Questions to Ask a Landscape Design Consultant Before Hiring

Questions to Ask a Landscape Design Consultant Before Hiring

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Hiring a landscaper is a pretty big decision. Not only because of the amount of work involved, but also the scope of work and the required timeline.

As part of your landscaping project, you would need to hire a landscape design consultant to come up with how best you can utilise your space and what designs would best suit your property.

Now, choosing one can be pretty difficult when you don’t know what you are looking for. This is why you need a baseline or a foundation of sorts to serve as benchmark for your assessments.

So, as expert landscape designers who are also specialists in sustainable gardening in the Macedon Ranges, the following are some of the best questions we know will help you weed out the suitable from the unsuitable.

How long have you been in business?

It’s a seemingly simple question,but from where we stand and what we know, asking this question helps you immediately qualify the designer and saves you a lot of time.

As a rule, go with designers who have a lot of experience and years under their belt. Seasoned landscaping designers will often have the manpower, skills and experience to come up with great designs that you are more likely to love.

How many previous projects have you completed?

Every smart landscape designer actually expects you to ask them the number of projects they’ve completed and what they look like.

More importantly, ask for references from your immediate area as terrain and topography does play a role in the final outcome of your landscaping efforts. For instance, as experts in landscaping and sustainable gardening in Macedon Ranges, we have worked with clients locally.

As a result of these projects, we understand the unique nature of the terrain and often factor that into all our designs. More importantly, prospective clients can easily access our portfolio of readily verifiable completed projects.

What’s the time frame for the project?

Well, this largely depends on the size of the project, extras and complexity. Most landscape designers will have to consider these factors before giving you a time frame for the completion of the project

The important thing is to never assume that they automatically know what you want. If youneed the project completed in two weeks, let them know what your expectations are and see if they can work with that timeline without compromising the quality of the project.

Who will work on the project?

Clients should have a clear expectation and knowledge of who to contact if they have any complaints, questions or need clarifications. Therefore, you should ensure that you know who will be working on your landscaping design.

This is what we do at TGB Outdoor Design. We know and understand that clients need consistency in personnel. That’s why all client projects are supervised by the same specialist from beginning to end.

What’s the best concept and design for my space?

Sometimes, clients have ideas that may not work as well given the available space and property size. So, what we recommend for clients is to approach the design consultant with their ideas and then ask for input.

Remember, consultants have a lot of experience and tend to easily spot major anomalies that could impact the final outcome of your project. So, ask us what we think about your ideas and we’ll be able to give you a fair assessment and possibly improve on your concept.

For more information on all we have to offer as outdoor designers in the Macedon Ranges, Melbourne, Greater Geelong District, and Dandenong Ranges call 0419396809 or find out a general overview at www.tgboutdoordesign.com.au

 

 

Related Articles:

Choosing the Right Landscape Gardeners

Easy Gardening Tips From An Expert

 

 

 








