Thank you for the feedback and suggestions everyone. Although our landscape designer was lovely to work with, I guess I felt bad about wasting her time by asking for further revisions to the plan since she seems very busy (took over 3 weeks to get us the initial plan, which she informed us up front), we paid a very low price for the plan, she already made two very long trips out to our house, and we don't plan to use her company for the installation (due to our very low budget). I am very happy with her suggestion of cotoneaster for groundcover, since groundcover options were something that I was agonizing over and cotoneaster hadn't occurred to me. It's the large decidious bushes I'm unsure about -- I guess I was hoping for a more neat and tidy look, maybe some small and medium sized, evenly spaced plants and bushes. But the reason that we hired a professional in the first place is that we don't know enough about plants, design, etc. to know what would look good, so I guess that made it difficult to communicate exactly what we wanted. Anyway, I appreciate the input and I think I will just try to tackle the project myself and hope for the best!

PT, just for the record, I, for one, don't think you went too far in your first post, so there's nothing to feel apologetic about, at all. Forums, like this one, exist so that people can share ideas and opinions about all aspects of gardening. Although I have a different point of view, I respect your comments and the way you expressed them. You're right when you say that all events can be improved upon--why not make your views known to the CHS? As I mentioned, they used to have a category for Professionally Landscaped gardens, and maybe they should reinstate it. (Personal confession: I usually didn't bother going to the professionally developed gardens. Over the years, I only remember visiting two gardens that won in that category. Since I'm not interested in hiring a landscape company, those gardens hold little appeal or relevance to me. In one garden I saw, I was aghast to discover that Purple Loosestrife had been planted (the property was adjacent to a Glenmore Park, no less). This was five or six years ago--Loosestrife was no longer being sold in garden centres. The rules of the CHS should have disqualified that garden, but the plant may not have been blooming at the time of judging, or the judges didn't recognize it.) Your top 2 favourite gardens were mine, as well. The Boyko garden was the first that I saw, and it ended up getting my vote for the "People's Choice Award". (I was doubly amazed at how beautiful the garden is when I discovered that three dogs--two huge and one, small but rambunctious--also live in the house!) While some gardens gained some of their appeal due to the location of the property (gorgeous neighborhoods, borrowed views), this yard created beauty and serenity despite its relatively small size and its surroundings. The MacLean garden reflected my own lust for plant collecting, only hers is much better designed. (What an understatement!) My third choice was the curb appeal winner in Deer Run. Although her back yard was destroyed by hail (I found out), her front yard was spared, and it was an inviting, exhuberant mass of colour. The one thing I hate about garden tours...they make me want to rip out my entire yard and start all over!! Thankfully, that feeling only lasts a day or two, and then I start enjoying my garden, again, faults and all. Marcia, I'd also like to know which one was your friend. I seem to recall someone in a cast, but I saw so many gardens over the weekend that I can't place her! PT, I hope you continue to voice your very passionate opinions. And I hope that the Far North Forum continues to be a place where posters can feel free to respectfully disagree with each other in a safe, caring environment. Just an idea that popped into my head...since there are so many Calgarians on this forum (and others that live close by), maybe one day we can organize a garden tour of our own??? That is, after I've ripped out my yard and started over... ;-) Doris

Scoutjr, I see your original post was a while ago, but if you haven't had the work done yet, then I would like to offer my professional opinion. If the guy who gave you the quote gets offeneded or won't do the work unless you use his plants, then something is wrong and he is not the guy for you. Ultimately, landscaping is a service industry and you are the client, whom we are there to serve. Yes, it can be good if we get to use our own stock or source the plants wholesale, but to be honest, sometimes I'm not sure if the mark up even covers all that is entailed in fetching and caring for the plants. Anyway, the point is that if you are willing to pay for the labor (the cost of which includes appropriate overhead, ie. fuel, insurance, etc...) then we will plant whatever you want wherever you want. Of course we will tell you if we think it is not such a great idea, and we will not guarantee the health of the plants. It gets a little more complicated if you are hiring someone for a design/install, rather than just site work and planting. Still, the bottom line is that you are the buyer. When I am not a landscaper, I have a little bit of a life, and sometimes I have to hire contractors. I just had a guy come and repair some damaged sheetrock and trim, but I told him just to do the hard stuff, and I would do the finish work (painting, etc...)so I could save some money. He didn't say "oh no, either I do all of it or none of it". Is that a good analogy? Am I writing myself out of work? Also, many clients do their landscaping projects in phases. If we are reasonably sure that you are serious about actually doing phase 2, and phase 3 then it's really not so bad for us, as it guarantees future work.

Keely, I can see all the experiences and completely opposite ideas that come from those experiences, voiced here. IMO, I feel like you can always have a conversation with your Architect and if they are responsive in a way that fits you, proceed with care. For me, I searched and looked at hundreds of homes, magazines and books for what really felt good to me, and ran it past my husband too! I then took a printer paper sized house plan that I found online, to my architect ( I'll call him Joe) and said, I really like the placement of the bedrooms, open kitchen and living room and walk out basement. I sat down with Joe and named off some of my needs, alot of wants and many hopes. We talked alot about doorways and getting old. We talked about stairs and views. We also talked about expenses and how do I get electric, water and sanitation to the middle of a grassland pasture. So, after leaving him a huge list, he let me add more later thankfully, He came up with a floorplan. It was good but I decided my very dirty farmer of a husband needed his own mudroom, which is pretty much a bathroom, closet and laundry room in one. He needed his own entry too. We tweaked my original floor plan and pretty much got everything I felt would make life sweet as we grow into retirement. We have a pretty good budget to work with but I still pulled back because we all know it always cost more in the end then expected. ~~~ that's how I did it and Joe is still helpful and seems friendly when I call. And lucky for me, my builder ALWAYS tells me no question is dumb. I can ask anything. I'm sure I have tested his patience, but that's what I'm paying him for my husband tells me. I feel like it's better to question things on the front end, than to wait until a bunch a cash and time is spent.