Tuesday 9 February 2010

2. How much can I spend ?– what is my budget? - Part 1

If there is a landscape/garden designer out there who doesn’t tear his/her hair out at this one, let me know your secret.
For me – knowing your budget is the biggy. And it is hopelessly misunderstood.
The normal scenario is this. -coming towards the end of the consultation,
‘so Mrs P, you want this, this, this, that, that and the other, could you help me, by revealing what your budget is for the garden. This is so that I can design your garden appropriately .’

Reply
‘I really have no idea’. – Meaning that, ‘I’m not going to tell you, otherwise you’ll rob me blind’ or
‘I have a vague idea that it’s going to cost one hell of a lot more than I think it should.’
Sometimes it really is ‘I have no idea!’ In which case be prepared for a steep learning curve.

Gardening is one of those things where a client wants to spend some money getting it right –but can be too ignorant to know the price of things, and is in fear of his life for being ripped off. And in Gardening/Landscaping as in any other industry you pay for what you get – so just how much is that?
You know the price of a car, you can look it up on line, ring up etc and you will be able to narrow it down to a few pounds before you’ve even seen it. No chance with a garden though, they are all different, have different things in them and demand different things from them. It is a skill and an art to get this right one for you and you need to be on the ball about what you want and how much you want to spend.

It’s actually one of the main reasons I set up my business. I am trying to deliver trust, honesty and value for money, in a clear and logical fashion to help this sometimes tricky process work for you.

Oh and a photo of the beach last week near where I live, on the South Coast near Rye.


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