This crucial step is what you won’t get from most traditional landscapers, and what makes an ecological landscape sustainable. If we get this right the first time, you’ll get to sit back and enjoy as your garden develops more each year.

Depending on whether we send out soil for testing or not, this phase will take 1-2 weeks.

We’ll dig into:

• Water & Soil

  What kind of rainfall does your property typically see in a year? When it rains or snows, where does the water flow? Do you have any downspouts or other water sources we need to consider?

  What kind of soil is on your site? Is it compacted, clay-heavy, or ready for plants?

• Sun & Wind

  We’ll make a solar map of your site and consider whether where it would be beneficial to have more or less shade.

• Neighbors & Views

  It’s important to consider what’s going on outside the boundaries of your property. Do you have a nosy neighbor you’d like some privacy from? Or a bestie neighbor you’d like to share veggies and flowers with? Is there an HOA with rules about your yard’s appearance, or an adjacent lot that uses herbicides?

At the end of this phase, I’ll create a to-scale map of your property to work from, complete with topography and all of the information we gathered during our site analysis.

This is when things start to get exciting! I’ll take everything we’ve talked about - your goals for your property, your aesthetic preferences, and your site’s conditions - and figure out how to map out your yard.

This is where you’ll start to see your landscape’s “rooms” take shape.

If you’re an experienced gardener, this plan might be enough of a guide for you to get started on your own.

When Phase 3 is complete, you will have everything you need to either install the design we create yourself or hand the plan to landscaping professionals to install for you.

You’ll receive:

• A water flow and drainage plan

  They don’t call Appalachia a temperate rain forest for nothing - it is critical to have a plan for how water enters, moves through, and exits your property.

• A complete plant list and placement plan

  I’ll map out where every single plant should be placed according to your aesthetic preferences, the water, soil, and sun needs of each plant, and the functions of the space.

• Suggestions for hardscape materials and architectural features

• An installation and maintenance plan

  A lot of people find this to be one of the most valuable parts of their custom design. Transforming a whole yard can be intimidating! I’ll break down how to actually implement your design, step by step and season by season.