Modern Formal
The Ravine Farmhouse
A new modern farmhouse above the ravine needed a landscape with the same discipline as its architecture, and enough green mass to soften all that crisp siding.
Kestrel Hill · 2025 · Investment $300,000 +
01 · Landscape design
Master plans worth building
Every project begins as a drawing. Our studio draws the master plan, the planting plans and the construction details in-house. So what we draw is what our crews can actually build, and it is priced honestly before a shovel moves.
Landscape design, the Verdant way
A good garden is solved on paper first. Paper is cheap; changing your mind on site is not. We work out grade, drainage, light, views and how you will really use the space before we choose a single plant.
You see two different concept directions, not one idea shown twice. We then develop the one you pick into a full master plan set. That set is yours to keep, whoever builds it.
What's included
- Site walk-through & survey review
- Concept design with two directions
- Scaled master plan & 3D study views
- Planting plans with full plant schedules
- Hardscape construction details
- Fixed-price build proposal from the plan
Step by step
How design works
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Walk the property
A principal designer spends about ninety minutes on site with you. It is free, and you get a written summary after.
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Survey and base plan
We record levels, trees, utilities and sun paths, so every later decision rests on real numbers.
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Two concept directions
Two honest answers to your brief, shown at the studio with sketches and 3D views from where you will stand and sit.
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The master plan set
Every dimension, material, light and plant resolved, ready to price and ready to build.
Want every phase, start to finish? Read the full design process.
Stated plainly
How design is priced
Design is a separate, fixed fee. We quote it in writing after the free walk-through, based on the size of the property and how many garden rooms it holds.
- Fixed fee, quoted before you commit
- Paid in three stages: concept, master plan, details
- The plan set is yours, whoever builds it
Landscape design in the portfolio
Three case studies where this part of the work did the heavy lifting. Each one tells the whole story, with timelines and the investment band.
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Modern Formal
Low Sun Court
A mid-century ranch with a brutal western sun and a cracked asphalt drive became a serene white-and-green composition that peaks at golden hour.
Fernway · 2024 · Investment $150,000 to $300,000
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Outdoor Living Retreat
A Writer's Garden Studio
A novelist needed forty steps between breakfast and the desk. We built a cedar-clad studio at the end of a gravel court, wrapped in a garden that does its best work in October.
Alderbrook · 2023 · Investment $150,000 to $300,000
Client words
“The house finally sits in something. Friends assume the landscape came first and the architecture followed.”
M. & J. Whitfield · Kestrel Hill
“We used to apologise for the driveway. Now people photograph it.”
R. Okonkwo · Fernway
Read more client reviews Sample reviews written for this demo.
Questions about landscape design
Can I hire you for design only?
Yes. About a fifth of our studio work is design only. You get the full master plan set and can build it with anyone. Many design-only clients later build with us, but there is no pressure to.
How long does design take?
Eight to twelve weeks from the walk-through to the finished master plan. Larger properties with several garden rooms sit at the longer end.
Will I see the garden in 3D before it is built?
Yes. Concept presentations include 3D study views from the places you will really use, like the kitchen window, the front door or the terrace.
More answers on costs, timelines and guarantees are on the FAQ page.
Begin here
Every master plan starts with a free walk-through
Ninety unhurried minutes with a principal designer. Honest budget bands, no obligation, and a written summary either way.