You can certainly get remote design work done. There are a ton of them out there. But, quite honestly, it would be very foolish.

There are structural qualities to soil such that % of slope means nothing.

You could have some conceptual layouts done and then deal with local engineering firms to determine the feasibility of any hardscape or structure. After getting that ironed out, you could take the conceptual plan to a nursery/garden center/garden designer and have them adjust the plants and make recommendations to make the plan right for the Virgin Islands.

I would not take a remotely designed plan and implement it. These are the puppy mills of design. They are usually computer graphic geeks who look up hardiness zones, query a database of plants, and doctor up photographs. Then they cookie cutter templates of plants of certain form, size, and color and match those to names of plants that match those descriptions and your hardiness zone.

Everything looks great. The images on the website look great, the testimonials are great, the plans look great, ... but where are the pictures of the actual built work? Almost none are to be found on any of these sites. There are "before" and "after" pictures but the "after" pictures are "after" they doctor the before photo rather than built work. Their product is images and paper, it is not built work.

It would be worth it to hire someone to come and do the job properly. What about someone from Florida?

I am prepared to bring someone in but most of Florida is flat or rolling hills at best and there are no conditions like these. I had thought about writing to the Landscape Design department at Berkley because I think a California designer with experience with steep hillsides would be best.It wouldn't be such a disappointment if I wanted to look at tropical bush for the next twenty years but I love to garden. I had expectations of being able to really grow things I have dreamed of in the garden. I am wondering if we should just think about a huge raised deck for the level below the house and just use that as a surface for gardening with raised beds lots of pots etc.I am sixty one and even thinking about trying to navigate this terrain is daunting.

Yes, contacting Florida LA's is a good idea. Remember, designers go where the money is and may have varied backgrounds. Just because one has located to FL. doesn't preclude lack of hillside experience. As I remember my visits to St. John's someone there knows how to landscape your situation. It may be local garden maintenance type workers with a feel for land and growing on the island.

Planning for retirement gardening requires special thought. Speaking from experience, the bones begin to ache, the flesh is willing and the body says "no". It becomes difficult to care for extensive gardens and your eye sees nothing but garden chores to be done and an inability to do them. Then begins the search for a gardener which may or may not work out well.

I urge you to seriously consider your idea of a large deck. Plan it well including setting up a thoughtfully designed drip irrigation system. This approach gives you complete control over your growing situation and allows you to travel when 'island fever' beckons. It also affords you the pleasure of gardening through the years, even from a wheelchair. Retirement is a crap shoot and when your main pleasure is working with plants, create a set-up that will allow you enjoy this activity as long as possble.

Dealing with sloping hillsides in California is mostly to do with keeping them from sliding downward... Your quest is more about finding a geologist and an engineer than about finding a landscape designer. Perhaps it's not as impossible as it sounds. Would love to see photos of this challenging site.

Bismarckia nobilis is a terrific palm, but I have difficulty imagining 30 mature bizzies sharing 1/2 an acre with a house and driveway, citrus orchard, and orchid shed. If you can pull it off, it will be a spectacular sight.

Photo for those unfamiliar with this palm:

Click link below.......................

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:40601}}

Hi,
I will take pictures tomorrow and you can get a good look at the site. You can see the first tier down to the burn pile and I think I can show the level area below. I am picture posting challenged but I will give it a shot.
There are two nurseries that do landscaping I am very well known to both as I am a plantoholic.They have the workers and the ability to plant all the plants I propagated but they would want to take care of it. I had planned to let them come to put all the trees in. I wanted to use the Bismarkias along the driveway. The driveway enters behind the house goes across the entire back and then does a switch back continuing down the hill in front of the house to the far side and then another switchback to the burn pile across the lot again another switchback to the lower level. I had planned to put Jacaranda and Flamboyants maybe some Pauwelina down at the bottom of the lot. It is the only good soil as all the erosion for the last hundred years has ended up there. We only have about a twentyfour inch base of soil in any area of St John mostly volcanic rock and only one soil layer.I really am crazy about the Bismarkia it's the blue color and figured if I was going to look down on something it might as well be beautiful and drought tolerant. I got lost in Kendall in South Miami about eight years ago saw one on each side of an entrance gate and have been smitten ever since. Mine are really blue and are reallly anxious to get in the ground and out of pots.They hate to be transplanted but I thought it would make a spectacular alle'.We own another house here a rental villa of course it has a flat backyard. Fortunately it is always in short term rental so the opportunity to really garden there for vegies or citrus is not possible. This house is our own home where we will live full time and probably be carried out feet first.
Thanks for any advice it is much appreciated.

Hi
Sounds like a fantastic project!! If it were me I think I'd only consider aomeone local. What a unique set of problems the site presents that very few would be even remotely familiar with.
I'm curious as to the stability of the land .Does it slide .wash during rains What about earthquakes ,volcanos
and hurricanes.??
Wish I could be of some help but all my experience is limited to s, fla.
I've seen some fantastic hillside gardens in Costa Rica
particularly on the Pacific side. with very similar terrain.
but with all the above problems also
Would love to hear what you come up with. Can't imagine what it would cost either lol
Surely there are some neighbors who have dealt with this in the past??? Could sure save you from a lot of mistakes.
gary

I live in the Cascade Mtns and I can relate!

We have a roughly 270 degree view (gorgeous!) on 5 acres on a hilltop at 1500 ft elevation. Our slope is a little less than yours, tho it varies. The soil is quite stony for the most part, and the lower half is mostly forested.

After several years of feeling overwhelmed by this whole situation, I finally hired an excavator to help me attack the problem. With a few scoops of his machine, he was able to "terrace" about two acres of the lot for us, the unforested part. Once that was done, we created some retaining walls by using all the stones we dug up, and built some steps from rectangles of pressure-treated 4.6" lumber. (We're on a limited budget, found a pattern in a book.) I was able to get down the hill much more easily, everything seemed a lot more doable, and suddenly I was flooded with ideas of my own, some of which are now coming to fruition.

I guess I'm suggesting self-initiated stages, starting with a local excavator. See if he can create some appropriately sized terraces on the slope, at least in part, in order to make it easier for you to navigate the property. He'll have an understanding of the local soil conditions and erosion patterns. Our excavator was an invaluable resource. You can take the sun's path and the natural landscape into account when you do this, too.

Then have stone or other walls and steps installed by a contractor. Even if you just do one set, you'll get a better sense of the property you own by getting down there. This will help you no matter what you do next.

I'd go with a local designer for species recommendations and further development of the land, for a lot of reasons.
Best of luck!

One small and very readable book we used to tackle the problem was the Sunset (western gardening) publication "HIllside Landscaping." Beautifully photographed, it contains simple instructions for calculating terrace and retaining wall specs on any slope, and has lots of creative suggestions for steep slopes. It's the only resource we used, and between that and our excavator, we created terraces and retaining walls that are holding up very well. (Perhaps it might help out the designer who is new to the island, and who is probably overwhelmed by your location!)

Thanks for the input I have the sunset book and every other one I could find but you are giving me hope. Pictures are coming I am learning to compress them and hopefully will have them on by tomorrow. We are at 650 feet from sea level so mine is nothing compared to your challenge.AJ