Is Landscaping Only For The Rich?

[Steve]

Recently I read this funny and smart analysis from The Garden Rant blog (http://www.gardenrant.com/my_weblog/) where one of the ladies visits the home of an intimidatingly wealthy family with a landscape that could modestly be called "incredibly beautiful". (The article is here: http://www.gardenrant.com/my_weblog/2006/07/rich_peoples_ga.html). I have visited and worked on equally fascinating and other wordly projects........Japanese Garden themed with roaring or gurgling waterfalls and forested areas within the landscape, bizarrely pruned trees and shrubs, topiaries, all of which were impeccably serviced and maintained. Lawns you could eat off of, lol.

Just this past year we began one, similar in ways to that. He has spent over $250,000 on his landscape and has an eye to detail as well as to the needed landscape within his 10 acre property. Naturally, we began with larger trees, spaced to eventually fill in at strategic spots. Now, we paid a bundle for these bad boy trees, although, to be honest, I got a slew of them on sale, lol. (I mean a big sale, some 70% off.) I have done others, outrageously-priced, demanding projects with amazing results............and, yes, for the rich. They are satisfying as hell to do, from the landscape designer's and the installer's perspectives. Nothing like them, in fact. One literally needs to study for aspects of many of these unique projects. Motors (we put a diesel engine to put water over some rocks in Seattle at Microsoft Headquarters), electrical problems in lighting (one house we did took 250 lights! including optic fiber.) installations conundrums (we used a 180 ton crane at the Portland Chinese Garden to set trees!), and plant hardiness, transplant issues, and, Lord all that and more. Very stimulating, to say the least.

Which brings us to the reason for this long post: Can a smaller budgetted homeowner realize even a tenth of those wonders on his small budget? Is landscaping just too costly to enjoy for anyone but the rich?

Fortunately, my answer is a resounding yes! And I mean it. Planning, planning, planning is my major advocacy. One needs to, first, simpify what one is looking for. In my spiels to clients, one of the foremost factors I insist on their considering is that this landscape, while not the priority of kitchen cabinets, bathrooms, carpetting and the concerns of other indoor living areas may also be, in it's own intention, yet another "room". My fondest hope, when I leave a project, is that people will adapt it to their everyday living patterns and exist, outdoors, in all that nice and not so nice weather in the middle of their "outdoor extension" of their living area. I want to extend their living space, literally.

Knowing this frees one from some bothersome considerations. Intimidating comparisons to other homes, misuse of space and possibility from poor planning and an attitude of feeling "forced" to complete landscaping projects to finish the home compete with optimistic and cheery possibility. A good plan is everything. Completing the actual tasks of installing it all can be done in any number of ways, none of which have to be of the order of painful, whatsoever. Start small, take the time to feel comfortable, and enjoy more the entire process.

Phased construction......install an irrigation system and, perhaps the larger trees first. Install patios and hard surfaces, walls, if necessary, maybe even a water feature next. Plan these all as you go. One can always add plants and flowers once these tasks are completed. Work at it and stay within a realistic budget. Above all, let it grow. One does not have to mimic "the rich" by planting humongous stuff right away. The fact is, most plants can be purchasd for half or less of the cost and, within 2 years, be the same size as those pricey "instantly gratifying" specimen plants.

Taking one's time also means one can watch the development over time. Other little secrets extending the living area involve things like smell, sound and light. Lights are the most fabulous bang for the buck! Good lighting can create a virtual "limit" of your landscape, a sort of "wall" where uplit trees form the outer boundary of the area you care about. "Hotter" lighting can enhance other features as well, like waterfalls or gorgeous trees or plants or even flowers. One can light up a pathway. By using light, one can make the landscape seem like a meandering trail for night times.

I will include photo's of some moderately-budgeted projects I have done in the next thread. I might include some rich dude's place, but I want to illustrate what a small budget can eventually achieve.

[Steve]

Some Examples:

This one took more than a year to complete. The total budget was less than 26K, and they paid as they received enough to continue. It remains one of my favorite landscapes. We bought small plants and the people added many of their own. They were patient and thorough.

