Our Garden & Landscape Design Services
A natural approach to garden and landscape design.
How Can We Help You?
Our garden and landscape design services and Garden Guidance program found listed below, offer solutions that increase your landscape’s ecological and sustainable function while fulfilling your needs and desires. Are you curious? Before jumping down to our service descriptions, keep reading and learn more about how versatile native plant gardens can be. Of course, if you already know you love them and want to know how we can help you, scroll down to the In-person and Online Programs or contact us!
Many people believe that native plant gardens are always messy and weedy. In the gardening world, a weed is any plant growing where it’s not wanted! It’s all about perception, and a lot of that is based on tradition. It’s what we’ve become accustomed to and expect to see. While native plant gardens often lack the structure of a formal garden, they don’t have to. Native plant gardens can be any style, from wild to cottage to minimalist, and, yes, even formal. You might be surprised to discover that a garden design using native plants can complement the sleek lines of a modern home as easily as a 50s bungalow or a century home. It’s about using the right plants in the correct numbers to create the feeling you want to achieve.
It’s also about understanding different styles of gardens require different levels of management. We include “cues to care” in our garden and landscape design services. What are they? They include things such as a mowed path or stepping stones in wilder gardens. Truthfully, any path in a garden shows that a space is intentional and cared for. Do you want to know another great thing about paths? They encourage exploration! Aside from paths, cues to care can be things like a sculpture, a freestanding water feature, or a bench or chair. Who doesn’t love to have a spot to relax and enjoy nature in their space? Massing and drifting of plants is another technique we incorporate to show design intention and can be used effectively in all types of gardens. These different elements give structure to a garden and show human intent. Check out our inspiration page to see what we mean!
We want you to love reconnecting with nature in your outdoor space! By matching plants to your existing site conditions and each other, the addition of soil amendments can be reduced or, more frequently, eliminated, allowing the plants to amend the soil over time. Exactly the way nature does it. These strategies help reduce the time, effort, and money you spend managing your landscape, leaving you more time to enjoy it.
One more thing…
We realize it can be tough waiting to see your garden mature and a lot of people want instant impact. We feel that way too sometimes. A garden makeover with larger plants feels almost magical somehow. However, we suggest using smaller plants and more of them for our designs. The reasons behind that are:
- Creates a lush, layered garden that is as full or fuller in the same amount of time – or sooner – than larger plants spaced farther apart for the same, or often less, expense.
- Reduces the cost and labour of using repeated mulch applications over time as the plants mass together, creating living green mulch.
- Smaller plants handle transplanting better and adapt to their new conditions more easily than larger specimens.
Watching your new garden grow and mature is an incredibly gratifying experience, magical in its own right. But if you really can’t wait, we get it! Whether you want to start with small plants and impress your neighbours with your skills over the growing season or have an instant impact that makes your neighbours go “Wow!” right away, we can deliver.
Are you ready to discover how our garden and landscape design services can help you be the envy of the neighbourhood and give back to the environment at the same time? Let’s dig in! Check out our services below and then give us a call or fill out the contact form and we’ll be in touch to set up a time for a “Dig In” call.
In-Person Programs
Consultations
Digging In – Site Consultation
Whether you wish to use our garden or landscape design services, Garden Guidance program, or just need some general advice, this two and a half hour‡ consultation is the next step following our phone conversation. We visit you at your site, where you are encouraged to share your ideas, challenges, and end goals, and ask questions.
If you’re following the design or Garden Guidance path, it allows the designer or garden mentor to do an initial site assessment, plant inventory, take photos, and, in the case of design, measurements. First, we’ll go through your completed questionnaire together. Then, we’ll walk the site listening to your ideas and ensuring we fully understand the vision for your space or your garden management goals. Seven to ten days after the consultation you’ll receive your comprehensive review (PDF) outlining our conversation, any additional recommendations, and a request to set an appointment for your in-person design quote proposal.
Looking for expert advice and perspective on a deeper level? Check out our Design Guidance Consultation service.
‡ Consultations are 2 1-2 hours unless otherwise arranged in advance.
* This consultation is not intended to provide specific design advice, plant combinations or placements, or detailed management practices.
Digging Deeper – Design Guidance Consultation *New Service 2024*
Looking for in-depth design advice without needing a paper plan? This is the service for you! We’ll walk your site with you, offering recommendations on your projects, the best order to tackle them, how to address problem areas, possible plant combinations*, and general management advice. Please note this consultation does not include a review or plan. Be sure to have your notebook handy to take notes!
Available at per-hour rate, 4-hour minimum. * Questionnaire to be completed in advance. Please know your soil type.
Call us or fill out the form on the Contact page and we’ll connect with you to set a date and time for a discovery call.
Design & Guidance Services
You’ll need a Site Consultation before booking any of the options below.
Garden Design
Whether you’re a newbie with no idea how to get started or a green thumb looking to go in a new direction, together, we’ll create a native plantscape that welcomes nature into your life. Leave the design and plant selection to us. We can provide you with a thoughtful garden design that complements your home and existing landscaping, your vision and time management goals, and site conditions. Your plant list will include Ontario native plants* that support the wildlife species you wish to encourage** with blooms from spring to fall and create a diversity of texture and colour all year long.
