Concept Design

A concept design defines all the features of your landscape at a high level. It shows the relationships between areas, pathways to them, and major features, such as a hedgerow or firepit.

Detailed design work is left for later and can be done on a patch-by-patch basis, filling in specifics such as plant species, exact path locations and dimensions of spaces

< Back to Design Consultations

Benefits

Understand the potential of your landscape with a thorough inventory and analysis.
Explore several configurations for the placement of features.
Gain more clarity into the priority of areas, how they are used, and when they might be implemented.
Confidently move forward with the establishment of portions of the landscape.

Process

We will visit your landscape 2-3 times to gather information and review and refine the concept designs.

Initial Visit

An ecological designer visits you at your landscape for approximately 1 hour.
The designer walks your landscape with you to gain an in-depth understanding of your goals, ideas and budget.
Shortly after the visit, the designer sends you a proposal and cost estimate that defines the details and scope of the design.
Once the proposal and estimate are agreed upon, another visit is scheduled to begin the design process.

Follow Up Visits

During the first visit, a thorough analysis of your landscape and several concept designs are reviewed. The concept designs depict the general placement of areas, paths major features and major plants. Each concept emphasizes different features or travel patterns.
A final concept design is created from preferred features.
The final concept design is reviewed by moving through the landscape and "walking the design". The design will be refined until it meets desired goals.

Research

Measurements are taken for a generalized base map.
Specific plant varieties and seed mixes are researched and selected based upon your goals and landscape characteristics.
Plants are researched to create harmonious, beautiful and self-supporting groupings. General locations of plant groups are provided.

Price

$400 - $950

The price depends upon the size of your landscape and your desired level of detail. A quote for the price will be provided after the initial visit.

What You Receive

After the consultation, an electronic (PDF) document will be provided that includes...

Thorough assessment of your landscape identifying major features, travel patterns, water flows and sunlight exposure.
2-3 concept designs and a final concept design.
Researched plant lists and seed mixes for pollinator habitat, ever-blooming gardens, high food yields, shade trees and visual screens.
Management and establishment ideas based upon your budget, gardening expertise, available time.
List of deer-resistant plants.
Local and online sources for plants, seeds and materials.
Tool recommendations.
Relevant publications.

Example Concept Design

Upgrade