Visuals for the landscape design presentation help one imagine and ‘see’ the garden before it’s installed. The first time I hired professional help in the landscape arena was twenty years ago. I had a few ideas of what I wanted and where but mostly didn’t know what grew best here. I wanted a professional to come in to give suggestions and advice and to draw out the plan on paper so I could see if my ideas would work. For the most part, they did. However, I didn’t implement all the ideas immediately but took sections of the landscape plans per season as time passed. After living with the plans for a while, I realized some things weren’t as important as I imagined initially. The hardest part was visualizing the plants with only a Latin name to go by. And seriously, what common person knows Latin and can tell by the name if you like the plant?
Understanding your Landscape Design Presentation
At that point, when the architect spoke vaguely about each plant, I secretly had my own conversation with myself about why people in the profession used big words (Greek/Latin) to speak to someone who barely knows the difference between a weed popping out of the ground and a perennial? Since I entered the profession, I remembered that day and have tweaked my presentations to be more “user-friendly” to the commoner.
Visuals for Reference
I like having a visual on Pinterest or assembled in a booklet. This gives a visual for color references to the plant material and descriptions of each plant. The references also give the assemblage of how they’ll all appear together in the landscape. I also talk in English instead of Latin to the virgin gardener/client so as not to be too intimidating. Yes, botanical names have their place and good reason but first things first. I must get my clients to understand what will be placed in their garden and how it grows before I start teaching a foreign language! Helping first-timers or old-timers get into their gardens and enjoy the outdoors is rewarding. Assembling a plan that will stretch their living space is a delight and becomes a team effort. I draw out the likes and preferences each has for their vision.
If you have an idea and you want to see it on paper or talk it over with a professional, call me to set up an appointment.
