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A well designed landscape can add value to your home and ensure that you and your family enjoy your outdoor spaces. With the trends going towards usable outdoor spaces and outdoor living, it is worth engaging the services of a professional to ensure that your garden does what you want it to.
Things to consider
There are several things that will affect the way that your garden is designed and planted. These include if you have pets, if you have children, if you want to entertain or simply relax, if you need a pool or spa, the usability of your garden (growing vegetables and herbs etc), the amount of maintenance you’re prepared to undertake, and the budget that you have.
Landscaping
Landscaping is simply the art of designing and constructing a garden. There are two elements to landscaping –
hardscaping and softscaping. Hardscaping simply refers to the inanimate parts of the garden such as retaining walls, decks, water features and so forth. Softscaping is the living part of the garden- the plants, trees and grasses.
Many landscaping professionals offer a wide variety of services including excavation, paving, concreting, installation of irrigation, rendering, lighting, plant selection, water features and decking, amongst others. Landscaping professionals design the garden, put the project into place and manage the project, and ensure that the various elements of the job are being completed on time.
When selecting a garden design, it is important to look at all aspects of the garden to ensure that elements are correctly placed. You will need to consider privacy, views, and lighting amongst others. Our article on garden design has more information.
Gardening
Gardening, more so than landscaping, is about the ongoing maintenance of the garden to keep it looking its best. There are plenty of maintenance tasks to undertake such as watering, mowing the lawn, weeding the garden beds, replacing and/or adding plants, pruning shrubbery and trees and so forth. Ask yourself if you are prepared to undergo the maintenance required or if you would prefer to get a
professional in to do it for you. There are many professional landscaping and gardening companies that will do the work to a high quality for a reasonable cost – leaving you to reap all the rewards!
If you are planting new plants yourself, a nursery will be able to help you select the correct plants for your area. Choosing plants for your local conditions means that they will thrive.
Other Considerations
A landscaping project can be quite considerable cost-wise, so a good rule of thumb to try and stick to is to not spend more than ten percent of the total value of your home on the garden. This amount of money includes all of the elements of the garden, not just the plants. If you have a limited budget initially, try to spread the project out over a number of years as your budget allows.
Because a new garden is such an outlay, try to keep the design as simple and classic as possible, so that it will be lasting and timeless.
Hiring a Professional
A landscaping professional is able to carry out many services for you such as consultation, design, coordination of tradespeople, liaising with local governments, helping obtain building approvals and development applications, sourcing of materials and handling of payments. This comes under project management and the professional may charge a fee for this service so it is best to ask what their fee is, if any, before hiring them. If you have had a
garden design drawn up, ensure that the design is as detailed as possible, so that the quotes you receive are accurate.
Also ask to see the professional’s qualifications, references and ask what experience they have had. You want the professional to share your vision so comfort with the professional should be a major factor in your decision.
If you are a hiring a professional to do garden maintenance, ask what their fees are for various services. Compare these fees in order to get an idea of how much things cost. Ask what experience they have and ensure that you see their qualifications. If possible, get references from other clients.
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References
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Associations
Australian Institute of Landscape Designers & Managers Ltd
Australian Landscape Industries Association
Landscape Association of South Australia
Landscape Contractors Association of NSW
Landscape Industries Association of Victoria
Landscape Industry Association of Western Australia
Queensland Association of Landscape Industries
