It sounds like an interesting place... I know nothing about what grows in your area or what people there might expect but... It sounds like the view into the garden is going to be from above if the main living space is on the upper level. My in-laws had a home like that near the coast in BC. You mostly looked outward to the water and the mountains and very little time was spent in the garden space itself - the decks were the main outdoor space and plants/garden were secondary to the views. So the only plants that you really paid attention to were those around the entrance path and front door. Those were mainly broadleafed evergreens and a few flowering things. Not too inspiring in my in-law's case, but color in harmony with the exterior house color and plants with intriguing shape and/or foliage color would seem most appropriate. I'd think the builder would want to generate a 'that's nice/pretty' response from a potential buyer; most potential buyers are going to be focused on what's through the front door and only want a pleasant entrance, the dreaded 'curb appeal', and no 'oh-oh, that'll be a lot of work' moments on the way into the house. Looking down on the garden from in the house/from balconies/decks, lots of green coverage with some pleasant color again would be what one would expect, so some hings that have a wide canopy would give a nice impression from above.

It must be hard to plan and plant a garden that is so impersonal; pleasant 'wallpaper' - something to enhance the house without drawing too much attention to itself.

Not seeing the property in person, my inclination would be to focus on the entry and entry courtyard and the let the views take center stage in the back. Especially as there doesn't seem to be any significant ground level "outdoor living" spaces back there? I would think you could squeeze out one or two knockout specimens for the courtyard with that budget, some sort of 'oh my' plants that would focus attention to that area and fluff out the rest with something a little more mundane.

We make a lot of jokes about 'curb appeal', specially in today's TV climate that seems to emphasize its importance, but it's very hard to argue with the impact the initial intro to the house makes on potential buyers. And a skimply landscaped entry courtyard that does nothing to pump up the anticipation IMO would be counterproductive. OTOH, with the views dominating the backyard, I think you can get away with a lot less attention to detail. Just something to make it look green, intentionally planted and tidy.

Is it possible to "stage" the garden the same way the builder plans to stage the interiors? Do you have large potted specimens that could be used to "decorate" a bare-bones treatment of the entry and rear terrace?

A buyer might like to see what could be done, but not necessarily pay extra to have it right now. Perhaps your treatment could suggest a direction the garden should go, rather than fill in all the blanks up front.

Another idea, appropriate for current drought conditions, might be a very spare xeriscape using cheap cheap cheap plants, maybe some sculpture that is specifically excluded from the sale contract.

The builder could leave the garden empty, you could draw plans, and sell the plans and installation separately. I honestly have no idea if that would fly, but if I were buying the house and liked your plans, I'd probably find a way to wrap the cost into my new mortgage. : )

Lastly, you could decline the commission.

As a homebuyer of multi-million dollar homes....

Right!

So, I would be thinking, not as a gardener or collector, because that market is so small and would be looking at another property. Ideas above sound on-target, and necessarily somewhat generic, by focusing on get them hooked right away at the curb and as they walk in, even if as a designer you think the back is somewhat underutilized and underappreciated. Things that might be economical could be to substitute some kind of more common trees or shrubs as your "specimen" plants--perhaps enabling you to get something already bigger and more dramatic, and that most buyers won't notice the difference. Maybe that doesn't work in SF if very unusual and architectural plants are the norm. But I've noticed here and in my own garden that my collecting tendencies, or use of small items, or too many things, actually turn out a poorer product than using common trees and shrubs in perfectly placed, large-enough form might do.

I'd be sure to get inside the house and see what the buyer will see walking from front to back and what would be seen out the windows, besides the view, and as in the posts above, try to tell whether you want one or 2 nice items that look established, or more of a restful green zone that just looks "finished" and does not need to compete with the view. You might have a choice between "framing the view" versus what is experienced on the ground, so to speak.

And lighting--it would seem more important for high-end, come look at my place entertaining, to be sure there is some good night lighting if needed to make good use of any back patio or deck type space, rather than expensive plants--not competing with the twinkling skyline, but suggesting great parties or very convenient and usable place to serve food and drink wine, etc.

