I would love to meet you and walk your site together! Site visits are in-person, free, and up to 45 minutes in length. During our initial meeting, we will talk about your goals for the site, examine its assets and challenges, and discuss what a native plant community could look like and what it could do for you. Within the week, you will hear from me with a proposal for design and installation services. 

The proposal is an itemized breakdown of what my services will cost. The proposal will detail the design fee, the cost of materials, and the installation fee. If you choose to move ahead with the design process, I ask that you pay the design fee only.

Once you choose to move forward together in the design process, I save you a spot in my design queue. I will come out again to do a thorough site inventory and to obtain your plat of survey before beginning the design. Designs are typically presented to you within two weeks and include a detailed drawing, a visualization photo, and plant profiles. Two free revisions are included in the design fee. If revisions alter the amount of plants needed, I'll update the proposal.

If you choose to move ahead with the installation of your design, I ask that you pay a deposit equaling 50% of the material costs. This payment reserves your spot in my installation queue. Every project is different, so I will update you on the timing of your installation once your plant material has been selected. 

At the end of installation, I like to walk the site with you to introduce you to your new plant community, and I also give you a plant care guide for some light reading. I ask that you pay the remaining balance on the proposal at this time.

I want to make sure that your investment in the ecosystem gets off to a healthy start, so I include one year of stewardship with your installation. Stewardship visits occur every other month during the growing season, starting 4 weeks after installation. I invite you to join for the stewardship visits! It is my hope that you’ll become the steward of your own landscape, and that this experience will give you confidence in the garden, as well as a renewed connection to the natural world. 

During a stewardship visit, we will start by observing new developments in the planting. Keeping the health of the ecosystem top of mind, we’ll assess which developments we want to encourage and which one we want to…nip in the bud. Based on this, we’ll take some of these actions:

- weed control

- editing out plants that are multiplying faster than their neighbors

- pruning plants to control for height and flopping

- collecting and spreading seeds

- scything or mowing to provide a new start 

Although our goal is that after one year you’ll feel comfortable stewarding your own landscape, I understand that having hands in the dirt is ultimately not for everyone. If you’d like to continue with stewardship services after your year is up, we can discuss this possibility.