[Steve]

This one is a front yard. We placed the curving pavers outside a very straight and utilitarian sidewalk and wound it to the back yard, where we made a patio. Something like this is simple, yet very effective in producing a more pleasing line and flow. One pleasant aspect of landscaping is "discovery"......having sights, smells, sounds and light "open up" as one travels alonmg a pathway or walk. One can find the same in landscsaping in general by traversing over a lawn, for example; finding yet another area of interest one did not expect. New colors, new sights and smells, new mini environments that add interest.

Something as simple as this made a world of difference and was not expensive at all. Indeed, one could do it oneself.

[Steve]

This one we used simple crushed gravel and stones with, making a patio out at the peak of his property and making a sort of weird table/bench. Set the stones, put in the Decomposed Granite, a few young plants, Voila! Not expensive in the slightest, great for weed control, it takes advantage of a hella viewpoint and sits away from the crowd by the house. Nothing expensive here, but effective. As plants develop, it will become even much more attractive.

[CactusLady]

YES, yes and YES, I totally agree with you, you can have wonderful landscaping ideas that can come to fruition. Yes, its about planning and researching too. You might want an idea that looks like marble, but you can get products that imitate the look, so your costs are reduced. But.............well there had to be one ;) I cannot help but think if you had yards of money that the end result has got to be more stunning than if you are on a budget.

What I´d also like to ask

do you think someone on a smaller budget gets more enjoyment, pride, etc out of the finished product than a rich dude might. :think:

I ask this cos I remember a silly programme about M.Jackson going shopping he walked into this store. All he did was glance at something and say, oh 3 of those, 12 of these.........there seemed no enjoyment or pleasure in the actual process, you know, like thinking oh yes that would go here well, or that will fit with the .... or I would like that in blue if poss....For me planning anything in your garden is a big fun part of the process, going through the pain of redesigning, adjusting etc. When its all done you´ve been there pal - BIG TIME !!

I am sure rich dudes enjoy the finished work but I think someone on a budget has a greater depth of the whole experience. IMO of course

[LokisMum]

Some Examples:

This one took more than a year to complete. The total budget was less than 26K, and they paid as they received enough to continue. It remains one of my favorite landscapes. We bought small plants and the people added many of their own. They were patient and thorough.

I absolutely adore this one. The pool looks so calm and relaxing.

[Steve]

LOL, Colleen, he's an ex L.A. cop. He has been one of the most participating guys I ever saw, just loves getting dirty, working with wood, that sort of thing. His wife, too. The landscape is really "their" project, in the end. We spent quite a bit of time going over ideas, tweaking this and that, then even changing some things 'on the fly'. He asked for plants we might be removing from other places and we did..........those things need lots of TLC and, frankly, are not always successful because of our pace of work, you know......we can get sloppy, too, trying to balance the time between taking things out and loading them, then taking them off the truck, etc, etc. But he was Johnny on The Spot with transplant hormones and B Vitamins. They are also "natural" freaks, lol.......no chemicals!

Below are two more shots from different perspectives. About a quarter of the plants we provided there they merely paid labor for, as transplants, throw aways from other jobs. They were patient enough to wait for a call from me: "Hey, you want some Veriegated Dodwood shrubs?" "Heck yes! Bring 'em!" LOL.

The front entry (bottom photo) was all transplants or 4" pots and one gallon plants. It cost a quarter of what it would cost strictly estimated and straight up commercial.

[Steve]

"I am sure rich dudes enjoy the finished work but I think someone on a budget has a greater depth of the whole experience. IMO of course."

Frankly, it's hard to gauge how much pleasure anyone gets from anything, in a way. I had a lady literally crying, once, I swear, when we finished one job and walked it with her. I said: "Well, do you like it?"

It was all it took: "Oh, Gosh.........."(sniff sniff, then a sobbing:) "I love it!" (Wahhhhh, lol). She was wealthy, lol, and she got this sort of "Garden of Her Dreams". So, yes, some wealthy folks do indeed get a huge measure of pleasure.

That being said, the pride of effort and completion cannot be compared, even. When I am lucky enough to be involved with someone as actively engaged as, say, the persons spoken of above, it is so win-win, I literally join the family. I have a number of places I could call up and get fed, on demand, lol. "Beer, Steve?" Duh. The feelings are so completely copacetic, it seems illegal, at times. One makes lifetime friends, let me put it that way. Their referrals testify as well to the pride they feel about what we accomplished.

