Landscape Design

Natural ● Sustainable ● Low-Maintenance ● Beautiful

Thank you for your interest in my landscape design services!

My design process is not just about the plants. It is an interactive and educational experience intended to mentor you through the creation of the landscape of your dreams.

Design is just one element in creating a low maintenance, healthy and beautiful landscape.

THE ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL LANDSCAPE:

  1. Thoughtful Design
  2. Healthy Soil
  3. Appropriate Plants
  4. Mulch
  5. Proper Irrigation
  6. A Weed-Free Start

Of course, this is not everything that needs to be taken into consideration when you put in a landscape. However, without these basic elements, you are setting yourself up for extra maintenance (or even failure) right from the start. Other important elements will surely be considered, depending on your space (for example: erosion control, pest/disease prevention, etc.).

Using science-backed resources and personal experience, I am here to coach you through these elements of success, to help you achieve the landscape of your dreams.

Who Am I?

My name is Eve Hanlin. I’m a landscape designer in Clark County, Washington State. I offer simple, low-maintenance garden designs that match your dream landscape style. The designs focus on plants, but include landscape layout recommendations and strategies for success.
My design specialties include:

  • Low-Maintenance Gardens
  • Wildlife and Pollinator Gardens
  • Permaculture* & Sustainable Landscapes
  • Native Plantings

*Learn more about my background here, which includes an OSU Certification for Permaculture Design, a Certification to Create and Administrate School Gardens through Growing Gardens (organization in Portland, OR) and a Certification through WSU Extension to Create and Mentor in Community Gardens.

Things I Do:

I specialize in PLANTS! I am a garden designer by nature who also offers landscape design. I’ll help you craft the perfect layout for your landscape, though creating planting maps are my specialty.

-I design flexibly. I create a design to match your preferred garden style, using plants that are low-maintenance (and native, whenever possible). I offer quick-sketch designs, or full planting maps. Designs can be simple & general, or complex & detailed. Just let me know which you would prefer.

My maps are simple and practical. I have tremendous respect for the full-color, works-of-art that many landscape designers create, but find that most people just need an informative and convenient map. My maps are a combination of pencil and ink, all in black-and-white. This makes the map less expensive for you! I spend more time researching and combining the perfect plants than I do on the artwork.

Things I Don’t Do:

I don’t make specific irrigation recommendations. You will need a certified irrigation specialist for that.

I don’t install the landscape. You’ll need to hire an installation company or do-it-yourself. I can, however, provide suggestions and do-it-yourself tips!

I don’t have outside companies that I recommend for services, as I do not like to endorse others’ work besides my own. I do recommend having multiple companies out and comparing bids.
Here is a list of landscaping companies in the industry who have gone out of their way to be members of the Washington State Landscaping Association (select Clark County on the map to see a specific list).
Here is another link to landscapers of Clark County, WA.
You can check out this list as a starting point for irrigation specialists as it provides contact information on those that are certified.
The City of Vancouver provides many resources regarding hiring professional tree care providers and arborists.

I don’t sell plants. The plants I use in designs are commonly sold in the area, though this does not guarantee that every nursery will carry them. In fact, nursery inventory changes constantly. Contact nurseries before visiting and share the list of plants you are seeking. Expect to shop at multiple nurseries. Share your plant list with your gardening friends, because they may have extras. Plant Something Oregon has a fantastic regional search tool (it includes lower Washington, too!) that shares information on local nurseries. If you plan on hiring a landscape installation company, they may be able to source these plants for you (in fact, you may want to share your plant list with them before you hire them). Remember: it is important to use the exact varieties recommended, or otherwise follow these plant substitution guidelines.

My recommendations are not meant to replace recommendations, assistance, or consultation from certified third party (engineer, architect, mason, irrigation specialist, hardscaper, contractor, arborist, soil scientist, utility inspector, etc.). A design by me will provide aesthetic suggestions for the installation of plants and particular amenities, but does not seek to replace the certified approval of such professionals.

The Typical Design Process

The design process starts when you contact me. If you want to hire me to help out, I’ll send a cool questionnaire for you to fill out so I will know how to best help you.
I offer three types of services: consultations, quick-sketch design maps, and full design maps.

1. Consultation

If you want a consultation, it is as simple as scheduling a time. I will head out to your site and walk around your yard, so we can discuss the dreams and goals you have for your space and the best ways to reach them. I recommend you have a list of questions prepared to optimize our time together. I am also happy to offer consultation by Zoom or FaceTime, if that is what you prefer.
Please note that I bill by the hour, starting with this initial consultation (one hour minimum). I do not offer free consultations. You can learn about my background here, and my services on this page. If you have additional questions, please contact me before having me out. See my prices, below. Please have a list of questions prepared for our initial consultation, and you will not be disappointed by the amount of information you will glean!
Note that if you want a full design map, then on this same day of our initial meeting I like to take the needed measurements to get started on your design right away.

