My first reaction was like Flowerlady's: OMG, what has she done? And then I realized you had hired help to clean up and I sighed in relief. I admire those of you who are able to hire help who actually knows what they're doing and help you. I have yet to find anyone here that I would gladly let touch my garden... The old timers know about vegetable gardens only (and the use of lots of pesticides and herbicides) and the garden centers are mostly concerned with grass mowing (of which I have none) and formal hedge clipping (I only have informal hedges). Noone here knows anything about old roses or even rose pruning. They simply prune roses to ground level come January and call it a day. The lady who helps me with the house wanted to help me out with the garden last year, when I was so busy working in a company, and weeded one of my beds, without my knowledge and previous consent. She weeded most of my opium poppies which were short from blooming... She thought they were weeds... I almost had an heart attack when I saw that and told her, yet again and as politely as I could, that the garden was off limits to her. The works we have just done to the house were another source of garden stress to me, as to have a crew of masons loose in the garden was a tough number. They broke and destroyed a lot of things in the garden, partly because they didn't have much room to move and partly because they didn't even understand there was a live plant there - to them, any deciduous shrub which had lost its leaves was officially dead. It took quite a while to convince them that they were dormant (i.e. sleeping, so that they could understand). So... I'm glad at least some of you can hire help which doesn't destroy more than it helps. As for the acreage, I used to dream of a larger garden too, as my garden is a postage stamp lot. However, given the absence of reliable help and the cost involved, I have gladly forsaken it. This garden is a size I can reasonably maintain myself, if I'm careful with what I plant and balance stuff which requires cuddling with other easy maintenance plants. More than this would be unrealistic and I would have to let the garden go. When I'm no longer able to care for the garden, if it comes to that, I'll move to an apartment by the beach and call it a day :-) Eduarda

We have used a landscape architect not once but twice for our yard. The first time we moved in, the house was brand new with nothing but dirt in the back yard. We had some odd corners that we wanted to maximize space on so we used a designer. She did a fantastic job with the plans and picked appropriate flowers (taking into account drainage, the sunny spots versus shade, etc). We have a "french country" theme with the plants and fountains so it is not a mishmash of random plants. We have again hired a pro to design our pool. We have 2 large existing structures (a concrete patio and a large gazebo) that we need to work the pool around). Elevation changes also play a big part in the pool. I found the money sooooo well worth it! They are taking care of even the most minute details. I dont think the PB alone would pay this much attention to the design. So anyway, yes, I would HIGHLY recommend doing this. I also found that getting bids for the job are much easier when you have a plan. OTherwise the quotes vary by $10,000+ and it is not comparing apples to apples. I actually think it saved us a lot of money to have the plans to give to the landscapers (and PB). And when they wanted to alter things (read cut corners) we referred them back to the plans and told them not to! K

If you're concerned with cost you don't have to hire the designer to help with everything. For example, you could hire one to help with choosing the overall look of the home such as color palette for creating flow, style of major finishes such as trim and door style, etc. Another option to use the designer for help key areas such as the kitchen. We've used a designer for some spaces in our current home (master bedroom and bath and sitting room) but some rooms we've handled ourselves (powder room, kids' bedrooms, guest bedroom and playroom) because we were confident that we knew what to do in them. When we put our house on the market we also consulted with a designer about a few minor issues such as what neutral color we should paint the rooms upstairs and which areas of the house were most in need of updating and how. As for doing the actual staging and updating work, we did it ourselves. Keep in mind that there are different payment methods for designers. Some charge per hour and some charge a percentage on top of what they source for you. Also, find out how and what they charge you for. For example, some charge for shopping for you even if they are shopping for multiple clients at once.

Depends on what you are trying to accomplish. What does life breathed into a space look like? Hardscape? Plantings? Contractors may or may not be experienced/qualified to create a pleasing layout of elements that work for your site, family, and intended use. Usually not. Also, pictures from the internet will not necessarily contain plants that are suited to growing in your climate or designs that will work with your site. A designer will ask a lot of questions about how you want to use the space, assess the possibilities and limitations of your site, offer creative ideas, and give you a plan that meets your needs and wants and is appropriate to your home. Then you get a contractor to install it. Photos can give a designer an idea of the “look” you prefer, but that’s about it. The additional cost will be recovered by the savings you will realize by the expensive mistakes you won’t make. A tree that has to be cut down in five years because it’s too close to the house or rains messy litter on the patio constantly will cost a few bucks. Or expensive shrubs that die in two years because there is a known pest that is decimating them in your area. Contractor may not know these things, designer will.