How do I start the design process?

The following is typically the process we use to begin to create your garden:

Ginkgo will come out for an interview to develop some insight as to what you want for your garden. You should be ready with ideas of what you want to use your yard for. This can be anything from a vague idea of merely creating curb appeal for your house to a specific vision for a private spa getaway in your back yard. Articulating the use you want your landscape to serve drives a lot of the design process. If you have a preference for design style, this should be expressed as well. This can be vague ideas like "wild and fluffy" to more specific like "an authentic Japanese garden". If you have pictures from books or magazines, they can be very helpful but aren't necessary. 

We will give you a "ballpark" figure of how much the installation is estimated to cost based on this preliminary info. The design fee is typically 5% of of this initial estimate.

Half the design fee is required prior to starting as a non-refundable deposit to create your design drawings.

After completing the design, which typically takes approximately 4 weeks, I'll present the design to you and the balance of the fee is due upon your acceptance of the design.

Now that design specifications are available, I can give you a detailed bid proposal for the installation of your landscape. Please note that the actual bid may differ from the initial ballpark estimate because now there is an actual defined product to bid on. Where at the start there were only vague ideas and vision, with a completed design there are actual numbers, measurements, material choices, etc to base a bid on.