FAQ: “Why don’t you specify plants in the conceptual design phase?”

Here is a question asked by a client considering hiring us to design a landscape for their home in Williamsburg, Virginia. I thought the question and my answer are worth highlighting.

Q: My husband and I very much enjoyed meeting with you and discussing the design of our landscape in Williamsburg.  We look forward to working with you to enhance the property. We reviewed the Letter of Agreement for Conceptual Design and have a question with respect to the project scope. The contract states that the plant design will be conceptual and show “rough quantity and types”. We understand that to mean that the actual quantity will be determined at the time of planting, based on the size of the plant at that time.  However, we are not sure what you mean by “types”.  Will the design state what kind of plant is recommended?  We think it will be hard to visualize what the design will look like without knowing what plants are to be installed in the prescribed area.

Here’s my reply:

A: Probably what is needed here is some clarification as to what I mean by “types.” The best way to think about it is to consider the function that a plant serves in the design. Indeed, the function is what we consider at the conceptual design level.

Here are some examples. If the function of a plant is to serve as a screen – for instance blocking an electrical box or some other small feature - the type of plant would likely be an evergreen shrub. If the function is to screen something large like a neighbor’s house, the type would likely be a hedge of large evergreen shrubs and/or trees. If the function is a groundcover, the type of plant would be a low-growing perennial. If the function is a showy display or focal point, the type of plant would be something that has a special interest, say, flowers or bark or shape. The list of functions goes on and on and is based on the requirements of each individual landscape.

When I say “types” I’m referring to whether it is an evergreen shrub, something deciduous, a tree, a perennial, etc.

The goal of a well-executed conceptual design is to pull all the functions served in a landscape together into a unified whole. A mistake people often make is to focus too early on individual elements such as plants, rather than the overall organization of the space. Here’s a quote from one of my favorite books:

“Patios, pathways, fences and walls should be given first priority, as they contain your dreams. But don’t fret - there is a big difference between first priority and top priority, which is reserved for plants. It is for them you are setting the stage.”
- Thomas Hobbs, The Jewel Box Garden

We’ve completed designs like yours many times before and the method I describe is what we’ve found to be best. We could change the design process to allow us to specify the plants in detail, but it would change the cost. I’d basically give you a price to do the conceptual work as described above and then move on into installation specification. However, I’m taking a bit of a shot in the dark at this point in knowing what the extent of the specification will be. My price will be higher to cover the risk and uncertainty. I have to avoid giving a low price and then having the specification work take more time than I anticipated. For example, I may see in my mind a sparsely planted area that has only a handful of plants, while you may be thinking about a botanical garden with dozens of varieties. The amount of time it takes to specify these two scenarios is quite different. We’ve found it works better, and is more cost-effective for the client, if we hammer out the conceptual plan first, get everyone reading from the same sheet of music as to where the design is going, and then move into speciation.

I realize you don’t know us very well and I can imagine moving forward is quite unnerving. Our method works, it has worked many times before, and it will work in your case. Tell me what I can do to win you trust.

Posted by , Tuesday, September 2, 2008 at 2:39 pm in Residential Landscape Architecture