You know that an amazing custom home with a subpar landscape will ultimately fall short of your clients’ expectations. But ensuring that the new home landscape design comes together in a way that truly enhances the property as a whole is no small feat. It requires partnering with a landscape design company that you can trust.
That is, a landscape design company that understands it’s your reputation on the line.
In the end, your clients are going to look at their home and their landscape and associate you with either their satisfaction or their displeasure.
While you are a pro in your field, you might not know what really “matters” when it comes to landscape design. You want to partner with a landscape design company that “gets it,” and that will help transform the space in a way that takes your clients’ wants and needs into account—as well as the surrounding environment. In the end, the landscape should blend seamlessly with the home and its surroundings, enhancing your work and making you look good.
At Blanchford Landscape Group, we work with a number of different custom home builders and we understand what’s needed to jointly achieve success. That’s why we’ve rounded up 4 landscape design tips that will help you know what to expect from the landscape design company that you ultimately choose to partner with.
1. A Partnership with a Landscape Pro Should be Like Having a Crystal Ball
When it comes to custom home building, your expertise lies with the home itself. Chances are, you’ve become such an expert that you can often anticipate problems before they even happen. Obviously, there are always unknowns in the construction world, but you’ve got a strong grip on problem-solving and keeping the job running smoothly.
However, when it comes to the landscape, you’re likely in unfamiliar territory. You don’t know how to predict potential problems. But that’s where partnering with a landscape professional who can help you anticipate issues can really pay off.
Of course, it doesn’t just have to be problem-oriented. A landscape pro should be able to tell you when something needs to be switched because it’s going to have a negative impact on the new home landscape design in some way. For instance, perhaps a material that is being used on the exterior of the home just isn’t the right fit for the surroundings and the planned outdoor living area.
In this way, a landscape professional should also be able to serve as your “crystal ball,” by helping you get a glimpse into the future. They can tell you what decisions you are making now that are going to affect the landscape (whether positive or negative) in the future. Ultimately, the goal is always that the home and the landscape function as one.
2. Your Landscape Designer Should “Sweat the Small Stuff”
As custom home builders Bozeman and Big Sky, MT, you know that the small details really do matter. When clients are investing in a custom home, they want to know that every detail was thought-out in advance and nothing was overlooked.
Of course, the same goes for their landscape but chances are, you’re not sure what those “small details” are when it’s not exactly your area of expertise. This is where a landscape design professional can step in and help. They’re paying attention to each and every detail of the landscape design and how it can enhance the homeowners’ experience in the space.
That includes everything from the location of electrical outlets to the strategic placement of plant material in order to get the most aesthetic impact. Landscape designers are also thinking about ways to maximize the view, ensure that foot traffic flows through the outdoor living area in a comfortable way, and many other details that all ultimately have a really big impact on the enjoyment and use of the space.
3. New Home Landscape Design Should be a Comprehensive Process
Just like the custom home building process, landscape design can be incredibly complex. For that reason, just as you work from architectural blueprints as an integral part of your process, your landscape design professional should be working from a master plan that is part of a comprehensive design process.
Unfortunately, not all landscape design companies in Bozeman and Big Sky, MT work this way. They may simplify the process or skip some steps—and that could potentially lead to unhappy clients because something was missed.
At Blanchford Landscape Group, we have a complex design process that actually includes five total phases:
- Program Development
- Base Planning
- Conceptual Planning
- Final Planning
- Construction
These steps might be familiar or similar to the way that you tackle the custom home building process. They involve a lot of consultation with the client and ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Each step of the design process focuses on honing the design to perfection.
All of this is important as it ensures that you look good in the end.
It helps ensure that the project really does come together the way that the client wants; meeting all of their needs from both a functional and an aesthetics point of view. Of course, it also helps ensure that the environment of the site is fully taken into account. It is always the goal to blend the landscape with the existing environment in a way that it looks as though the outdoor living area was always meant to be there.
4. Landscape Design and Custom Home Building Should Go Hand-in-Hand
Finally, it’s really important to mention that success does come down to forming a partnership. At Blanchford, we are used to working hand-in-hand with the custom home builders that we partner with. We’re here to help with some of the complexities of the project and to be their outdoor experts.
By taking on some of those complexities, we really do help alleviate some of the burdens that custom home builders tend to feel.
After all, the last thing that you want is for your clients to come back to you later because there was a preventable storm drainage issue or their outdoor living space is falling short of their expectations.
Two things come to mind that the custom home builders we work with tend to really appreciate:
Excellent Communication
One is the fact that we are proactive about communication. You can really count on us to keep you up to date on our timeline. Oftentimes our outdoor living areas include a variety of construction equipment and we need to spread out and dig up the property. This can be stressful when you’re not kept in the loop of what’s going on. But we keep the builders that we work with informed of what we’re working on—and what’s coming next. We do find that’s incredibly appreciated.
A Strong Warranty
Second, we have one of the best warranties out there—and we really do honor them. It’s sad that we even have to make that point but the fact is, many companies do not take warranty work seriously.
Whereas some landscape design companies in Bozeman and Big Sky, MT push warranty work off, we actually prioritize it. That means that if an issue arises, we’ll correct it quickly, even if it means putting it ahead of pursuing new work. Our warranty includes five years on any workmanship or material issues.
This is something that gives custom home builders peace of mind that they deserve. They feel confident knowing that if some sort of unforeseen issue does occur, their clients are going to be taken care of.
That makes you look good.
Partnering with a Landscape Pro You Can Count On
Just as we are known for having long-term relationships with the homeowner clients that we work with, we also value long-term relationships with the custom home builders who hire us. We understand it’s your reputation on the line. You’re entrusting the landscape to us—and we deliver.
Whether that’s on delivering a landscape design that’s part of the initial home build or even future needs that arise with you and your clients—we are excited to form those partnerships. It is all part of the long-term relationships and ongoing commitments that we are maintaining in this region.
In the end, what it really comes down to is having that partnership you can count on. At Blanchford Landscape Group, we are proud to be the type of landscape company that other professionals in our area have come to know and trust for their outdoor needs.
If you’re a custom home builder in the Bozeman or Big Sky, MT area and would like to learn more about how we can help on your next project, let’s connect. We love partnering with winners and would love a chance to succeed together.
