The City Garden Guru Process

what to expect when we work together

1. Learning about you.

First, it is important that we meet with you at your garden, so that we can begin to understand your goals and objectives, can assess your individual site and can discuss your vision for your in-ground garden and /or container garden, your likes and dislikes and your individual style.

During this site visit, we will examine your property’s dimensions, “bones”, its growing conditions, the sun and shade patterns, any “microclimates” as well as any “borrowed landscape views” we may want to feature. In addition, we may take soil samples, to determine any amendments that your soil requires. Finally, we will discuss budget parameters and timing.

City Garden Guru offers a free initial consultation and site visit, which you can set up in the “Contact” section of the website or via a phone call. Additional site visits and consultations are available at an affordable hourly rate of $100 / hour.

2. Creating a custom design.

Once we agree on your goals for your garden (s), we will design a customized garden and plant palette that will fulfill your needs and desires within your budget parameters.

Whether you just want a raised bed for edibles, a four-season ornamental garden, beautiful window boxes, roof deck containers, a sustainable Native garden or a hybrid of these, City Garden Guru will bring you unique and customized solutions to meet your vision.

Depending on the size and complexity of your garden(s) and/or container requirements, the design fee will range from $300 to $600. If you decide to proceed with the installation of these designs, 50% of the design fee will be rebated and applied to the installation fee.

There are many ways to illustrate the plant palette, container design and /or in-ground design. Typically, if containers (see a sample of containers in the Gallery section) are desired, we will sketch out a design and illustrate it to you visually by taping out the dimensions and heights of your containers in your garden. The plant palette will be illustrated with a detailed Powerpoint that will introduce you to the recommended plants and trees via pictures and descriptions (see attached sample).­

Once the design is approved, a detailed installation proposal will be sent.

3. Bringing the design to life.

As soon as the garden installation proposal has been accepted, we will source all the necessary materials for the preparation of the site, will personally select the best plant material specimens at our partner nurseries and will lay out the garden. Once you approve the layout, we will finish the installation of your garden.

If interested, our clients are very welcome to accompany us on our visit to the nurseries. It can be an incredibly fun day if this appeals to you, the way it does to me..

4. Keeping your garden healthy and happy.

Regular garden maintenance, and in particular proper watering, is critical for sustaining your healthy garden. City Garden Guru can do this for you on a regular schedule or can give you guidance so that you can maintain your garden yourself.

If you choose to hire us for maintenance, we can offer a one-year guarantee on the plants.