Finally, obviously plant installation would have to focus on looks good now, and not something that you have to say, oh, just wait until this fills in 3 years. So that might influence whether you can use a groundcover approach, if that will be all tiny plants and mulch at first, or whether it will look better to put in some larger shrubs. All this depends on what's back there. A bit of color seems good, and whether that is "planted" or in containers, again would depend on what works there and what would hold up most reliably for say, 2-3 months at least of initial time on the market.

...making things up as I go along...

Thanks for all the replies so far, and it seems that most of us have bought into the concept of making it look good from the street, although in this case, the street view is primarily of the 6 foot stucco clad wall at the property line/set back, 8 feet back of curb. The entry garden is therefore not really visible until one enters the front gate.

It is interesting that Kim brought up the idea of plans/elevations to indicate possibilities for the landscaping rather than an actual install, this is an idea that I discussed with the builder, and we may just take this approach for the back yard area in particular. Initially we had discussed installing an irrigated section of lawn(approximately 18' by 25' or so, a 6' tall wire fence for vines at the very rear lot line to screen the view of neighbor's down slope house below, and just mulch everything else, and leave it for the buyer to finish/design. I am inclined to not even install the lawn, (approximately a $3500 item if you include all the soil prep/soil import, automatic irrigation, headers and sod. Plus, with water rationing already in place locally, maybe the buyer wouldn't necessarily want a lawn, there will be no lawn in front at all.

Ah yes staging... I have a plethora of large specimen plants and flowering things that could very easily be used to landscape and/or stage the entire garden, but the budget doesn't allow, and all plants in containers need to either be connected to drip irrigation, (time and labor to install), or be hand watered at least once or twice a week. I know there won't be the money to do that, and I am still stuck with maintaining large specimen containers with newly purchased gorgeous pots in the last spec home, and another client's home I landscaped, and the spec home didn't sell after 7 months on the market, and the new buyer for my client's home didn't want to spend $7500 for all the container plants inside and out, they did purchase half of them, however. Given the size and weight of container plants I typically install, (some over 400 lbs with 8 foot tall plants, most all taking 3 or 4 people to move them), I am a bit reluctant to go down that path again, as the market is more suspect now than it was a year ago.

It goes without saying that any approach will need to give maximum bang for the buck, and look more mature than newly planted. One big advantage we have here in doing spec landscapes in California is the whole concept of succulent plants. I should explain;, with succulents I can simply plant out unrooted cuttings of many species for immediate impact, and they will look good immediately and are still virtually guaranteed to establish. As I typically use a large percentage of succulents in any landscape design anyway, I have a vast storehouse of plants/cuttings to draw upon for instant impact.

I wish I had the luxury of time with at least 2 months of plant growth before the first open house, but the site is currently covered with construction debris, concrete and plaster rubble, etc, and they are still doing lots of work inside, the exterior house wall is yet to receive the outer coat of stucco. If I could install landscaping now and have 2 months to grow things in, it would be entirely possible to use lots of winter growing annuals and ground cover plants for fast growth, I would probably plant most things from 4 inch size pots and hit up Emerisa Growers up in Santa Rosa for general plants, and Annie's Annuals here in nearby Richmond for the flowers. We are all hoping for a quick sale, but it may actually take until later in spring to sell, we just don't know.

As to turning down this commission, no question of this being a job I want to turn down; I have a good previous relationship with the builder, having tweaked his own nearby house landscape this past summer, and I like to work with builders/owners, it has been a good job supply in the past. I feel an obligation to keep my crew working, and there isn't a whole lot of people wanting to do major landscaping work in this market economy. It may seem a bit strange to do design work for a generic potential buyer rather than a specific homeowner, but this is a type of work I have been doing for over 25 years, the first 15 years for a medium sized landscape architecture firm with a clientel of developers who always had model homes to design. In some ways, I prefer doing single model homes and having more control over the actual installation myself, the gardens I design are certainly more personal than any I did for large corporate developers, but I like to think the work I did back then also pleased the future buyer, even if my role in it was more anonymous.

