Planting Plans
At Shafer Design, all of our planning and the creation of a garden design comes down to the planting. We create the spaces and the environment so that the plants will thrive, and you will have the pleasure of watching your garden grow over many years. Even the most beautiful garden design will not work when the plants are unhealthy.
Our intent is always to create a beautiful green space on earth for you yourself to thrive and grow.
The plans are all to scale and can be followed by anyone, whether professional or homeowner. We consult with you on the style of planting that you want very early in the process so that we know that our plant species will be appropriate to your needs. Where possible, we like you to create a list of plants for us, or even a list of likes and dislikes and we will do the rest.
We will spend time explaining the different styles until we know that we are on the right track to your specific customised planting plan. We love it when you are really involved because we know in the end that the project will be a success.
Our planting plans are very detailed and will include the following:
- Positions of plants
- Plant sizes
- Numbers of selected plants
- Consideration of seasonal colour (if applicable)
- Consideration of varying height and overall look
Making the Right Choice with your Plants
Choosing the right plants for the right place is the key ingredient for a great planting plan. We look at the areas of shade, frost, wetland or areas of hot, dry, sun and choose the plants accordingly. We collectively have decades of experience and planting knowledge in the office, gained not only by study, but by planting our own gardens.
Drainage and Soil Conditions
One of the most important ingredients for our planting plans to be successful is that the soil conditions and drainage preparations are done to our recommendations. We have found that this is especially true in Auckland where the soils are primarily heavy in clay. In general, the plants will not survive without specific conditions being met. Often where a site has had extensive earthworks, all the natural drainage patterns have been destroyed and we need to recreate that by means of subsoil drainage or raised soil levels. There are plants that will survive in awful soil conditions, but the palette of these plants is very limited and they will probably not be on your list. We prefer you to invest the dollars in soil preparation and purchase small plants if budgets are being stretched.
A great garden comes from a great design
A beautiful landscape design with a great planting plan and happy plants is the outcome we strive for.
