The concrete network, linked below has lots of cost estimate pages for various items. I spent days there comparing prior to deciding on what we would do.

When you get people out for estimates, ASK them if they know someone who does this or that. You will get some great recommendations. Contractors, and landscapers know people in the business, and have contacts with workers in your area.

Craigslist is also great for finding workers who NEED work and have good prices. Get bids. Make sure whomever you hire for any retaining wall work is licensed and bonded.

Look on the web in the Yellow Pages and visit websites of local landscape or concrete contractors. They usually have before and after photos of work they have done.

Master Gardeners will come out and make recommendations for no cost. Google Master Gardeners in your area. You will be surprised!

Good luck!

Suzi

Here is a link that might be useful: The Concrete Network

With designers, it depends what they're willing to do. My own policy is simple - pay my design fees and be cool to work with and I'll landscape a dog house. I just want to do cool projects. Others do, of course, limit it to the bigger jobs.

I'm always going to err on the side of "start with a designer" because I'm self-serving, but there are reasons. For me there are two big ones (assuming you're working with a good designer):

1) everything looks like a nail when all you have is a hammer. So you call a concrete guy out, his recommendations will revolve around concrete. Because we try to design what's right for the space, the budget, and the client, I don't feel designers are as constrained.

2) if the designer's been around the block and has a number of projects under his/her belt, they'll have a good ballpark idea of what things you're asking for will cost. Better to get that out of the way before you get invested in a concept. I met with someone who thought she'd get a large gunite pool for $20k. I informed her it was more like $50k, we completely changed the scope of work, and she likes what she has.

It all depends on your budget, of course. If your budget is $5k does it make sense to commit 1/5 of that to design? Maybe, maybe not.

Without a site visit it's impossible to say.

Just removing a tree has a whole set of parameters that affect the cost: How big? What species? Location? Obstacles?

As a general rule, you start with demolition and removal. Then you add the hardscaping (walls, walks, etc.), then you plant the things you want.

Can you post some pictures of the area?

There are many landscape designers that do irrigation, planting and concrete, and they don't charge a fortune. We are working with one now. He is starting next week, and since he doesn't stain concrete, we went with one of his recommendations for staining. They are meeting us together to co-ordinate the project so everyone is on the same page.

Here is a link that might be useful: DIY Landscape Design Site

I agree with Marcinde that you need a landscape designer. They are the people who conceive the ideas based on the budget or help shape the budget so that it is realistic, think through the work before it happens and supervise that it is done correctly.

Couple of things to clarify: Master Gardeners are NOT permitted to work in private gardens. They volunteer for community-sponsored gardening issues or conduct plant problem clinics. They are not designers or landscapers under their MG designation (although they very well could be privately). But that is not a resource to tap for this project.

Landscape designers are certainly appropriate for the scope of the project you contemplate and the Seattle area abounds with them. I operated a landscape design business in the Seattle area for years before moving out of the area and can offer several well-qualified names in referral if you like (contact me personally, off GW). The design aspect of a project like this carries the smallest cost of the whole deal - it's materials and labor after the design is determined that have the heavy expense associated with them.

Most designers in this area work with a crew or a landscape contractor and will have a very firm grasp of the costs associated with the specifics of your deal. And utilizing a company or personnel they know and have worked with previously generally increases the reliability and keeps costs in line.