowhouse lot with a smaller upper terrace, planter between the two terraces, a permeable lower terrace, and a freestanding shed taking up a significant portion of the lower terrace.

Small Planting Design: $500-800

Only need a small portion of your yard (a single bed or foundation plantings) designed, or have a very small yard?  Cost includes one in-person consult to discuss planting goals, ideas, and determine site conditions. A questionnaire will be sent to determine your design/plant preferences. Deliverables include the planting design and a plant list. For gardens of this size, I can source plants as well as do installations.

I'm in the process of licensing small prefab/standardized planting designs for a variety of site conditions through perennialgardenplans.com - check back as more designs will be added soon!

Plant Matrix: cost varies

A plant matrix is a modular and naturalistic planting style that is designed to be tiled and repeat in space in one or two directions. Blocks of taller perennials are grouped together and underplanted with a matrix of lower-growing grasses or groundcover plants in a way that mimics a natural ecosystem. This works particularly well for large areas of meadow or woodland understory. Horticulture Magazine has an excellent article explaining the concept, as does Fine Gardening.

What are the pros and cons of a matrix planting design?

  • A benefit of a matrix planting is that it allows a space to be intensely designed at a lower cost than a traditional planting plan since the design is tiled.
  • A matrix planting provides a feeling of repetition and cohesion throughout the space
  • Tight underplanting with low-growing groundcover plants reduces space for weeds to grow.
  • The matrix is a looser or 'messier' style of planting in which plants are allowed to move over time.
  • A plant matrix is an ongoing relationship in which plants are managed and added over time as they move and fill gaps (not that any planting is 'set it and forget it'). Plant matrices encourage tinkering, experimentation, and ongoing assessment of results, either by me or by you (I'd love to maintain your matrix, see below).
  • Planting with plugs or quart-sized plants keeps installation costs down and allows a larger area to be planted more densely.
  • One con of a matrix planting is that unless the matrix block only tiles in one direction (like a linear border), you cannot use low species in front and tall species in back- there is no "front" or "back" to the design.
  • If the planting area spans multiple conditions, multiple block types will be required, or a mix of matrix and more traditional planting design.

The rainbow matrix below was designed for a sunny grassland on a very sandy, highly infertile former tobacco field in Eastern Maryland. The clients loved the idea of a season-long rainbow of color in each of the arc-shaped beds. Perennial wildflowers (not strictly native) were designed to feature among low-growing grasses.

A matrix planting design includes a site visit, one or more plant matrices, a plant palette (photos of each plant selected), and a plant list. I can source plants (plugs, seeds, and larger material) as a follow-up service.

Penstemon cobea and Nassella tenuissimaA planting matrix for a color-blocked meadow on dry, sandy soil in full sun

Traditional Planting Plan

Front or Back Yard Planting Plan: $1,800+
Whole Property Planting Plan: $3,000+

Each planting design is bespoke, based on the conditions of the site and client preference. Cost varies based on size of the area to be planted. The larger the yard and the higher the percentage of plants vs. lawn, the higher the cost. The plan below cost around $2,000 and included a site visit, plant palette with revisions based on client feedback, planting plan and plant schedule.

Plants are complicated. They live and die. There are so many factors to consider: height throughout the season, bloom time, foliage seasonality, bloom color, bloom duration, sun/shade preference, wet/dry preference, tolerance for pollution, urban soils, salt, client preferences, plant form, aggressiveness, edibility, ease of maintenance... the list goes on. In essence, I'm designing a community that lives, grows, and changes over time, both seasonally and yearly.

Cost of install will always be many times greater than cost of design. For the design below, cost including demolition, bed prep, plants, stepping stones, and labor was around $20,000. If the clients had been willing to do the demolition, bed prep, install, and mulching themselves, the plants would have cost $8,000, a significant savings. I can source the plants for your design as a follow-up service. You can also install yourself and split the cost over multiple years; I'm happy to work with you on this.
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Plant palette for a hot, sunny front yard for clients who wanted jewel tonesPlanting plan for a hot, sunny front yardPlant palette for a hot, sunny front yard for clients who wanted jewel tones

Plant Sourcing, Installation, and Maintenance

Plant Sourcing

Don't want to bother with going to the plant nursery only to discover they don't have what you want? Tired of calling every nursery within driving distance? Plant sourcing can be annoying. I have contacts at many local wholesale and retail nurseries and can streamline the process of plant ordering, choosing substitues if necessary (nursery stock seems prone to dying at the last minute), shipping, and delivery, leaving you with the joy of planting and caring for your new plants. This service follows after a plant list, plant matrix, or planting plan. In our region, plants should be installed in spring or fall/early winter. Ordering early (the season before) is recommended due to fluctuations in availability. Cost varies based on plant quantities and sizes desired. Can be bundled with install.

Garden Cleanup and Garden Maintenance

I provide garden cleanups for overgrown gardens. Sometimes uncovering the plants you already have is an essential step before a design can be done. I have the knowledge to remove weeds from around ornamental plants, which should provide a solid start for those new to or otherwise overwhelmed by their gardens. I do fine gardening and can also maintain plantings I have designed/installed as needed. My hourly cleanup/maintenance rate is $50/hour.

Construction Sets/Details, Management, and Permitting

Construction Sets and Details

Construction details are drawings that show the fine details of how something is built- dimensions, exact materials, fasteners, etc. We have standard details for typical applications, for example a flagstone patio on concrete or stone dust. If your design involves a unique feature, we can also put those details together. Cost is based on the hours spent drawing up details, with an estimate provided ahead of time.

A custom laser-cut metal screen detail
A detail for a metal screen

Permit Drawings

When designs must be permitted, a permit drawing set will be developed that conforms to the formatting regulations of the municipality in question. Frequently, construction details will also be required. Cost will be based on estimated hours, although edits will be done on an hourly basis, as we cannot forsee how many/what kinds of revisions the permitting office will require.

In DC, we highly recommend you hire a permit expediter/service, the money will be well spent on assistance navigating the tangled bureaucratic process. This can also be advantageous in other counties depending on the complexity of the work proposed.