Does not include materials, delivery, or installation. *Ornamental (non-native) species can be included upon request, but we will never include species considered invasive.
**Some plants have very specific growing conditions. If your growing conditions aren’t appropriate for plants that attract certain wildlife species, we won’t include them. We want you and your garden to succeed!
Landscape Design
Does your space need a refresh? Is it functioning to its full potential based on your lifestyle? Whether you’d like to create a private garden room or be the envy of the neighbours, our ecologically based design solutions address your lifestyle needs and desires. Landscape designs incorporate native plant-focused gardens and locally, sustainably sourced, and upcycled materials. We encourage the inclusion of environmental support systems such as rain gardens, rainwater harvesting, wildlife habitat, and composting areas. Together*, we can create an outdoor haven that will grow with you for years to come.
Does not include materials, delivery, or installation. *Please note we are a design and consulting firm and do not perform full builds/installations.
Garden Guidance
Interested in an eco-friendly garden care plan? Whether you purchase our garden or landscape design or have existing traditional gardens, we can help. Garden Guidance sessions outline management programs, providing insight into plant care and soil health, season by season. The sessions explore all-natural soil amendments for optimal plant health and the best plant pruning/upkeep practices, giving you the means to easily take care of your outdoor space with less effort and time than expected. With existing gardens, we may make recommendations for including native species to help reduce the time and effort required to manage your gardens. We will also advise you to consider removing invasive species.
You are encouraged to take notes at the session, but we offer a custom care manual for an additional fee. Price depends on manual complexity and starts at $74.99 for a pdf file.
Additional Services
You’ll need a Design before booking any of the options below.
Plant Material Layout
Afraid you won’t get the spacing quite right? We can save you time and eliminate the stress of sorting and laying out plant materials in their correct placements.*
Does not include materials, delivery, or installation. *Material Layouts are only available to clients who purchase a design through Plan(t) Wise.
Please note: Plants should not be left out in the hot sun in their containers for extended periods. They get stressed out too!
Installation *New Service 2024*
Transform your landscape with our installation services. If tackling your project feels daunting or time-consuming, let our experts handle it for you. We’ve teamed up with a contractor who shares our sustainability values, giving you time to focus on what truly matters. With precision and care, they will bring the designed vision for your oasis to life.
Project Oversight
Have you used our garden or landscape design services? Whether it’s our contractor or yours, and whether you prefer a hands-on approach with daily communication or a weekly visit to address questions or issues, this service acts as a single point of contact, ensuriing alignment between clients and contractors. Beneficial for all parties, it ensures everyone works toward the same goal and that the client’s vision is realized as designed.
The consulting service is also available to DIY garden clients who seek expert guidance in proper plant installation, giving plants the best start possible.
Available as per-hour or project rates.
Online Programs
Container Consult/Design for Balconies or Patio
Want to have butterfly visitors to your balcony or patio? This popular package is ideal for clients with balconies or small patios who want pollinator container gardens. This value-packed bundle includes a thirty-minute online consultation, basic planting plans for three 24” containers (or equivalent), a detailed plant list with horticultural and wildlife support information, sourcing suggestions, a how-to planting guide, and a twenty-minute virtual follow-up meeting.
Once you’ve purchased the package, you’ll receive a request to set a time and date for your thirty-minute virtual consultation. Together, we’ll complete a questionnaire that explores your vision and the conditions your plants will be growing in. Five to ten business days* after the consultation, you’ll receive your custom portfolio and a request to set up your online follow-up meeting.
Package cost is $195 (plus HST)
There is no limit to the number of times you can purchase this package. Extra containers may be added to a package purchase for an additional fee if we’re notified in advance. All documents are delivered electronically. *Business days do not include Saturdays regardless of posted seasonal hours.
Garden Consult/Design
Are you interested in a native plant-focused garden design but live outside the Niagara Region? This is a one-hour online consultation and garden design (up to 250 sq. ft.) for homeowners outside the Golden Horseshoe. This sought-after package also includes a rough hand-drawn planting plan (measurements supplied by you*); a detailed plant list with horticultural information, an ecological value and care guide, plant counts and sourcing suggestions, a customized prep and installation guide, and a thirty-minute virtual post-design delivery meeting.
Once a package is purchased, you’ll receive a request to set a time and date for your one-hour online consultation. Together, we’ll complete a questionnaire and discuss your vision and goals for your new gardens. Ten to twenty business days** after the consultation, you’ll receive your custom portfolio and a request to set up your online post-design meeting.
Package cost is $1450 (plus HST)
Does not include materials, delivery, or installation.
There is no limit to the number of times this package can be purchased. Returning clients may be eligible for a discount on subsequent package purchases. All documents are delivered electronically. *Plan(t) Wise cannot be held responsible for any discrepancies between actual measurements and those supplied. **Business days do not include Saturdays regardless of posted seasonal hours.