Did you know that the phrase “Free Landscape Design” is searched over 12,000 times a month locally? Speaking as a landscape designer, just saying the word free when discussing our profession feels like a four letter word, since we make a living from our intellectual property, namely our designs.
So this brings me to the question, are homeowners really searching for a free landscape design plan or just ideas to inspire a plan before they hire a professional?
If you are searching for free ideas and images, then by all means get inspired on the web. There is a wealth of landscaping ideas including great pictures of: arbors, patios, fencing, decks, paving, ponds, water fountains, retaining walls, outdoor fire pits and more.
Of course, it goes without saying that nothing of quality really comes free when designing or installing your garden. You may be tempted by companies that claim they give a free landscape design when you hire them for the entire project. But remember, there are ways to bury the costs so that your design only appears free but you pay for it one way or another.
Speaking to those who enjoy do-it-yourself landscaping, how much would you pay to do the job well the first time? If you have ever planted the wrong plant in the wrong place, had to pay twice to have a landscape project completed correctly and are tired of throwing money down the drain, you are a good candidate for some help from a professional landscape designer.
No website can come to your home and analyze your sun, soil, wind, drainage and other site challenges. No website can take into consideration all users of the site and give you creative functional solutions. No website can really tell you the right plant for the right place in your garden, delivery it, lay it out and find a landscape contractor to plant it for you. No website cares about you enough to build a lasting relationship and to be available to you when you have questions or when issues arise.
I think you get the point. I have listed only a few reasons (click here to read more) homeowners hire landscape designers to get a finished result that they can be proud of and enjoy for many years. What is your reason?
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Thank you Julie, for writing so clearly about “free” landscape design. There isn’t any worth mentioning! As a landscape contractor, EarthCare Landscaping doesn’t hide design fees and pad them into the installation costs; we bill design and installation separately so you see what you are paying for. This, I believe, is more transparent, honest and allows us all to value our time together properly.
–Deva
Well said, Julie. I couldn’t agree more with you and with Deva. Years ago consumers could get a free design from a nursery in exchange for purchasing plants. Perhaps that is what some of today’s consumers remember. While minimizing amateur mistakes, it was not an ideal solution for either the nursery or the customer. For the nursery, sometimes the customer would take the ideas and purchase the plants elsewhere. For the customer, there was not enough time to create a garden that truly met their individual needs and wishes. In today’s rushed and overcrowded world, it may be more important than ever to design a garden that provides peace, joy, and added living space, while also saving time, resources and money. A professional landscape designer is able do just that!
hear hear for honesty and transparency when bidding projects!! great work Julie!! can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked for free this and free that, including designs…some 30 years ago (egad, how can it be that long ago) when I first started I thought that giving away designs was the norm and went along w/ it until I got angrier and angrier as the homeowner would end up hiring the unlicensed guys (before the Home Depot guys existed) and I got nothing out of the deal…don’t know how to combat this other than for each of us in out encounters w/ potential customers to stick to our guns and basically reiterate what Julie has so eloquently written…this needs to be posted on other sites and printed in Sunset as well…kudos Julie!!
Wow! Well said. As a landscape designer myself I run into the same situation, often. Thank you for putting this out there. It is a great gift to us all!
Really a fantastic piece Julie. I agree with everyone on the “free” issue. Anyone can visit a website or a book and come up ideas, but the problem usually runs into the will it work, what will make it flow, and what the end user is trying to envision that fits both of those. If it was so easy there would be no need for a deisgner and since there is, then it must be assumed that hitting those points is not as easy as “free” would entertain us to believe. Grats to you, it is very well put together.
Well said, Julie. I couldn’t agree more with you and with Deva. Years ago consumers could get a free design from a nursery in exchange for purchasing plants. Perhaps that is what some of today’s consumers remember. While minimizing amateur mistakes, it was not an ideal solution for either the nursery or the customer. For the nursery, sometimes the customer would take the ideas and purchase the plants elsewhere. For the customer, there was not enough time to create a garden that truly met their individual needs and wishes. In today’s rushed and overcrowded world, it may be more important than ever to design a garden that provides peace, joy, and added living space, while also saving time, resources and money. A professional landscape designer is able do just that!
Great comment that you made too Deann about the nursery business. Of course, I think it’s great for nurseries to have an on staff designer who can promote their plant stock but its impossible to get a holistic plan when someone has never seen the site. On the subject of free, I often wonder if customers would dream of asking an artist to paint a picture for them for free or for a musician to play a free concert for them. This is how I feel about landscape designers. We are artists and horticulturists and we cannot work for free.
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