Garden designer Scott Reilly distinguishes between two types of “garden maintenance.” In one case, the objective is to keep the garden alive and healthy. Workers come in at set intervals and perform the same tasks: Weed, trim and blow out leaves.
“It means the garden doesn’t go anywhere,” says Mr. Reilly, owner of Reilly Designs. “It doesn’t go forward, it doesn’t go backward. It just plateaus.”
That may be sufficient for some homeowners. But Mr. Reilly believes you should ask more of your garden and the people who tend it. One goal of regular maintenance, he says, is to enable the garden to “evolve” in surprising new ways.
The optimal garden, says Mr. Reilly, results from the collaboration between a landscape architect and a garden designer. When that relationship flourishes, the result, he says, is a garden that becomes “the vision of the client.”
While landscape architects should possess a solid understanding of plants and terrain, that isn’t the No. 1 criterion by any means. Far more important, says Mr. Reilly, is their ability to incorporate the style and architecture of the home into their planning, he says. When hiring your garden designer, you might be reluctant to ask for a contract. Many designer professionals themselves have a similar reservation. But Mr. Reilly actually recommends a contract to protect both parties. On countless occasions, he says, contracts have helped prevent misunderstandings that might otherwise have jeopardized the project or damaged the working relationship.