As an aside, and as part of the role of drumming up more potential business, two gardens I designed and installed will be on a big garden tour this April, the Park Day School Tour out of Oakland. One garden will be the spec home I designed that went on the market last January, and is also a downslope lot with lots of high end custom finishes, If anyone is curious to see this one, there is still a web site up at www.28vallejostreet.com which shows the house as it looked 10 months ago, it is now so grown in it looks like it was always there. The second home and garden was also a spec home for an owner/builder, which is now 5 years old and looking very mature. I'm hoping that the exposure will draw out some higher end customers to keep up my work load!

Fortunately there still is work to be had locally, but certainly budgets have gotten tighter, and there is more risk involved in working with home builders/remodelers. Maybe it is time to consider renting out my own place and looking for resort work overseas again, having worked in southeast Asia and Saudi Arabia in the past, I wouldn't be averse to doing it again, but it would be more appealing to work in Latin America or Mexico, and use my spanish/portuguese skills.

I wish there were the budget to use big showy plants; I have lots of things like 5 foot tall Salvia splendens 'Van Houttei'and 12 foot Dahlia imperialis in full bloom, large proteas all budded up for bloom, bamboos and palms, etc that I would love to use here, but the budget to do so just isn't there. I am leaning towards smaller plants for the most part, yet well done, and leave large areas at the back cleaned up yet unlandscaped, just mulched. Maybe the idea of a rendered plant for the landscaping at the back is a valid approach, I just don't know who the potential buyer will be. It could also take 1 month to sell or 6 months or more, the market is that uncertain here. The biggest hope and prayer is that $1.4 million asking price is still valid in this market; the last spec home I worked on got its best offer almost $200,000 below the reduced asking price, and would have sold at a loss. That client has sold his own home and is now living in the spec home until conditions improve.

Times have certainly changed, lets hope we can keep up with the changes and still make a living doing what we enjoy!

David, good luck with whatever you choose to do. I will say this is the harshest economic downturn I've seen since I began working in the financial markets in 1979. Escaping to Dubai may not even be feasible, as the downturn is global in scope. The middle east is now selling oil 60% below the peak price, they may not feel so flush right now either. While there will always be people with cash to take advantage of a buyer's market, even those people are being cautious and driving a hard bargain, so be careful, and don't put too much skin in this deal. It could languish for awhile, and the builder may eventually have to take a hit just to get rid of it if he doesn't have staying power. It goes against my nature to be negative, but the reality is we are in the dark trough of a downward adjustment with no hint of when the uptrend will resume. And, yes, I do have confidence that an uptrend will come, ever the optimist at heart, just wish I knew when...

David,
You are known and highly respected in the Northern California area for your horticulturally rich and texturally exciting plantscapes.
Your gardens are exuberant in foliage, color and form.
Your gardens are also known for their dense planting.
How about taking a different ( and challenging) tact by taking a minimalist route ?
By choosing a few highly desirable specimen plants and placing them in a modernist minimalist layout you might be able to pull off a really compelling look.
I have confidence you could pull this off if you choose this option.

BTW. There were some outrageously beautiful huge Pygmy Date Palms last week at the San Rafael Home Depot priced incredibly low.

No reason to go to Dubai, just come across the bridge to Marin.

Hope to see you at the next bromeliad meeting.
Michelle
Link : a photo of one of David's gardens - who needs mulch when you have plants ?
{{gwi:52498}}From Bromeliad Society Tour 2008
{{gwi:52499}}From Bromeliad Society Tour 2008

As well as the entrance garden area many people have talked about, I would also try to do something with the back deck that opens off the master suite. As you've mentioned, maybe just a few large succulents arranged artfully at the corners, or something to show how privacy can be achieved ie with that screen and vine along the back fence.

Would be nice if the staging budget allowed for some patio furniture.

Mulching the whole back yard? Not my idea of an appealing look - just tells prospective owners what a lot of work they'll have to do and extra money they'll have to spend to either plant it up or sod it.

Bahia,

Can you forgo the irrigation system? I'm not sure how much of the budget that would constitute but if you're using succulents plus the mulch and are now entering the rainy season in SF would that not be enough to get them established.

