Landscape Design Services
The Design Process
Experienced and Talented Landscape Design
- Design Consultation
- Conceptual Designs Review
- Presentations of Final Design and Proposal
- Installation
- Project Completion
Consultation & Commencement of Design Services
Step #1
If you are interested in hiring KG landscape for your landscape design and installation project, the first step is to reach out to schedule a landscape design consultation via phone call or online quote request. There may or may not be a design consultation fee depending on the type of design and installation work you’re interested. Fees range from $0 to $150 for design consultations and KG will always inform you of any applicable fees before scheduling the initial consolation. KG does not engage in landscape design work for projects less than $5,000.
At this initial meeting, one of our Minneapolis landscape designers or estimators will talk with you about the work you are considering and discuss some general options and ideas. It’s important for us to understand your wants and needs to help design features that fit your taste and budget. KG will often times provide a verbal ballpark costs for the type of projects you are describing. We know it’s important for customers to have a basic understanding of the costs before getting too far into the process. An example would be, “A patio like the one you are describing typically runs about $12-$15k.” However, KG will not provide written estimates or any formal pricing based on the initial design consultation meeting. A precise bid for your landscape project cannot be provided until the Final Design has been completed, which is typically the last step in the design process.
Landscape Design Price
During the initial landscape design consultation, you will be provided with a fixed price for the landscape design services needed for your project. This price covers all of the design work, revisions, and meetings needed to provide you with a design you’ll love. If you are worried about paying for a design and then receiving a plan that you don’t even like or is too expensive, don’t be! We will make as many revisions as needed until you have a plan you like enough to have installed. Pricing for landscape design work varies with the size and complexity of the project involved, but typically ranges from $500 – $2,000. Once payment is received for landscape design services, KG can get started on your design. The design process takes anywhere from 2-6 weeks to complete depending on the time of year and complexity of the job.
Most often, customers that are looking to get the ball rolling on a project will decide to commence design services with a payment to the designer during the step #1 initial design consultation. This way the designer can get the information, pictures, and measurements they need to start on the design that same day.
Goals of the Landscape Design Consultation
- Learn about the customers wants/needs to determine if KG is a great fit for the project
- Discuss general options and ideas for the project and inform the customer of the rough ballpark costs for the type of improvements they are interested in
- Provide the customer with a fixed price for the landscape design services required and get the site measurements and pictures needed to get started on the design.
Conceptual Design Review
Step #2
The goal of the conceptual design review step is to involve the customer in the design process early on. It’s possible to spend a lot of time on a single design that may not be exactly what a customer is looking for. Instead, KG will most often put together several (anywhere form 2-5) conceptual design layouts to show the customer what is possible and see what they like the best. This gives the customer a chance to look at many different ways of doing something, like the shape and layout of a patio space for instance. Other design companies just show them one take it or leave it design. Once we receive feedback from the customer on which design layout appeals to them the most, we use that conceptual drawing as a template for future revisions.
Below is an example of the conceptual design phase for a customer we did a patio design and installation project for. They came to KG Landscape looking to create a beautiful new patio space where they can eat, grill, and lounge outside. This Edina landscape design customer worked with the owner and lead design Kent Gliadon.
After presenting these conceptual designs to the customer and talking over the pros and cons of each, the customer decided that they liked the look and functionality of design # 3 best.
Presentations of Final Design and Proposal
Step #3
Using the conceptual design that appealed most to the customer from step #2, the designer will begin working on a final design and proposal. Sometimes there are elements from more than one conceptual drawing that will be combined during this phase to create the final plan. The final design will include all of the fine details of the project including: the precise plant list, materials to be used, construction methods, details about grading or outdoor drainage work needed, location of irrigation or landscape lighting, and all of the other small details that will be important for installation work and pricing.
Once we have all of the design and installation details determined, we can provide a fixed proposal price for the installation of the project shown in the design. A detailed proposal will be provided that breaks the project into sections/line items making it easy to understand the cost.
Below is an example of the Final design for the Edina Patio project shown above in step #2. After the customer reviewed the final plan and proposal, they decided to commence the project by signing the proposal and submitted the 30% deposit to book a start date. Start dates are typically booked 2-6 weeks out from the day payment is received, depending on the time of year.
Installation
Step #4
Now that the plan is set and the project has been booked, it’s time to start construction! KG Landscape currently has 4 skilled landscape construction crews that work on one project at a time until completion. This means the same crews comes to your house M-F until the project is done! The Edina patio project used in this example took 4 weeks to complete from start to finish. In order to ensure high quality work, KG uses only the landscape installation crews that it employs full time. This means no waiting around for subcontractors! Here are some pictures of the construction phases of this project.
Project Inspection & Completion
Step #5
Once the project has been completed per the design and proposal specifications, the project will be inspected by our operations manager to ensure that all aspects of the installation work meet our high quality standards. Once this has been confirmed, we typically schedule a walk through with the customer to take a look at the details together and make sure the customer is happy. We can also talk through best maintenance practices and water instructions so you feel comfortable taking care of your new landscape.
Once everyone is happy, we will consider the project completed and the final invoice will be sent. It’s important to know that we take tremendous pride in our work at KG Landscape and will stand behind the quality of our installation. Should you ever have any questions or concerns after the project is completed, know that we are happy to answer any questions you may have or come back out to inspect any concerns you might have.
Below are some completed project pictures from the Edina Patio project used in our examples.
KG Landscape Management stands behind every one of our completed projects. We cherish your choice to have our company perform your landscape design and construction.