OUR REFERRALS

  • Paula and Jon Whitty
    We knew that we would need a landscape designer with imagination, creativity and the ability to listen to our requirements. When you came to our house you took time listening to what we wanted and the scale of the project. This was important to us, because we were on a budget and timeline. You then offered wonderful suggestions within the scope and offered details. You have transformed our featureless front garden into a beautiful space where the plantings and lovely stone features enhance the natural contours of the yard and existing trees. Our front yard is now more welcoming and complements the look of the house. You gave us a yard that is easy to maintain and and is beautiful in every season. We are extreemly happy with the quality of the workmanship, and your professional nature, and highly recommend you to all our friends. We couldn’t be happier. Thank you!
    Paula and Jon Whitty
  • Gina and Marc Di Paolo
    In November 2012 we commissioned Teedo Beggs to landscape our property in Mount Macedon. The distinguishing qualities that determined our decision to go with Teedo (over other companies we had approached) were his knowledge of indigenous/native horticulture, his understanding of and familiarity with the gardens of Mount Macedon, and his ability to help us to articulate and visualize our own garden on what was a modern architectural structure on a sloping building site. The ‘landscape challenges’ Teedo took on were significant, beginning with a sharply sloping block, significant ‘drainage’ issues, and the presence of large forest eucalyptus trees that we wished to keep. Teedo was able to masterfully incorporate our desire to create a garden that would complement or enhance the sharp angular features of the architecture, protect existing vegetation, include and incorporate native/indigenous plantings, build dry rock retention walls, and provide us with a beautiful outdoor living space that we desperately needed. Teedo’s approach to his work impressed us from the outset because of his uncompromising high standards and attention to detail. Whilst the end results in mid-March may have reflected Teedo’s detailed landscape designs to a T, they far surpassed our own expectations and dreams. Our house on a slippery red slope of Mount Macedon had been transformed into a home with a truly beautiful and functional garden. We are exceedingly proud of what Teedo was able to realize and we highly recommend his work- without reservation.
    Gina and Marc Di Paolo
  • Kate and Dominic White
    Teedo Beggs responds to each garden space as an artist, the plants are his media and the landscape is his canvas. He introduces sculptural elements through natural and constructed materials. The result is an ever-changing work of art. How do we know this? Our family was fortunate enough to be able to commission Teedo to transform our country garden into a magical place. Using existing plant forms, such as established trees he creatively introduced new excitement into the landscape. The keyhole design of the formal front lawn added a theatrical element to the entry of the property. Visitors were drawn into a green, scented walkway off the sweeping drive through rendered pillars with the promise of more beyond. This opened out into the drama of the larger garden where the eye was greeted by a sensual vista full of wonderful perfumes, colour and graduating forms that complimented the enormous Golden Elm. A wrought iron handmade bench seat embedded in a hidden position ensured a comfortable view. Visitors were then coaxed downwards to the unfolding garden scenes around the house. Beautiful features were integrated into the many gardens created on the property. A graduated fishpond with its babbling waterways was set in a ‘Fairy Garden’. A tennis wall on the court beyond was superbly engineered and constructed to appear as a ‘crumbling ruin’ from another era. A post and rail fence of cypress enclosed a kitchen garden that featured generous raised beds of vegetables, accompanied by fruit trees and red brick pathways. This was a joy to work in and allowed us to feed our family. Teedo Beggs was not only artistic in his vision and execution of his ideas, but he was very professional, sensitive to our needs as a client and respectful in the way he conducted himself and his team throughout the project. We would highly recommend him
    Kate and Dominic White
  • Pete & Geri Walsh
    We have engaged Mr Beggs (Teedo) now for three different landscaping jobs at our residence in Woodend. All jobs have involved both design and construction. In respect of design, Teedo impressed us with his ability to listen and understand our requirements. This lead to a number of design ideas of which we were very pleased. In all cases we then engaged Teedo in the construction. We found his work to be both competitively priced and was completed on time as agreed, despite some minor modifications, at our initiation. The work was finished to a high standard and we have had no reservation in recommending him to our friends and colleagues.
    Pete & Geri Walsh
  • Bruce Cameron
    Being determined to make a garden from an overgrown bush block on the steep slopes of Mt. Macedon had/has it’s challenges. Luckily there is a community here of skilled garden loving and knowledgeable peoples. Most of them think that they are gifted and a few of them actually are. Teedo has an abundant and creative mind that can spit out real and never thought of options and can even more importantly manage these ideas and concepts through to a smooth and real outcome. His forte’ is structural garden design and then the project management/implementation of that design. He has an accurate and unusually quick eye for land/earth contours, levels and drainage. These lines evolve into structure, light and shade, harmony and reflections. Working with him has been a straightforward and professional affair. I have never given him a cheque without feeling pride, happiness and goodwill.
    Bruce Cameron

Have a query?

Call 0419 396 809