I've never been to SF so I'm just putting this out there as an idea. But perhaps that would be another way to shave some costs off. But perhaps an irrigation system is a must have in your region. I'm in the Chicago area and it's not a given that higher end landscapes have irrigation systems - some do some don't. But then we do have fairly consistent rainfall throughout the growing season even during the hotter months.

Perhaps you should concentrate on those focal points that lead the eye toward the view from various viewing spots rather than filling space. This can be a creative, inexpensive way to landscape, especially if there is a large amount of hardscape. I have no problem with mulching the intended grassy area as it might be best for the builder to forget about fancy staging and sell the property "as is". There are bargain hunters out there who find this approach appealing and recognize the future value when all returns to normal. They will add the 'bells and whistles' later.

During the 1970's recession I was working with a well known architect who made an interesting observation. He noted that during that period of tight money his clients wanted simple lines and a clean, masculine viewpoint in their designs. I leave you to ponder that thought and reflect on the custom housing of that era which does seem to amplify his theory.

I see the dilemma in trying to gauge the expectations of a prospective buyer - in any market and at any price. Along the lines of DD's idea of a minimalist approach, if you gave me a good bare bones/point of departure planting and left me with a more comprehensive plan I might choose to implement over time, I would be quite satisfied. It would be the house and location and view that would be driving my interest in the first place.

Where I live, $1.4m will still get you a very large, very grand old estate oftentimes complete with Lake Superior shoreline, and always with extensive landscaping. But I expect that here because we're the Upper Midwest and not San Francisco.

Since you asked, as a potential buyer, I'd be much less happy with a staged for appeal array of landscaping that didn't convey. And though some artifice is meant to show an exterior and interior to best advantage, if one can't see beyond the staging, it has to be a let down when it disappears or can be had at additional cost - that Homer Simpson "doh" moment as the Roche Bobois and Craig's list pass going in opposite directions. Overstatement? Yes.

I know down here in San Diego they use to landscape the upscale model homes to the nth degree. I went with some friends to look at a development about two or three years ago and they had around a dozen models on the one street. It was projected to be a large development with expesive homes. I've since learned they have drastically slashed prices. I'm just curious how the model homes landscaping maintenance was kept up.

Anway, considering your circumstance David, I'm pretty sure you know how you are going to approach this...probably a lot better than I do. But given circumstances you presented, here are my observations:

You are designing a model home...you don't know who the eventual resident will be or what they like. Also you don't know how long it will take to sell the residence, hence who or how the initial installation of plants will be maintained. So I would factor that in.

Prioritize that which you feel HAS to fit in the budget. As a gardener, if I was moving into a new home, I would much rather have just some well-considered, well-placed trees and large shrubs. Let me do the fill-in. If the bones and conformation are strong, I can do the rest.

I also know that to an extent, one has to defend their decisions to the person who's paying the bill. Be prepared for that. It would be nice if you could find an alternative for a lawn area (I hate lawns)...but some expect that.

One of the complicating factors in designing any of these jobs is that I am so used to using very unusual and sometimes expensive specimen plants in my designs...

Obviously that is going to have to change but the builder is going to have to deal with that reality too. Sometimes it's good to learn how to economize. I think sometimes it makes one more creative.

-Ron-

There is a certain truth in the expression that more is less, or that tight budgets often result in more thoughtful design. There is certainly an innate quality about beauty created without spending lots of money, and I think most people will universally be more attracted to an elegant solution that doesn't need to show how much money was spent. Achieving that happy balance of simple elegance that communicates itself as a young garden isn't so easy.

I would be the first to admit that a restrained modernist style which emphasizes minimalism is not something that comes naturally for me. My impulse is to keep adding a bit more here and there to come up with the final design. Editing comes only with more time, when there isn't room for everything to remain in the garden. I'd have to admit that I don't do empty spaces very well, I feel more content in a lush garden that is just short of being out of control.

My question is, do most people also feel that the tenor of the times is towards simplification and a pared down palette of materials, plants and spaces? The bones of the architecture will have those touches of iron grill work over windows, thick exterior walls with recessed arches over windows, mission style clay tile roofing, etc, that a spare landscape could be appropriate, and contrast nicely with the mature urban forest of pines, cedars, live oaks and evergreen shrubs that make the neighborhood seem like a forest.

