Low Maintenance Landscaping Ideas for Small Backyards
Creating a beautiful and functional backyard space doesn't have to be a time-consuming or labour-intensive task. In fact, with the right approach, you can design a stunning outdoor
Landscape Design Process
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Living Pictures By Tony Stanton (Landscape Design Process)
The Landscape Design Process for Your Melbourne Garden
The design process begins with your ideas, home, site, lifestyle and budget. Tony develops these into an initial concept, then detailed hardscape and softscape plans where required.
Contact Tony to discuss the right level of design detail for your project and current pricing and inclusions.
Concept Design Stage
The initial meeting is an opportunity to discuss your garden, the people using it, the features you would like and the budget available.
Contact Tony for current pricing and inclusions.
When designing a garden, keeping the construction within your budget is important to us. For this reason, it’s in your best interest to let us know what you have budgeted for all the landscaping required to make your vision a reality. If your dream will cost $250,000 containing a custom rock pool, tennis court with lights and you have a very steep sloping backyard that requires massive amounts of retaining etc. but you have $100,000 to spend, the project won’t be going ahead.
We’re on your side, so being honest and upfront with Tony, will help him design your garden using materials and landscape design ideas to keep the project within your budget.
Hand sketches are drawn to conceptualise what’s being discussed. The first step is to design the basic layout. Once that’s been achieved, the sketch is decorated with the type of plants that would suit the style of garden you would like.
Are you after a formal garden, or is an informal cottage style garden more of what you’d like to have? Knowing this then leads to a discussion on plant selection.
Some people like to get out in the garden, cutting flowers for a vase placed inside the house.
Some prefer to have a space to grow organic vegetables.
Many people like the concept of low maintenance, preferring to spend time in the garden with less time working on it.
All of this helps to tailor the concept design sketch to your unique garden space and wishes.
Finally you’ll end up with a picture, a sketch plan (not to scale) that shows where all the plants are with locations for the different spaces you require including entertaining area, swimming pool, lawn etc.
Materials are discussed for the different areas such as paving, decking or concrete. Are retaining walls going to be required because an area that needs to be level is currently on a slope?
As a consequence of changing the landscape, drainage may also be discussed with any stormwater implications noted.
Along with the concept sketch plan, an artistic impression drawing may also be created to show you what the garden will look like in a few years time, once everything has had a chance to grow.
These will be emailed to you once complete.
You will also receive a garden information kit that covers all the information discussed, so you don’t forget anything plus a ball park figure of what the garden will likely cost to build.
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Completed Project With Plants (2 Years Later)
Completed Decking, Retaining Wall & Seats
Project Coordination
Project coordination availability depends on your location, project scope and the contractors involved.
Contact Tony to discuss whether project coordination is available for your Melbourne project.
Residential Hardscape & Softscape Scaled Plans
Depending on the project, the design can progress to coordinated hardscape and softscape plans for the people building the garden. Contact Tony for current pricing and inclusions.
Hardscape construction plans show all the man-made physical structures and elements such as retaining walls, paving and timber decking with excavation levels and stormwater, garden lighting and irrigation specified.
Your hardscape plans will have a complete list or schedule of landscape materials required, specifying the quantities either by LM, M² or weight.
Softscape design plans show all the flowers, shrubs, grass, trees, mulch and soil, plus anything growing in general. A presentation folder is also supplied containing a page of information for each plant supplied incorporating valuable details on how to care for each plant.
The softscape plan includes a schedule or list of all plants, the quantity of each required and the recommended size to buy, or have supplied for you.
Hardscape Plans showing the construction work to be completed by landscapers
Softscape Plan showing plants and their location
Softscape Plan (Colour) showing pictures of included plants
This is the step that separates landscapers who just draw a quick sketch, or spray Fluro paint on the ground from qualified landscape designers who, with expert knowledge factor in objective qualities such as climate conditions, topography and orientation with regards to the weather, site drainage, soil conditions and irrigation.
Just like you would have done if you’re building a new house or making structural renovations, detailed and to scale plans are drawn up detailing everything that will be included for the landscaping work to commence. This leaves nothing to chance, ensuring the vision will be executed perfectly.
A cost estimate will also be included to let you know what the total price will be to complete the project as per the plans, based on experience with licensed landscapers and other relevant tradespeople over thousands of completed landscaping projects.
Note: Before the CAD drawing commences, Tony will come out again, this time taking measurements and levels.
Would You Like Your Garden Landscape Designed?
Have something in mind, Ask Tony for plans.
After completion of both your hardscape construction plans and softscape design plans, you’ll also have a good idea of what the costs will be to transform your current garden into the dream outdoor oasis you’re after.
Whether you’d like a formal or informal design, whether you have a small or large front garden to renovate, a courtyard garden to update or large backyard you’d like to transform, you can trust Tony Stanton to come up with innovative garden design solutions to match your lifestyle.
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