The Importance of a Site Visit

As a Landscape Architecture Firm, we believe it is important to visit our client’s landscape design site at least once during the design process. Meeting with our clients and appreciating their space in person is a fundamental part of our design process and here are the reasons why.

Authentic Experience of a Client’s Space and Personality

We all know that meeting over video just isn’t the same as an in-person experience. By visiting our client’s design site, we get a better understanding of their personality both as a family but also in their design style. The way a family decorates their home will help guide some of the design decisions we make for their outside landscape spaces.

Understanding the Neighborhood and Surrounding Space

Location. Location. Location. We do our best to meet a client’s needs and style AND blend in with the surrounding neighborhood. We believe in being good neighbors and complying with local codes and potential HOA requirements. Understanding what is going on in the immediately neighboring homes is critical for our landscape design process. Large trees and structures still affect your home even if it is not on your property. Our site visits help us understand these critical design elements.

Verifying Measurements and Project Scale

Surveys are helpful, but nothing really compares to seeing a site first hand and taking our own measurements. We come prepared to your site visit with various tools to help us take accurate measurements of existing elements such as patios and pools. It is near impossible to create a landscape design without a proper base map. Any information our clients can provide prior to our site visit is very helpful, it gives us a starting point to work from.

Existing Landscape and Hardscape Conditions

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time. Do you have a patio you love and want to keep in your landscape design? Done. Is there a blooming Tabebuia tree that you enjoy every spring? Perfect, we will incorporate it into our design. Do you hate it all and want to start from scratch? Awesome, a blank slate! So much opportunity! Seeing what is already on site is helpful to understand what is working and what isn’t. It’s also helpful to narrow down what plants our client’s like and dislike during this part of the design process.

Sun Orientation and Light Conditions

This is so important for the longevity of your landscape design. We believe in Right Plant, Right Place and understanding current light conditions is critical for proper design. Understanding what parts of your home get morning and afternoon sun is also important for hardscape design. Having afternoon shade for an outdoor kitchen area might be beneficial while morning sun for a cozy garden coffee spot might be preferred. Without seeing the site in person it is very hard to gauge what is actually going on with the sun conditions. It is a major reason why we insist on a site visit for our landscape design process.

Existing Slopes and Elevation (Grade)

While Florida is mostly flat, a home can easily have several feet of grade change throughout the site. This is impossible to understand over video or in photos. Slopes and existing grades are critical elements in hardscape designs. Taking elevations into account during design can create some creative solutions and interesting forms in the landscape. It also ensures that we design a safe space that follows code and best practices for patio and walkway designs.

Identifying Utilities and Saftey Concerns

We do our best to notate existing utilities on site such as overhead power lines, HVAC equipment, pool pumps and heaters, etc. Call 811 is a free service to locate any underground utilities as well such as gas and waterlines. We encourage all of our clients to use this service prior to landscape or hardscape installation for safety.

It is for these reasons that we have built a site visit into all of our landscape design packages. We find it a critical step in the design process. Plus it’s fun, and we like to get out of the office every once in a while.

If you are interested in requesting a landscape design, Click Here. We provide landscape design site visits within 30 miles of Orlando, Florida. If you are outside of our 30 mile range we charge an additional fee to help cover our travel cost. Take care!