What are thoughts about not doing much at all besides a rendered plan for the back yard, no lawn, no real plantings, just the cleaned up space? It goes against my grain to leave such a large significant area unbuilt, but also leaves complete control to the buyer to design to fit. I find myself leaning towards doing the front, staging the decks, and a rendered plan and elevations of suggested garden for the back. It might even be fun to draw up a couple of different schemes with varied atmosphere. Could even be a bonus appeal for some buyers, in that they do have something to call their own? A new trend in flipping real estate, a cop out, or just a bad idea?

I hope things aren't as bleak all over the world, it is a nice security blanket to think they are always job opportunities around the world, and that one may even fall into your lap when you most need it! Wouldn't it be interesting to be able to say you've done some gardens on one of those manmade islands representing the world over there in Dubai, or even more so for a project in Oman or Quatar? Certainly it would be a different can of worms compared to designing a garden on a strict budget in a stalled SF Bay Area housing market where things are still very expensive, but also a lot harder to sell.

And about not designing around unusual plants and specimens, I have never been able to do it yet; any garden, even the lowest budget one, has to have something rare or exotic in it, with a hint of some other culture or region of the world. This is just my take on what a California garden should be, a multicultural melting pot of influences with plantings to reflect the uniqueness of our climate, and the waves of influence from Spain, Mexico, Japan and southeast Asia, and the classic idea of the California garden as a paradise on earth, or at the least an oasis within the madness. Others may have a more naturalistic, nativist viewpoint on the most appropriate California garden, but I prefer mine distinctly manmade and referential to the house and neighborhood architecture and patterns.

Interesting post, David, as my husband and I were just watching the horrible California fires on television and talking about the housing industry in your state.

My first quetion would be: how viable is the real estate market in California (in any price range)? My instinct would be that people in all ranges might be downsizing, figuring that when there is an upturn they can make a profit on what they have and/or "move up." So... will any sort of landscaping be a positive selling factor or is the market too dry? It it is such a tight market, go minimal. There were some great ideas on that in earlier posts. It makes sense to go with succulents and a low maintenance approach.

Here in Connecticut the housing market is a bit more stable, though realtors will tell you that it is down on its knees. Homes in CT are not selling; one of our neighbors has taken theirs off the market and has turned it into a rental unit. At the same time, the mortgage crisis has not impacted our state as much as in others; nevertheless, most people here have a stay-put attitude and are lying low and hoping to ride out the recession.
Is that also true in your area?

BTW, great pictures of your garden! Good luck on this project and in future projects.

Molie

The positive thing locally is that houses are still selling, and Berkeley is well positioned as a close in suburb of San Francisco that has not been impacted much by short sales or people losing their homes. That said, the market has gotten much tighter, and home prices have fallen as much as 30 to 40% from the highest levels 18 months ago. Homes priced near, at and just above one million are still in demand, as this represents a relative bargain price compared to the even more expensive neighborhoods of San Francisco or Marin County.

I don't expect much work of this type,(flipping houses/remodeling spec homes) to continue over the short term, as most of the projects I am starting now are renovations on homes that were already in process from 2007. On the other hand, there are still professionals in non-construction, non-real estate areas that are doing well, and are able to take advantage of the market to move up or tackle remodeling and garden make over projects. The local economy and housing market is certainly stronger in my local area than it is in newer subdivisions that were built further away from San Francisco in Contra Costa and Solano Counties, which are all over an hour or hour and a half commute distance from San Francisco. Homeowners who have been in their local homes for 15 to 20 years still have quite a bit of home equity and price appreciation that can be tapped if banks start lending again. I feel fortunate in that respect that my own house is still worth triple what I paid for it back in 1989, yet still at least $150,000 below what it could have commanded at the peak of the market 18 months ago. I know if I had the means, this would be a very good time to be buying investment properties as rental units, as we haven't seen local home prices below $200,000 in over a decade, and even more desirable neighborhoods seem affordable again now that homes can be had below $350,000. I suppose it is all relative, and these sorts of prices for small lots and typically 1500 to 2500 sf homes seem overpriced compared to most of the country. There aren't many half acre lots and 4000sf homes for sale at any price in the Berkeley/Oakland market, and those that are don't sell for much less than $2 million.

