An experienced, trained landscape designer can save you money on your plant selections and the overall design of your home’s landscape. Landscape plans can cost anywhere from $300 to $3000. A good designer can visualize possibilities that you may not have thought of, and can select the plants that will work in the cultural conditions of your yard. How can an expensive plan in the $1,000.00 range or higher (gulp) save you money? We’ll get to that.

So what do you look for in a landscape designer? Here’s my short list:

– someone who listens;

– someone who has horticultural training–not just a Master Gardener, but actually completed schooling. A master gardener has 88 hours of training, this year focusing on vegetable gardening. Someone with a background in horticulture with a certificate has at least a year of training at 20 hours per week.

– someone who has an eye for blending landscape and archtecture. Want to improve your home’s value? Then have the landscape work with the style of your home. While this seems like a simple idea, it is often overlooked. And it takes training to do this. Does your designer have the education in this? Ask!

– someone who has an intriguing Web site with projects you like showing their experience;

– someone who has been in business for several years with a legal license to do business;

– someone who works under the auspices of a contract; and

– someone you like and can work with.

Pulling together a landscape requires some work on the part of the home owner. You need to have an idea of what you need. To help you through this process, most good landscape design Web sites will have a questionnaire you can fill out and e-mail to the designer. This questionnaire can be reviewed and brought to the consultation. Do you want to landscape the front or backyard? Or both? Do you have full sun? Drainage issues? Do you have a certain style? Do you have allergies? What type of soil do you have? Do you have pets or children? It’s a long list of things to consider. Take a look at my questionnaire on-line: http://www.downtoearthgardens.com/contact/questionnaire.php

Take a stroll around the Web site and see what they’ve done for other people. Some designers are tricky. They take one project and take a million pictures, putting different aspects of that single landscape under different categories. Try to find a designer that lists jobs as projects. Then you can see the projects as a whole. You want to see all the pieces of the puzzle together. And, while a certified designer may have lots of book knowledge, he or she may not have a good eye or the vision it takes to combine plants and hardscape (patios, walls, pathways) into a functional space. Checking the a designer’s project work is important.

At the consultation, you and the designer work together; you tell her your vision and the designer throws out suggestions as well. Most seasoned landscape designers will give you not only a functional landscape, but one that fits your needs and enhances your property. Find out from the designer what their fees are. Some designers work by the hour. If they do, find out about how much time they think it might take to complete a plan. Full landscape plans can range anywhere from 10 hours to 50 hours or more. Do you have a large property, say, 5 acres? or do you have 1/8 acre? It makes a difference. Do you want only a bed done in the back? Do you want a designer to design custom patio patterns, hand-pick furniture, design one-of-a-kind trellises? You are hiring a professional who has spent time – years – learning a craft. Finally, do they draw their plans by hand or do they do it as a Computer Aided Design? CAD plans can offer more –detail drawings, separate plant listings, maintenance tips. Because databases of information can be stored, you get more information at the touch of a button.

Next: sign the paperwork. This protects both you and the designer. You both have a clear idea as to what will happen. The designer knows what you want and you know what you will get and at what bill rate.

Why the variation in costs? No two landscapes and no two home owners are alike. A landscape plan that includes custom trellis design, for instance, will be more pricey. It takes time to design trellises, or ornate wrought-iron fences that are custom made. There are ways to keep costs down. Tell your designer your budget. That way she will know which materials to choose to make the dream a reality–a beautiful reality still, but one you can afford.

When you go to a nursery for landscape planning advice, expect to get what you pay for. They can’t see your property; they don’t know the cultural conditions except for what you tell them. Photos are a help, but really, walking the landscape and seeing the topography, the sun pattern, soil issues–it’s all part of designing a plan that works. A good designer will see things that you have never imagined and share them with you as you walk about. These things might be potential issues, such as overly wet spots that might indicate drainage issues. And, they may envision different layouts from what you have imagined that are more effective and fluid.

If you want to get to know them, hire them for a consultation. Pay the fee–from $50 an hour to $150 an hour depending upon experience–and be prepared with a list of questions to ask, and a pencil and paper to write down the answers and any other guidance they give you. If you like them, ask how much their plans cost. If they work by the hour, be specific about how much you can spend and if you sign paperwork, make sure that number is in the contract. This way there will be no confusion later.

By looking at their Web site, you can check the plants they use. Remember each locale has a plant “palette” specific to a region. If you want some great perennials, look for a designer that has done some terrific perennial gardens.

If you hook up with a landscape company, they may offer you a plan for free if you have them install the landscape for you. Be aware that this plan is not truly “free”. They will make their money back in spades in the landscape install process. And, the plans may be quickly done without much thought. Designers have people they work with who do the installation for them. These installers do good work; the designer has often worked with them over the course of several years, and usually they offer more than one name so you can compare prices.

Designing a landscape is a process. After the consultation and the paperwork signing, the designer returns after 2-4 weeks (or longer if they are busy) with draft ideas that are drawn up (in my case, in AutoCAD). These are potential plans. You can pick and choose which ideas you like best and they get re-combined into a master plan.

Then, you receive your final drawings. You call the installers, get your estimates, and, using the specs the designer has drawn up for you, materials are ordered and the installation begins. Many designers like to choose plants for their clients. They hand pick great specimens, looking for plants with beautiful shapes that are in good health. And, they can deliver them to your door. You may want to have them do this for you.

It’s fun and rewarding to see the project finished. You will be enjoying beautiful plants and landscapes designed in your style for many years to come.

Nancy Tom is teaching Landscape Design 101, Selecting Plants for the Landscape (April 15), Vegetable Gardening and Edible Landscaping at the Peter Kirk Community Center this April and May. Call 425-587-3360 or go to www.kirklandparks.net and click on the Kirkland Parks brochure link.