What does engaging the wrong designer look like
To the untrained eye, a design could look fabulous.
Have you ever gotten to the end of something and thought, "If I had my time again, what I would do differently is..."? Hindsight has a sour taste.
This article will outline those things you might only become aware of 'after' having completed your design. If you have the knowledge beforehand, you can make informed decisions.
Experience has no replacement
When talking to a prospective landscape designer or landscape architect, always ask about their experience.
- "What type of garden do you design?" - this can come under the heading of style i.e. cottage, coastal, contemporary, etc.
- "What is your plant knowledge like?" - you may be surprised to know that someone who has been to university and become a Landscape Architect has almost no plant knowledge as it isn't taught.
- "How many gardens have you designed?"
- "Where have most of your gardens been located?" - familiarity with the climate and what grows well in the area can help. If the designer mainly creates a coastal garden, then a Glen Iris garden which is an old market garden area with lovely thick topsoil, requires different planting.
- "Who are your typical clients?" - the gardens designed for a Melton home are not the same as a typical Hawthorn home and may influence what they design for you.
- "What is your experience designing irrigation systems; which lighting supplier do you recommend; what stone suppliers do you recommend; etc"
- "What timber decking boards do you like recommending and why?" - inexperienced designers recommend 135/19mm spotted gum without knowing the consequences for incorrect times to use it.
- "What is your knowledge of structural elements like verandas?" - you might be surprised to see they don't know the difference between a pergola and a veranda.
Ask to see examples of the designs they have created
When you ask this, you have the chance to inspect a design and see it has the following details:
- Is there a complete plant legend that should look like the one shown below? A mistake the novice makes is that they do not detail the pot(container) size to be purchased and sometimes even miss adding the quantity.
- Have they detailed it enough so a landscaper can provide an estimate for your landscaping? E.g. the design states, "Silver Travertine", what size, who is the supplier and what are the actual products as there may be many? - How do you provide a cost for this?
- In the example below you will see the landscape architect has not detailed the supplier for the stone, why? Surely such a specifically worded paver comes from somewhere. Also, you will see in this example where our landscape team have altered the detail with a red box text, stating what materials should actually be used. The inexperienced designer has suggested 12mm thick bluestone pavers which when that thin require gluing not mortaring and unnecessary. The 135mm wide decking boards have no ventilation to support them and will 'cup' (curve) so 86mm is suggested. Suggesting in F03 that pavers have "minimal cat paws(natural air pocket holes)" how are they suggesting this occur? You can't tell the supplier not to send you them. You simply choose a paver that is known not to have many as part of the design phase.
How well does the designer understand building regulations?
This is where you need to ask the designer, "How do you design with building codes in mind?" When you ask this, a positive answer like, "We have decades of designing complex projects, let me show you an example of one to explain this." should be expected. If you get a, "Well er, I leave that up to your chosen landscaper", it best you consider how complex your project is and what you need your designer to know.
Who is going to correct all the details?
If you create a design because the designer is 'cheap' and then think, "Oh well, the landscaper can help me with that" please understand, that the landscaper who now has to wear the designer hat may want to re-design it and spend time with you changing it all to what they like to build. Do you want to start revising the design, without access to the CAD file to change anything in the design, and have to add notes on Word docs of what all the changes are? It's messy.
Avoid having to go backwards by engaging the right designer from the start.
How will they guide the design within a budget?
There are further articles on our website that answer this in full but, if you engage a designer who does not understand the true cost to build it you are heading for upset. The screenshot of a part of the design shown above was provided to the client with the landscape architect stating a list of costs that showed it would be $100,000. When we cost the project it was just over $200,000. Most designers avoid even talking to you about costs and those that do, get it wrong. So ask the designer how they can confidently know the design will meet the budget.
So, how do you engage the right one?
Hopefully, this article has helped but there are many other articles I suggest you read on our website that will widen your understanding of the answers to this question.
Additional articles covering Landscape Design and Construction in Melbourne you could find helpful...
What is a 'Concept Design' in Landscaping?
When is the right time to engage a landscape designer?
What should I ask a landscape designer before I engage them?
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