A design consultation really just scratches the surface
So you've had a consultation with us? Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to meet with you.
Right now you are probably considering the No.1 question - are we the right people to engage to help you create your ideal garden?
While you may have only spent a short time with us, if you've been researching our website and you feel we had a good connection, then maybe you feel you are ready to engage with us.
If that's what your gut tells you to do, great, we look forward to bringing your dream garden to life.
If however you still have questions about us, we thought we'd put together this article to help you.
We believe everyone should be as fully informed as possible before making major decisions. We hope the following information will help you make the most informed decision you can.
Because we would hate for you to make the wrong decision, just as much as you would.
The best place to start is with the hardest questions
While some people are not confident asking the hard questions, we openly invite them. We want you to feel like you can ask us anything, anytime.
Here are some of the questions we welcome from you:
"How do I know you will create the garden I really want, and not just design something you like designing for your brand?"
"How will you make sure my landscaping project stays within my budget?"
"How can I be sure you have the breadth of experience and the skill to create my dream garden?"
"Can you show me work you have done before that looks like what I want?"
"Will my garden be a priority for you or will it take forever to do?"
" Do you have clients I can talk to who are willing to share their experience with us?"
Do we design for our brand or your needs?
A simple look over our portfolio of completed gardens on our website should answer this question for you. You'll see straight away a variety of different gardens, in different styles, each individually tailored to the needs and personality of that client.
We always take your needs, wants, and desires (and yes even your dislikes) into account when designing your new garden.
Some other designers brand themselves in a particular style and people engage with them because that's exactly the kind of garden they want. But that's not us.
We, on the other hand, prefer to discover what it is that you are attracted to and what you admire. We aim to create a garden that brings you the fullest enjoyment possible. A garden that is tailor-made to how you want to live your life, what you appreciate and how you like to use the space. We aim to elevate your experience in your garden to one that provides you with real pleasure, for you and all those you choose to share it with. And above all, we want to create a garden for you that you will be proud to invite anyone over to see.
So yes, we design for you, not us.
Do we design and create gardens to your budget?
Our goal is not just to design your ideal garden. Our intention is to both design and then create your ideal garden.
Usually, the real cause of garden projects not meeting the expected budget can be traced back to the original garden design. If you choose a landscape designer or landscape architect who has no practical experience at being involved in the actual construction of gardens (that is the landscaping work itself) or does not really understand how gardens are built, you can often get a garden design you love but one that cannot be built or one you cannot afford to build. Often this is not fully realised until you have committed to the project.
We believe there is no point in creating a wonderful garden design that is way beyond the budget you wish to invest.
That is why we start taking into account the likely landscaping costs of your desired garden, right from the start of the design process. So, you can avoid the all too common occurrence in our industry of a design that bears no relationship to a realistic budget. Keeping to a budget is something we can do easily, as we are both a landscape design and landscaping company, which means we both design and construct your garden and therefore understand both parts of the process.
Our design and landscaping teams work closely together, ensuring each has an understanding of what the others do. We don't design gardens that can't be built due to being over budget.
Sometimes when we present a concept design for a garden with an accompanying budget, clients will request changes to the design to reduce the budget. Being an integrated garden design and construction company, this happens smoothly. Our landscape team estimate the costs and can easily suggest alternative features that will lower the cost when needed. This does not happen with a design-only company.
Keeping your garden project on budget is just one of the many benefits of the seamless way we work to transition from design to actually creating your garden.
Do we have the skill and experience to tackle your garden?
Over the nearly 3 decades of running my business, I have seen hundreds of garden designs created by various designers.
The skill level displayed often varies enormously. Some have silly things included in them that expose the designer as being new and inexperienced. Some are simply mediocre and have no flair. Many are quite fine designs.
Finally, a few are wonderful
At Whyte Gardens we have been designing gardens for over two decades. Our highly experienced landscape architects and horticultural designers have proven their worth. They have had considerable mentoring from me over the years in certain aspects of landscaping that simply weren't covered in their university course. This means they have a very well-rounded experience.
Of course the 'flair' they demonstrate in their garden designs really comes down to how far you as a client wish them to go.
One little-known fact is that our designers do not work in isolation from each other. Every day they meet to share and discuss the projects they are each working on to bounce ideas off each other in order to improve their design. So when you engage us, you don't just hire one individual designer to work on your garden. You actually gain access to our whole design team.
As for our landscaping crew - the highly skilled professionals who actually construct your garden - our team has between 5 and 20 years of post-apprenticeship experience. They are used to working on high-end landscaping projects with budgets in excess of $500,000. Their eye for detail and their pride in what they do, I personally find very admirable.
Additionally, we have been registered builders ever since the licensing for this was made mandatory in our industry. This has ensured our standards have only ever risen and that our depth of knowledge is put to good use daily.
Can we provide access to past clients who will back up what we say?
Yes, absolutely.
Having created over 550 gardens during the past almost 30 years, we have many clients who would be more than happy to speak with you, to share their experience of working with Whyte Gardens.
Some are even open to you visiting their home to see their garden if that is appropriate for both of you.
Feel free to ask us which clients you could speak to about how much they enjoyed working with us.
Will we prioritise your project?
Yes, we will always work as hard as we can to prioritise your project.
There are 2 key stages to every new garden project - the design phase and the construction phase.
Our standard timeline to deliver a Master Plan (the culmination of the design phase) is about 6 weeks. Does it take longer? Yes, it can!
We understand how busy everyone is these days. So Monday we might email you a question about your design. You are busy so you don't get time to respond till Thursday. This leads to another question and another few days of emails are added. Then we say we are ready to present your concept design and you say you are going on holiday for two weeks or you have an overseas business trip or a conference to attend or your daughter is getting married. Suddenly the six weeks become 3-4 months. It's easy to see how this happens.
We prioritise your garden project around your commitments and deadlines, E.G. you wish to lock in a pool contractor and get permits underway and need at least the concept design to be finalised for this to occur. Then we prioritize getting this done over a design where it is a knock-down rebuild home that only has the house slab poured so far.
Each of our designers might have on average 6-8 designs they are working on. However, some might be new-build home projects where we work with them on a 6-month timeline while the house is being built. So yes we prioritise your project as much as we can but understand it may take a few days or over a week to finish off one clients' design stage before we get back to yours.
As for the landscaping work itself, the construction stage of a garden can often depend on permits being approved first. (Please don't ask how long this can take, as you might not want to know the answer! It can take weeks, months or in rare cases, up to a year! Mostly these timelines are out of our control!)
Once we have all the permits and other necessary approvals we can start the build stage of your project. On average we can complete a garden build within 2-3 months depending on the level of complexity of the project. Does it have a pool included? Is it a very steep site with complex retaining walls etc needed to be built? Are there challenges with access to the site? These are just some of the factors that can extend an average timeline.
And now, the final question!
So, ultimately, why do we believe you should engage us?
Well if you want a professional and competent landscape design and construction company, backed by decades of proven expertise on hundreds of gardens, who are passionate about what we do, then yes, you should engage us.
And if you feel the above answers to your questions are what you wanted to hear, then that's another reason to say yes.
If you still have unanswered questions, we are open to answering them all. We believe that clients should only make fully informed decisions. We hope that we have demonstrated to you in this article that we will do everything we can to help you make the most fully informed decision you can.
Even if that means a no to us.
So please reach out and ask us anything you still have on your mind to make sure you have the high degree of confidence you want in your decision. And then, decide for yourself.
We certainly hope you do choose us because we cannot wait to get started on creating the garden you dream of.
(You may find one or more of these articles informative too!)
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