How to Choose a Landscaper
by Kendall McCumber
Spring always brings a heightened interest in a beautiful yard and garden. It’s a time when many people realize that they have been struggling to achieve a certain garden effect, but they know that they cannot reach their goals without professional help. Others have new spaces demanding ideas and encouragement. Whatever the situation, a landscaper seems like the answer, but finding a one who will meet your needs takes thought and planning.
Choosing a landscaper, like many other choices, is partly based on practicalities such as how much you have to spend and the general plans you have in mind. You might begin by finding out which landscaper neighbors and friends used to create landscapes that echo your interests. Use the Internet and look at a number of companies’ web sites to see which designs please you.
Once you have a list of potential landscapers, think about what kind of company you want to work with. Do you want a small crew steered by the owner of the business who will keep close contact with you as the job progresses, or is that not really so important? Do you want a landscape designer who cares about your input and will adjust the design to you, or someone who will take charge and design the whole place? Occasionally people know exactly what they want and just need the labor done, but in my experience that’s been very rare.
Instead, the best results come about through the collaboration of the landscape designer, the business owner, and the crew transforming the design into reality, with and for the homeowner. For example, last week we had the delightful experience of incorporating a four feet high piece of selenite (selenite looks like crystal) into one of our landscape designs that was in progress. It was a collaborative effort to choose where to put it, and I was grateful to have the homeowner’s input. I was also thrilled to add something so special to my own design. For me landscape designs are always evolving. I am not an artist in the sense that a painter is; I do not create the whole picture myself. Instead it’s a combination of the crew’s work, the land, the plants, the rocks, and the client’s input. As landscaper, my job is to put the picture together and steer the progress, not stopping until everyone is happy.
Before making your calls, winnow your list of potential landscapers and think again about your needs. When you seek information and bids, recognize that your choice will be determined in part by the work that needs to be done and scheduling concerns, and in part on a gut instinct. Remember, it’s important to be able to communicate easily with your landscaper. If you are in doubt about whom to choose, it is a good idea to get several bids, but the reality is that if you are in doubt, you should probably keep looking.
A serious landscape remodel or installation will cost proportionately to your wants. Beautiful rockwork, boulders, and flagstone are expensive natural resources that require skilled craftsmen to work with them. A proper irrigation system requires considerable plumbing expenses. And last, beautiful plants, carefully chosen and cautiously planted, are not cheap.
But the good news is that every penny you spend on professional landscape help will come back to you. First, it will raise your property value. Second, it will give you years of enjoyment, and third, you will not be out there moving overgrown plants or straightening crooked rocks; instead, you will be on your patio enjoying your beautiful outdoor living space. And lastly, have fun!
Kendall McCumber, owner of McCumber Fine Gardens, has been designing and maintaining gardens for Santa Fe residents for ten years. McCumber Fine Gardens designs, installs and maintains all sizes drought tolerant gardens, stonescapes, irrigation and water harvesting systems. Call Kendall at (505) 660-9599 for a consultation.