I don't know how many people are really aware that current construction is critically dependent on lower cost immigrant labor to stay within budgets and meet current market pricing. In reading the local papers, it would seem that there is mass popular support for sending laborers back to Mexico, without any realization of how low cost labor is what is keeping house cleaning, maintenance gardening, painting, home construction, restaurant staffing, not to mention the nursery industry and agriculture going. Many of these people are very hard working, and a means of support for their families back in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador. This all tends to get lost in the discussion by people who think they don't benefit from cheap immigrant labor.

It is possible that the San Francisco Bay Area could see people moving out of the area if things get significantly worse, much as coastal Los Angeles had net outflows and white flight after the riots and problems of the late 1980's, with many people moving to Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada or Utah. The face of California is changing, and will never again be the mostly white middle class population last seen in the 1960's. I prefer to see it as an opportunity, and many of my clients are also first generation immigrants from South America and Mexico, and solidly part of the middle class construction and real estate industries.

In some ways, we may be getting hung up on the wrong things in the market place, and ongoing lack of water may be a bigger influence on real estate development, new housing and landscaping in general. I am seeing some demand for installation of gray water systems, cisterns to capture roof run-off, and solar systems on roof tops are going in at a furious rate locally. I have confidence that California will continue to be a region that points to future directions for the entire country, as we address immigration issues, resource supply issues, and more sustainable development in general. How are these things playing out in your parts of the country?

David,
From my experience over here in Marin, which as you know is a completely different world than Berkeley, new homeowners don't show much excitement when shown a beautifully rendered landscape drawing that comes with the sale of a house.
I've been handed dozens of these plans from new homeowners who want their own site specific design criteria installed, not some one else's.
I find the plans useful if they were drawn to scale which saves me time ( and the client money ) , but that's about it, ... well actually I appreciate the art work and skill that went into the drawing but I'm not the new homeowner and could never afford the house that I would soon to be designing for.
I think that if your developer ( I'm assuming it's Mario) had to choose between handing over a set of plans vs. offering the home with some tastefully placed plants set in a elegant minimalist layout he would opt for the second choice.
I know that doing a minimalist garden is out of your comfort range, but I also know that you are incredibly talented and that you could pull off a spectacular looking / feeling garden using a few well chosen plants set in a wonderfully zen like sanctuary/ meditation garden.

Michelle

Michelle,
It is not a Mario job this time around, as he is still tapped out from not selling the last project, which he has just moved in to. He will be doing client driven construction for the duration until he is finally able to sell his last project, which I may be moving into as well and renting out my own home. I think 2009 should be about some major changes, but the thought of selling off so much stuff and moving is a bit overwhelming. I am tempted to think about an overseas trip to South Africa or Brazil next year now that the dollar has suddenly made both countries so much cheaper again, we shall see!

As to minimalism garden design, I just am not sure you can teach an old dog new tricks... Would lushly planted out but with only 10 species of plants count towards minimalism? It is probably as close as I can get. At least the next two months look to be busy with 3 concurrent projects under way at the same time.

A trip to S. Africa or Brazil sounds heavenly ! Want a travel partner ?
Selling off your incredible collection of fabulous objects d'art that you have collected from the world over, ... NO !
.... But I'll be the first in line for the Balinese door !

Metta,
Michelle.

I know as much about how to solve the financial crisis as you do David so I can't help there but your question is about compromise isn't it? How do you provide a $30,000 job for $10,000 or how do you get it to look like it cost three times as much as it did. Isn't that the question?

The problem with minimalism in this instance is that it smacks of austerity and this is a bad message to send surely. 'Less is more' on the other hand says that simplicity and clarity lead to good design. Clarity and simplicity is your way to compromise without sacrificing your artistic integrity.

I know that you have experience of other cultures that have shown that art has nothing to do with money. Don't go there: bring that here.