So, no, while "the rich" may well enjoy the heck out of what they see presented, and who may enjoy it thoroughly as "another room", they have little idea of what we refer to here as the pride of involvement and the sense of accomplishment for the hard work and dedication just dripping off a killer landscape they helped with or did themselves. To me, it is not even debatable. Be proud. Only you can know the depth of pride and the feeling of a job well done by one's own hand. (To say nothing of the fact that your job might even be better-looking, lol.)

[LokisMum]

LOL, Colleen, he's an ex L.A. cop. He has been one of the most participating guys I ever saw, just loves getting dirty, working with wood, that sort of thing. His wife, too. The landscape is really "their" project, in the end. We spent quite a bit of time going over ideas, tweaking this and that, then even changing some things 'on the fly'. He asked for plants we might be removing from other places and we did..........those things need lots of TLC and, frankly, are not always successful because of our pace of work, you know......we can get sloppy, too, trying to balance the time between taking things out and loading them, then taking them off the truck, etc, etc. But he was Johnny on The Spot with transplant hormones and B Vitamins. They are also "natural" freaks, lol.......no chemicals!

Below are two more shots from different perspectives. About a quarter of the plants we provided there they merely paid labor for, as transplants, throw aways from other jobs. They were patient enough to wait for a call from me: "Hey, you want some Veriegated Dodwood shrubs?" "Heck yes! Bring 'em!" LOL.

The front entry (bottom photo) was all transplants or 4" pots and one gallon plants. It cost a quarter of what it would cost strictly estimated and straight up commercial.

That's incredibly beautiful! I wish I could get hubby to let me have free reign on our yard, but all I dare do is dig more flower beds when he's not there and put plants and "moveables" in. He won't even let me put benches in - doesn't like the wood ones because he says the wood turns no matter how much time you spend on it, and the concrete ones are too heavy to move. He likes lawn - it's his baby and I'm surprised he hasn't said more about all the flower beds that keep "popping up" when he's at work on weekends in the spring. When I take my gardening week off every spring, he justs shudders and wonders what he's going to come home to each night! :lolup:

[Steve]

Colleen: "He likes lawn - it's his baby and I'm surprised he hasn't said more about all the flower beds that keep "popping up" when he's at work on weekends in the spring."

Somehow I missed this, lol. Almost all guys like lawn. It's pretty, it's flat, you mow it and you're done, you can have a better one than somebody else, and you can play on a machine to mow it. It just don't get better than that.

Your mysterious "Bed Thingies" are hilarious, here's an idea: put something really supe butt kicking with huge blooms........like Hibiscus or Dahlias in one of those beds, maybe Peonies ........anyway, somthing bright and big. I bet when they come out, he'll njoy them.:rose:

[Steve]

I am resuscitating this one owing to its great title and the cool article featured here. I confess I miss many of the posters who were responsible for the length of the thread. It is what it is..........I got distracted and we lost so many marvelous posters as a result.

Funny how things work, you know. They remain dear to me. If you're out there, lol, I am now a 24/7 kind of guy! Helloooooooooooo............:SmilieDaisy:

[Barryz]

Steve, we all are here - it just that our dirty hands are too busy to spend time on computer LOL I have many new beds, baby beds, a lot of new plans - remember, I'm the one who does landscaping on her own on a way smaller budget than your examples, and on much larger area - our lawns are just 12 acres so far.

My belowed metasequoia survived the winter nicely as all other imported plants so I'm happy and busy digging, weeding and planting! And watering! After very very wet winted the dry spring has come.

[Steve]

Anna, it is truly great to hear from you. I thought that Latvian Winter had buried you!:lolup:

Good to hear about your MetaSequoia, big time. Too cool. By the way, did you wrap it or just let it fend for itself?

Nice to see you back!:jive:

[Barryz]

I must wrap it for few first winter - the plant was not grown here, it was imported from Holland so first few years extra care. My black maple tree - the same story and few others.

And now I'm spending most of my free time on internet in horse community - in january we found ourselves as owners of spoiled, bored huge Latvian breed (over 2000 lb) horse (long story, basic rescue) and as I never ever before had a horse, the self training of myself is going quite hard :D And next weekend we shall add another rescue horse (with heaves or COPD) so my hands are FULLLLLLL!

But my little head gardener is doing great, working nearly every day and he even does not mind weeding! Imagine - 14 yo boys who likes to weed! He is a real treasure!

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