In general, there are three main considerations to create a quality landscape: design, installation, and maintenance. All three aspects are required for success. A brilliant design that has been poorly installed cannot succed just as an ill-prepared design cannot be saved by quality installation. Failure to maintain a landscape after a great design has been installed will doom your project as well.

The process begins with a thorough analysis of your needs, desires, and budget. (please review and answer our client questionairre at the bottom of this page.) Our designers will arrive for your initial consultation completely prepared. It is best if you are too!

The next step is to schedule a consultation with one of our designers. During this meeting, we will discuss your responses to our questionaire and perform a thorough site analysis. From this visit, the designer will have enough information to prepare a preliminary design. This design will show how your space is to be used, define hard surfaces (patios, walks, and walls), planting beds and lawn areas, special features and structures, and produce a preliminary budget for your project with consideration for phases, if necessary. At this stage of the design process, specific material choices for paving, planting, or structures may not be finalized.

After this initial design is prepared, a preliminary presentation will be scheduled to review the designers layout and then final material selections can be made. The completion of this step will lead to the master plan presentation where the finalized design will be reviewed and a contractual proposal, detailing all aspects of the project will be provided.

Do we give free estimates? An estimate is an approximate price for completing a well-defined job. If you already posess a complete and accurate set of landscape plans with detailed construction documents for a project we are interested in and qualified for, then yes, we would be glad to provide a free estimate. We will also provide free estimates for our maintenance services and snow and ice management.

Most of the time when people ask us if we give free estimates, what they really mean is "Do we design landscapes for free?" Our estimate must be based on a plan and a detailed set of specifications, which are the end product of the design process. So, the usual answer to the question "Do we design landscapes for free?" is no, for the same reasons other professionals (doctors, lawyers, architects, webmasters, financial planners, etc.) do not provide their services for free. A qualified landscape designer has many years of concentrated education and experience behind his counsel. The landscape design process is both time-consuming and exacting. It requires skill, creativity, and the ability to communicate effectively with others using several different types of media. In order to be effective, designers must form a partnership with their clients. All parties must be committed to the project, and trust each other. Such committment and trust is easier when the designer is formally working for the client. Free plans generally do not have the client's best interest at heart. They are usually, at best, a guess as to what the salesperson thinks they can get the potential client to buy - this is salesmanship, not design.

A Spellacy's designer will be glad to provide an initial consultation at no charge. We will also credit the cost of the design to the actual installation. However, throughout the design process, we will maintain possession of our designs until the design fee is paid or the project is complete.

The cost of a design will be determined during the initial consultation, a design contract will be signed, a deposit made, and the design process will begin. Typically, our design fees rarely exceed $500.00 and average closer to $250.00. Again, this fee will be credited toward the cost of the installation of the design.