How to Prepare for Your Garden Consultation

Think About It!

Reflect on how your garden will be integrated into your lifestyle.
At Your Convenience …

Drawing of a Black StarCollaboration is the process by which your creativity is released!! To best understand your priorities, determine your reasons for wanting a new garden:

  • Improve the entry or circulation around the house;
  • Improve “Curb Appeal”;
  • Create an inviting space for friends and family;
  • Make the most of underused areas;
  • Create a personal space, reflecting your own interests & pleasures.

It’s all about you (and your family)

What kinds of spaces do you enjoy most? What is your favorite place?

  • Natural (forest or meadow) or manmade (buildings or interiors)?
  • Intimate — enclosed — human scale;
  • Grand — lofty — reaching for the sky;
  • On the water — in the forest — at the beach — on a mountain — at a café.

Do you enjoy movement and sound? Or do you prefer quiet, restful solitude?

  • An active participant?
  • An observer

What are your

  • Favorite plants?
  • Favorite colors?
  • Favorite season — what is your birthday month?
  • Favorite Garden Element — water, birds, pollinators, pots, furniture, hedges, lighting, color, whimsy, paths, structures, etc. What are your least favorites?

Where did you grow up? What is your fondest memory of that landscape?

Practical considerations

Do you have any personal requirements (mobility, allergies, sensitivities, etc)? What kind of space is needed for your hobbies (growing food, lawn games, hot tubbing, entertaining, dancing, cut flowers, reading)?

Who will use the garden and how? (Family members, pets, large or small groups for entertaining)

  • Walking around in the morning with a warm beverage;
  • Relaxing after work;
  • Playing soccer or croquet;
  • Exploring, playing with friends;
  • Sitting in the sun or shade;
  • Barbequing and entertaining guests.

What (natural) features exist on your property?

  • Existing hardscaping — fence, paths, walls, etc.;
  • Stone on site — hills, slopes;
  • Moving or standing water (springs?);
  • Existing plant material — new or mature.

Lots to think about!

For our consultation to move along as smoothly possible, I recommend that you spend some time thinking about your garden prior to our first meeting.

You might give some thought about how your new garden will be maintained, whether there are current concerns you’d like addressed (drainage problems, aggressive weeds, …). More questions and reflections can be found here. Or you can download a copy of this self-interview as a Word document.