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Do you do design only? Do you do consultations? What counties do you work in? What's the process? Do you do maintenance? What services do you offer? What services do you perform "in house?" Do you install a garden designed by someone else? Do you perform commercial as well as residential work? Do you design and build only large gardens? 
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Do you do design only? No, we are a design/build firm. For us, the design and the installation are part and parcel of the same process - we cannot insure the quality, artistry or success of a garden if we do not perform the installations. Do you do consultations? On occasion, if our schedule allows What counties do you work in? Alameda, Contra Costa, and Marin, but on occasion, we will consider work outside these areas. What's the process? First we have a chat on the phone to acquaint ourselves with the scope of the project, to get the gist of what a potential client has in mind, the location, timeframe, general budget, etc. Then, if the fit seems right, we make an appointment to meet on site. This meeting usually takes at least 1 ½ hours. We ask many questions, listen to a client's ideas and dreams for their garden, while sharing our visceral responses to what's being said and what the potential might be. We find walking through the house very helpful for many reasons - to get a good feel for the architecture of the home, the prominent sight lines, the access to garden spaces, and any particular sensibility that the homeowner has established inside that could be developed outside in the garden. It usually takes +/- 2 weeks to provide an estimate for the installation according to what was discussed. Sometimes we work on a bid basis, sometimes time and material. Two sets of figures are given at this time, a basic window for the job and the cost of the design. A list of addresses to see are available should the client wish to take the time. Going forward, we then send out a contract for the design with a deposit required in order to hold a place on the design queue. A small, non-refundable portion is also charged at this time, should the installation not be realized for reasons outside our control. We visit the site, take pictures and measurements, sit awhile… and if there are other ideas that arise upon further familiarity with the space, we share those with the client before incorporating them into the design. The preliminary, though detailed plan is then presented. Soon thereafter, if needed, a final plan is generated in order to address any client feedback from the preliminary plan. Collaborations with architects, engineers, general contractors, interior designers, etc., are always welcomed. We then schedule the installation depending on our queue and the client's preference, if there is one. Do you do maintenance? We do yearly, bi-annual or seasonal maintenance on the gardens we've installed only. We do not do weekly or monthly maintenance but like to keep our hand in our gardens to assure their continued beauty and health. What services do you offer? From design to finished installation, including masonry, irrigation, water features, drainage, carpentry, color consultation, an eye for beautiful things, and a desire to do the best we can, building landscapes as we would our own. What services do you perform "in house?" Our crew performs all aspects of our installations with the exception of pool and poured-in-place spa construction, large scale concrete finishing, and line voltage electric work. Do you install a garden designed by someone else? We've done this once or twice, but generally not. Our preference is to install our own, but if the design is sound, and meets our standards, we could make an exception. Do you perform commercial as well as residential work? Yes we do. Do you design and build only large gardens? We love the unique challenges small gardens present. Every inch counts. |