If you show up for your landscape design consultation, plop down in a chair and say, “I want to do something in my backyard but I haven’t really thought about it,” you’re doing it wrong.
Please, think about it. This is a big deal and you want to make every minute count.
How to prepare for a landscape design consultation?
Ground Source Landscape Designer Eric Frisch shares a few great ideas:
1. First, Know Your Landscape Budget
Your landscape designer will ask you about your budget, so be prepared to be honest and upfront about how much you can spend.
You won’t be able to get very far in your landscape design consultation if you don’t at least have a range in mind.
You don’t want your designer to show you all kinds of amazing options only to find out you can’t afford them. Bummer. Plus, crying at your kitchen table is kind of embarrassing.
Once you have your budget on the table, your designer can steer you toward options for materials, help you decide the scope of the project, and plan whether or not to do it in stages.
2. How Do You Want to Use Your Outdoor Space?
This is a landscape design consultation biggie.
How will you be living out there? Do you plan to entertain big groups, or enjoy your outdoor space with just a few people?
Do you have kids? Pets? Do you crave privacy from boisterous neighbors? Is a fire pit a must have? Are you a bocce ball fanatic?
The answers will help your designer make sure your landscaping really works for your lifestyle.
3. Think Ahead About Landscape Maintenance
How to prepare for a landscape design consultation? Know yourself.
Do you ask for new gardening gloves every Mother’s Day and want to start each morning tending to the latest varieties of flowers? Or do you kill any green living thing and want hardy, low-maintenance plants that don’t require much fuss? 
“Most homeowners don't have hours of free time to maintain a complicated landscape,”
Frisch says. Sod is easier to maintain than elaborate planting beds, he says.
Planning on hiring professional landscape maintenance? Bring this up at your landscape design consultation.
But you still might want to keep things simple.
“If someone else is doing the work, they'll just charge you more if you have a more detailed landscape that requires more time for their crew,” Frisch says.
4. Yes, Bring Photos
If you’ve been collecting photos of landscaping ideas you love, absolutely bring them along to your landscape design consultation.
But be sure you’re searching for ideas under “Florida Landscaping,” Frisch says. 
If you’re having a landscape design consultation in Central Florida, you don’t want to bring photos from a pretty yard in Minnesota.
Your plants have to thrive here.
5. Prioritize!
How to prepare for a landscape design consultation? What parts of your landscaping hopes and dreams are top priority?
Here’s a hint: think hardscape. 
“In case the budget can't cover everything, I want to focus on the basic hardscape elements first,” Frisch says, “because that's the area we actually use in the yard.”
Once hardscape, including any necessary grading, is installed, other landscaping elements can easily be added later.
6. Let’s Talk Drainage
Sorry. It’s important.
Your landscape design consultation is the time to let your landscape designer know if you have any drainage issues in your yard that need to be addressed.
Your elegant new patio won’t do much good if your guests have to get there by canoe.
7. What Existing Plants Should Stay — Or Go?
Love your Roebelenii date palm, hate the scraggly boxwood hedge? Be sure to let your designer know what plants you want to keep and what you’re happy to see go.
8. What Stuff Do You Hate?
“Are there any plants or materials that you don’t want to use at all?” Frisch asks.
If you shudder at the idea of gravel paths or are allergic to lilies, speak up at your landscape design consultation.
9. Is a Party Part of the Plan?
If your landscaping plans are happening because you’re hosting your daughter’s backyard wedding or the next family reunion, speak up right away. 
“Keep in mind hardscaping can take time with permitting, and pavers can run two months or more for production,” Frisch says. “Planning ahead is key.”
10. Make a List
Don’t trust yourself to remember all this stuff. Write it down.
Bring your landscape design consultation questions. Do you need landscape lighting? Can’t decide between patio pavers and stamped concrete? Can you grow anything in shade?
Landscape designers love this stuff.
Ready for Your Central Florida Landscape Design Consultation? Trust Ground Source
This is exciting stuff! Your landscape design consultation is where it all begins.
We make the whole process easy, from your first meeting with our landscape designers right through to the excitement of installation.
Not all landscaping companies are full-service landscaping experts. Look for one with a landscape designer on board that can help you with the total package.
We’re landscape experts, but our skills don’t stop there. We’re with you every step of the way as you plan your perfect outdoor space.
Sod, irrigation, landscape design: Let us transform your landscape from an embarrassing eyesore to a place you spend every spare minute.
Are you ready to enjoy the vibrant, impressive landscape you've always wanted? Request a quote today! We’ll help you review your options and then transform your property.
