FAQs - Landscape Design & Designer Questions, Costs & InformationFrequently Asked Questions (FAQs)Q: What is good landscape design? A: A good landscape design should incorporate your family's surroundings and your family's needs to reflect and enhance your everyday lifestyle. Q: Do you charge a consultation fee? A: Yes, we do. The initial consultation is an opportunity to meet with you and go over your wish list and budget to help you with your decision on designing your landscape. There’s a $150 flat fee for the initial consultation which consists of a maximum of two hours. This fee covers designer’s time, mileages, and traveling time. Q: Why do you charge when others do free consultation? A: Nothing in life is for free. At least anything worthwhile. We believe in providing professional, ethical and honest landscape design and consultation service to our clients. Free consultation is a tactic used by many landscape designers and contractors so that you feel obligated to use their service. Which will end up costing you more as these people will incorporate their consultation fees/free estimate in the final design fees. As a professional I respect your time and I expect the same from you. Q: How much does a landscape design cost? A: It all depends on client’s need, and the complexity of the project. You have choice for hourly or flat-fee option. The landscape design plan rates start as low as $1,200 and varies depending on the scope of the project. A deposit is required at signing of contract, and balance due upon completion of concept design. Q: How long does a landscape design take to be completed? A: Our landscape design services are on a first come first served basis. Most design takes about four weeks and it is partially dependent upon the client’s availability for plan review and confirmation. Q: What makes you different from other landscape designers? A: As an independent landscape designer, I work foremost with home owners interest in mind. Each design for landscape is personalized by keeping your needs, interests, surroundings, and budget. We believe that when the design does not match your budget and style, you’ve wasted your money. Do not get misled by a pretty design on paper, a good landscape design must provide you with a comfortable living. Q: Do you take credit cards? A: We offer you many payment options. We take Cash, Check, Master Card, Visa, American Express or Discover Card. You can also pay us with PayPal. And, though PayPal charges us 3% for using their services we provide this option to our client and no extra charge. Q: What is best garden style for California? A: A Xeriscape landscaping - southwest style with native plants are most suitable for San Diego and Southern California residents. Q: I only need planting assistance, do you provide that service? A: Yes. We can provide a planting plan design for you which would include botanical name, common name, quantity, and size of plants. Also included are color pictures of all the proposed plants along with recommendations of local nurseries with their name, phone numbers and addresses. You can buy the plants yourself or we do provide a purchasing service. The benefit of that is that as landscape designers we get better rates which means additional savings. Also, when a certain plant is out of stock we are able to pick a better substitute for you. Q: Do you offer a landscape design service for the DIY home owners? A: Yes. We provide scaled conceptual landscape design plans so you can install yourself. However, be aware that 90% of DIY home owners end up with disappointment resulting in higher costs due to improper installation. Q: After the landscape design, can you work with a contractor to oversee the construction process? A: Yes. We provide project management/supervision services. After initial meeting with the contractor of your choice or ours, we can assist with hardscape, softscape, tagging of specimen plant materials, site visits, and review of work at various intervals. Q: I don’t have time to shop and don’t know where to get outdoor garden furnishings, do you provide this service too? A: Yes, this is our favorite services of all. As a professional with over 10 years of experience I know where to buy garden furnishings and supplies at deep discounted prices. Q: What is the increasen in property value with professional landscaping? A: According to research conducted by Home and Garden Television a well maintained and professionally landscaped home has increased in value by 7 to 15%. In addition, these well managed residential properties sell in half the time than a non managed property. This means a professionally designed landscaped home in San Diego with an average price of $500,000 will see about $50,000 increase in value and will sell in half the time. Q: What is a typical budget for a landscaping? A: A budgeting rule of thumb for landscape installation is 10% – 20% of the total value of your home. The return on investment will be up to 200%. Q: I want to have before and after pictures of my landscaping, can you put the construction process pictures on a scrapbook? A: Yes, we do have a scrapbook service. We can put all the construction photos in a CD or DVD for you with customized labels for your beautifully transformed home exterior. We also provide computer generated movies of scrapbook which you can share with your families and friends. Q: We have Home Owner’s Association, do you provide plan for HOA? A: Yes. We will need HOA documents for CC&R (covenants, conditions and restrictions) which you need to provide to us. You may need to submit your design plan to your HOA for approval before construction. Q: Do you provide aftercare service? A: Yes, we provide quarterly, bi-annual, yearly aftercare garden service exclusively for our clients only. This is not a maintenance service. It’s a fine gardening service. This is one of the most frustrating parts of designer’s and homeowner's challenge. There are simply not enough of fine gardening service companies in the San Diego area. Q: Do you provide maintenance service? A: No, but we can refer you to our networking contractors for landscape maintenance services. Q: What is the difference between Landscape Designers, Landscape Architects & Landscape Contractors? A: Landscape Designers, Architects and Contractors all have various skill sets. Essentially, they must meet the following guidelines:
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