Well,just an update on this house and garden, it sold the first week on the market, with an all cash offer just slightly over the asking price. I wish I could say that it had something to do with the landscaping we put in, but it was more probably the killer panoramic bay and city view, which most impressed in the end. The approach to focus on the front garden and leave the back garden mostly unlandscaped with just a vignette of a small lawn, perimeter wire fence with espaliered Grewia caffra flowering hedge, it seemed to help the home sell. The builders only broke even, and it was definitely only a mildly profitable installation for me, I was giving the client a break on my labor costs. I figure it was what it takes to remain competitive in this market, and also generates good will for more work.

I hope this really is a positive sign of the real estate market getting better here, and that sales pick up across the country. The mood is cautiously optimistic here, as long as smaller projects continue to come along, if no big budget ones are on the horizon...

A few tricks I pulled to try and bring this job in within a very tight budget was to use new plants that could easily be propagated from the client's own garden, as well as using clippings/cuttings from various other client's gardens over a couple of months in advance of the project. I'll admit this is particularly easy with mild climate plants such as succulents and bromeliads; but the idea could as easily utilize divided perennials, unwanted plants by one client dug up and saved for another client, etc. Although this means that many plants are just mere cuttings, they can be planted closely in mass to give an immediate impact.

It would be a nice plum if the new owners elected to use my services to finish off the rear yard, as well as with help maintaining the new garden on a quarterly basis. No idea whether that will happen, but optimism never hurts...

Excellent news David !
Congratulations to all - the developer, you and the new homeowners.

It's about time we heard some good news.

I hope you are able to work on the backyard and the on going maintenance.

Thanks for the insight on how you were able to stretch the garden budget.
I'm doing the same thing on a small project in Marin.
Taking succulent cuttings from my garden and bringing them to a clients to beef up her garden for an upcoming open garden tour that will be held in April.
I'm working pro bono for this wonderful client who has hired me many times in the past so that her garden will look fabulous for the upcoming garden tour in hopes that it may garner me new garden design work from those who see the garden on the tour.

When the going gets tough, the tough become quite creative ... especially in marketing and creating new work.

Michelle,
Good to hear from you, and I hope that all your creative marketing is also bringing in much needed new work! Thanks for the post, and you are absolutely right that good marketing and seeking out all new job possibilities is very necessary with the current market conditions. I have decided to take on part time work doing retail nursery sales on the weekends as insurance that I'll be able to pay the mortgage, and actually enjoyed my first weekend on the job last week. Come on out to Annie's Annuals on the weekend if you would like to visit and catch up, as she has some really cool things, as always! For those who aren't familiar with Annies, check out here web site and the cool slide shows on the web site of the display gardens. She also does mail order across the country, with many one of a kind plants no one else is growing. It will also give people a better idea of what we're up to here in northern California, and the great diversity of plants we can grow here. See: www.anniesannuals.com

I think that some of America's nurseries are going to have the most highest educated and knowledgeable staff working for them this summer.

I just put my application in with a local garden nursery that has a design department for part time / free lance work and also broke down and submitted an application to the state of California in the LA dept.

Keep it creative professionals !

So here's the thing: next time you are in a Californian nursery be kind to the staff because you don't know who they might be in real life. And that lady there with the "Will duhzin for food" sign around her neck might well be someone important.

Come on guys, creative? Find a job in a nursery?

Me? I am setting up a new organization for procrastinators and just to make you feel comfortable I will be the chief procrastinator I will be known as 'The Big P'. If you want to join me send me the coordinates of all your bank accounts, sign over all of your assets to me and as a deposit 200% of your nursery earnings.

If you come up with a creative idea I own that too.

www.madov.ripoff

I might have killed this thread but today I read this:

"If there is one conclusion to be drawn from the life of Leonardo, it is that procrastination reveals the things at which we are most gifted the things we truly want to do. Procrastination is a calling away from something that we do against our desires toward something that we do for pleasure, in that joyful state of self-forgetful inspiration that we call genius."

It comes from an article that I have linked below.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to procrastinate like Leonardo.

Thanks - that article is guaranteed to make one feel better.
(especially someone who has worked as a translator, cartoon animator, glassmaker, color theory teacher, party decorator, video jockey, veggie harvester, and now thinking of studying landscape design :>)