A large landscaping project can transform your yard into an incredible outdoor living space you can enjoy for years to come. However, getting to the point where you can just walk outside and relax on your deck, patio, outdoor kitchen or what have you, takes quite a bit of planning. Transforming a yard is no easy task, even for the experts! When you want to create something spectacular in your landscape, options, decisions and challenges abound. The details for how, when, and what will be done need to be hammered out before a single shovel is lifted. The Eagleson Landscape Company’s process for getting a project up and running shows just how important planning ahead for your landscaping project is.
Our Large Landscaping Project Process:
1. First meeting: The first meeting is the project’s launch pad, where we talk through our clients’ ideas, hopes, dreams, and anything they want to be able to enjoy in their yard. We also get an idea for their style and tastes, and gather information that will allow us to create the initial plan (measurements, yard size, utilities, etc). We determine items like price range, plant likes and dislikes, and product options. For large scale builds like patios and ponds, we uncover what our clients want to accomplish with their new feature to better determine the proper size for their needs. For example, if they are hoping to have a fire pit, table and standing room, they will need a much bigger patio than someone who just wants to fit a table and chairs.
Probably the most important aspect you need to consider while developing a large landscaping project plan is the long-term use you want to get out of your yard. Do you need space for kids? Do you want an extensive garden or “little-to-know” garden? What amount of maintenance can you do? Do you want entertaining space? How long do you plan to stay in your home? What is and isn’t allowed in your neighborhood? What is your dream yard? The more details you share, the more we have to work with to ensure you end up with a landscape you love.
2. Second meeting: Here we introduce and walk through the landscape plan we put together from our information gathering from the first meeting. We receive client feedback on the design and make changes as needed. Then we review cost estimates and determine if the project will be done all at once or in phases to fit budget requirements. We understand that creating a dream landscape may need to be spread out over many years to balance desires and budgets. Then it’s time to let our clients mull over the plan and put their thoughts and emotions together.
3. Finalize: At our last planning meeting, we iron out all the nitty gritty details, make final decisions and map out an estimated timeline. Since landscaping work is weather-dependent, it is nearly impossible to create specific timelines, but we do everything in our power to stick to our expected schedule. However, what is always consistent is the quality of our work—we are dedicated to making our clients’ landscape stunning regardless of setbacks or delays. We communicate with our clients throughout the design and installation process, so they always know the status.
If you have a specific timeline for your project, it is important that you reach out to your landscaper earlier rather than later. There are lead times for every project, and timelines can vary by how decisive you are, the extent of the project, the weather during the project build, what plants are growing well at the growers, and the weather elsewhere in Indy (this affects delivery times on our materials, especially stone).
In the end there are a host of factors that can affect the overall project before and during installation. Life is full of surprises and the sooner planning starts, the sooner things can begin and the quicker we can jump the hurdles that come with every landscape. Our goal is to be timely and to create a gorgeous outdoors that our customers will enjoy for many years. Ready to start your dream landscape project? Email us or give us a call at (317) 997-4803.
Eagleson Landscape Company provides landscape and hardscape services in the Greater Indianapolis area, including Carmel, Zionsville, Westfield, Fishers and Geist.
