Earthworks is a design/build contracting firm, which means that we first design a plan for a project, then we send our crews out to build it according to that plan.  Here's a brief overview of how the process works.  Stripped to the basics, a landscape design or plan has three components: the client, the site, and the designer.

The Client(s)

The Site

The Designer

Building the Design/Plan

Landscaping Jobs - Before and After (Photos Coming Soon!)

In our case, the client(s) is usually the owner of the property that needs landscape products and/or services of some kind.  Most times it is a residential homeowner, but sometimes the client is a business or a government agency. All clients have wants and needs that will have an impact on the design/plan. The first step is to schedule a meeting at the client's site to do what we call a "walk and talk" meeting. We'll walk the site together, asking questions, listening to your likes and dislikes, and exploring possibilities. It's important for us to understand your preferences in plants, color, style and materials. We'll ask you to gather pictures you like from magazines and/or books, and if you like, to make a wish list of what you would like to have (or not have) in your landscape. We'll also ask your family's lifestyle, because that will affect the final design. The more you can tell us about what you want and need the easier it will be for us to design a landscape that "fits" you and your lifestyle. After our wank and talk meeting, knowing the scope of the project, we will quote you the design fee; it usually ranges between $250 and $750 depending on the size and complexity of the project. Larger, more complex, projects can cost more.

The physical site has a lot to say about the design/plan as well.  It has certain characteristics that affect the design: it has specific soils, vegetation, existing features, topography, exposure, etc.  that must be taken into account.  Therefore, our second step is to do a site analysis, while carefully measuring and locating everything on site on sketch paper.  We also take digital pictures, spot elevations, compass readings, and jot down notes about both the constraints and opportunities of the site.  Back at the Design Office we draw a detailed base map or site plan to 1/8" scale, and compile our pictures and notes.

The designer's job is to use his/her training, skill, experience, and creativity to combine or "synthesize" all the gathered information (almost like a cook) and creatively design a plan that meets the client's criteria, honors the site, and is do-able and on budget.  After the plan is finished, we do a detailed price quote, and arrange another meeting with the client(s) and present the plan and price quote with them.

Lets assume that the client loved the design, is was within his/her budget, and they said "When can you start?".  At this point we're only halfway there - now we have to install the plan at the client's location.  The first thing we do is schedule the job and tell the client he/she can expect us.  Let's also say that we  have an opening and will be able to start this job in the next two weeks.  First, we obtain any permits, if needed (sometimes the owner does this).  Then we call Digger's Hotline and have them mark all the underground utilities on the job site - it takes three work days, so we have to call them in advance.  Next we check to see if there is any coordinating we need to do with any of our subcontractors, or possibly the client's contractors/subs.  We want the job site to be ready for us when we're scheduled to start, and we want to be coordinated with anybody else that's working on the site.  Finally, we make sure we have all the materials we need for the job, and we go over the best sequence of the steps needed to get the job done productively and with quality workmanship.