We had a full scale plan done with everything that we could possibly want to do with the garden. Then we looked at our budget and picked what was most urgent.
The deck was rotting, our traffic patterns were inconvenient, and the garden itself was a little sparse and a bit random. We have a new deck and new stairs down from the parking area to the front door. The flower beds have all been reshaped and replanted with a goal of minimal maintainence. They revamped the irrigation system and made sure everything was functioning and the new beds had full coverage. Everything looks very nice – the deck is way bigger than I imagined – and the traffic patterns are SO much more convenient. I’m no longer going to worry about falling down the uneven slippery concrete stairs in the dark and wending my way around the deck and conking my head on the deck corner before getting to the front door.
The firm we used was Distinctive Gardens http://distinctive-gardens.com/. They were very professional and efficient, timely and worked quickly. The crews were very nice and did stuff that they didn’t need to do. They weren’t the cheapest, but they definitely worked with us to get within our budget. Carrie Culp was our landscape architect and project manager. She kept us up to date at all times and was quick to respond to any questions or concerns.
If we stay in town, and perhaps a few projects down the line, we might get to the “nice to have” parts of the original design. That had some water features, and expanding the side deck and trellis and paving over the side and back lawn to make a patio area.
