Comments on: Garden Designers Roundtable: Reality Check! Designers Save Money

By: Jane Marchant

Jane Marchant — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 07:16:28 +0000

Please tell me that you’ve spoken to Dunkin Donuts and have had that poor tree released. I’m going to lose sleep worrying about how much it must be suffering.

By: Doug Myers

Doug Myers — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:09:35 +0000

Thanks Susan for the great post. As a wise man once said “Good design doesn’t cost, but it pays.”

By: Scott Hokunson

Scott Hokunson — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:04:02 +0000

Well said Miss R!

By: Genevieve

Genevieve — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:55:18 +0000

Excellent points, Susan. I love your emphasis on it being a paid consult. People often get free designs around here in my area, but they really aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. I’ve reviewed a number of them for my city and you can tell which ones are free because they don’t specify much, are poorly-planned, have obvious trouble spots, and have plants that are far too big at mature size for the beds they are meant to be planted in. No professional works for free. You pay for it somewhere, and that goes double with a free consult or plan.

By: Lee@A Guide To Northeastern Gardening

Lee@A Guide To Northeastern Gardening — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:13:56 +0000

Thank you Susan for an excellent post!

By: Susan aka Miss. R

Susan aka Miss. R — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:07:21 +0000

Donna–What I also should have said is that the best of professional landscape designers view the process as a collaboration with their clients–they listen and they offer solutions- if the client doesn’t want that solution then another has to be found or it’s the wrong partnership. No client is too difficult. After all, it’s your garden.

By: donna

donna — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:13:04 +0000

Even my best friend who is a landscape designer tells me I’m “too difficult” to work with because I won’t do exactly what she wants me to do. The professionals I’ve paid for designs won’t make the changes I ask for. The builders I’ve worked with have screwed us over and forgotten basics as simple as proper drainage.

Thanks, I’ll do it myself.

By: Christina Salwitz

Christina Salwitz — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:50:41 +0000

Miss R- you wrote exactly what I wanted to say, but I was too chicken! Good on you. I love Miss R!!

By: Kaveh

Kaveh — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:49:17 +0000

I think that river birch might just be into kinky bondage games! I don’t think I have ever seen one quite that trussed up before.

By: Susan aka Miss. R

Susan aka Miss. R — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:23:18 +0000

Jocelyn–It just burns me that people seem to think I can work for free…they don’t.