FAQ

How much do your services cost?

For new clients, the minimum project or workload is 3 thousand dollars.  Usually, these are new installations or a garden revision that result in significant property improvements.  

Design work is a separate fee agreed upon in advance, which varies depending on the size and scope of the project.

My rates are:
$35 per hour on the Main Line of Philadelphia (a small travel fee is added for commutes over 20 minutes)

$40 per hour in the city -- Philadelphia, New York, etc. 

Subcontractors -- $25 per hour or less

Do you maintain your gardens? How does that work?

Yes, I can provide all of the maintenance except grass cutting. When planting new gardens, I always make sure that there is an adequate maintenance plan.  Some of my clients have gardeners or landscaping companies that perform routine maintenance tasks. In such cases I do only skilled maintenance, such as pruning particular shrubs or trees at specific times and in specific ways, so that both their health and aesthetic appearance are enhanced. 

I have a specific idea in mind... can you make it happen?

If your idea can be realized and if it makes sense from a cost and design perspective, I will make it happen.     

All of my designs are collaborative endeavors with my clients. The client’s needs and dreams are always front and center.  I not only welcome clients’ feedback but insist upon it.

Where do you get your plants? Are you using quality stock?

I have longstanding relationships with the best wholesalers, specialty nurseries and growers in the Tri-State area (PA, NJ and DE).  No single nursery could possibly provide the variety of plants and other materials used in my designs. As the saying goes, "If Michael wants it, he gets it." All plants come with a one year guarantee of free replacement.

How do you work? What can I expect?

From the time of our initial consultation, which is always free, it will take two weeks to a month for me to come up with a design.   I prefer not to rush this process. First I gather your feedback, do a site assessment and take lots of photos.  As ideas accrue in the back of my mind, I may do several site visits to see which of them could work. Then I put them down on paper and present you with a limited range of possibilities. This process may seem long but it is necessary. For design work I charge a fixed fee that's agreed upon in advance, so there's no need to worry how much time I actually spend working out a design for your property.  The installation is done quickly and efficiently. Then we let the garden come into its own and evolve from there.

What are you natural preferences in design?

My natural design tendency is for a rich, nuanced look exemplified by English gardens.  I greatly appreciate the constraints that come from having to follow a certain structure.  Once this structure is found, I will often improvise and make exceptions to it.  However, I always put client's needs and preferences first. For example, some of my clients like a very spare and formal appearance of garden beds.  My challenge then is to make their garden as fresh, delightful and beautiful as some of the more opulent garden beds I have created.