Our process starts with an on-site meeting to understand your garden goals and preferences. We enjoy the process of understanding how our clients want to use their gardens and how a planting could enhance that experience.

This no-cost meeting allows us both to determine if Leaf and Spade is the right fit for your project, while also providing an overview of the design process, timelines, estimated design fees and who we are as people.

Once the design fee deposit is made, we schedule a site assessment to get to know the space better. During this visit we make detailed site measurements (to check against any existing measurements in the client’s Plat of Survey, if available), take extensive photographs, and assess the existing soil, light, and water conditions so that we can create a design that builds on the specific conditions of your space.  Additionally we inventory the existing plantings that may be suitable for reuse in the new design.

This site assessment is a critical step that goes a long way to help us insure that we are using the right plants for the conditions present.

From this visit we create the initial site drawing with the proposed garden and hardscape layout (outlining proposed planting areas and hardscape, if applicable). This layout is based on client goals and is presented for client review before the planting design begins. Once approved, planting design moves forward.