2. Quick-Sketch Design Map

If you want a quick-sketch design map, then I will take very quick, rough measurements and draw you a plan on an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper. We will work on this map together, onsite. I can make it detailed to the square foot, or more general. This service is billed by the hour. It is hard for me to provide an exact quote for this type of service, but expect these maps to take around one to three hours (depending on the size of your space, the level of detail, and how much you want to discuss the design process). To do this, all I need is a table out of the rain, your time and enthusiasm, and just-in-case access to your internet connection (in case my personal cellular hotspot is not working).
If you want a quick-sketch that is very detailed (including smaller plants), the space must be less than 720 square feet (30′ x 24′). If you want a detailed design map for a space larger than this, consider a full design map. This is just because it takes me more than three hours to make a perfect plant design for a space that is larger than that!
However, a quick-sketch method works best for spaces larger than that, where the map is more general. Think larger shrubs, trees, as well as recommendations as far as how to lay out your space (i.e. “put the chicken coop behind a crape myrtle over here, a native hedge-row on the northeast corner, and the vegetable garden over there”).

This quick-sketch mapping process is best when we work together. Having your insight and approval with my plant and design knowledge in collaboration is most efficient. For example, I might know of three plants that would be great for a spot in your yard. Only you can tell me which of the three is your personal favorite! For this reason, collaboration makes for efficiency.

3. Full Design Map

If you want a full design map, we will start with a consultation where I learn about your dreams and goals for your space. I will begin by taking detailed measurements of your space. NOTE: I bill by the hour for the initial consultation and the time it takes for these initial measurements. Then, I will work return to my office and work on your design.

Next, we will meet online for one-hour to view the first copy of your landscape design map. This is the opportunity to make revisions. If you want to meet for an hour but decide not to make any revisions, then $200 will be taken off your final design cost.
If you want to skip this meeting entirely and eliminate the opportunity for revisions, $300 will be taken off your design cost.
(Additional 30 minute revision meetings can be added for an additional $50 each, with $100 added for each additional revision).
This pricing system is in place to cover the time it takes me to make revisions.

Finally, I will deliver the finished design map to your home. This 30 minute final design presentation meeting is included in the design price. We will review the final revisions, and you will have the opportunity for final questions.

(Please note that whenever I do work behind the scenes, I will have you sign a short “design agreement.” On this agreement, I state what work I will do, and what I will charge for it. You sign and agree to pay me for the completed work).

A full design map is plant-focused and lays out the plans for a future garden. It is based on your desired theme, style, or aesthetic. Mature plant size, bloom and foliage color, winter interest, use, style and similar considerations are taken in the design process. Most designs are printed on a sheet of paper that is somewhere between 18 x 18 inches to 36 x 36 inches, depending on the size and scale of the design area and the detail of the landscape. I try to keep the map as small as possible while still containing the necessary detail, simply because larger maps are less practical.

The most popular option is having the plants drawn in pencil. In this case, the base map and to-scale grid is created graphically and printed in black and white, and the plant recommendations are added to this map in pencil. The primary benefit of the pencil design is that it is adaptable. If a quick plant substitution needs to be made while planting, the map can be easily updated and thus remain an accurate representation of the landscape. I can also draw the design with ink markers.

Prices

Consultation

-Billed per hour
-One hour minimum
-After first hour, billed in 15 minute 
increments

$100.00 per hour

Quick-Sketch Design Map

-Billed at $100.00 per hour
-Made onsite, during a consultation

$100.00-$300.00

These quick-sketch design maps are billed by the hour (one hour minimum per visit, billed in 15 minute increments). It is difficult to predict how long these quick-sketch maps will take, but they usually take between 1-3 hours of billable time. To learn more about quick-sketch design maps and how they are different from a full design map, read the detailed description, above.

Detailed Design Map

-Minimum per design
-Includes one revision meeting, a plant shopping list, and a 30 minute design presentation meeting

Price depends on size and scale of landscape design.

$750.00 for a map between 0-2,000 square feet (approx. 50 x 40 ft* or less)
$1,000.00 for a map between 2,000-5,120 square feet (approximately between 50 x 40 ft* and 80 x 64 ft*).

Read more about full design maps, below:

Full Design Map Pricing- Additional Details

This $750 minimum includes the design map, corresponding plant lists, one revision meeting, and a 30 minute design presentation meeting. It does not include the initial consultation and the measurement time (billed at $100 per hour, in 15 minute increments after the first hour). Initial consultation must be one hour, minimum. Expect measurements to take from 15 minutes to one hour for 0-2,000 square foot spaces, and up to two hours maximum for 2,000-5,120 square foot spaces.

If larger than 5,120 square feet, consider a less detailed, quick sketch design map. Otherwise, we must break the space into multiple seperate maps. Each additional map costs an additional $450.00 for 0-2,000 square feet, and $700.00 for 2,000-5,120 square feet.

If you have any additional questions, or if your yard has special considerations, do not hesitate to reach out.

SAVE MONEY BY ELIMINATING THE REVISION PROCESS
The opportunity to make revisions includes a one-hour online meeting to view the first iteration of your landscape design map.  If you want to meet for an hour but decide not to make any revisions, then $100 will be taken off your final design cost.
If you want to skip this meeting entirely and eliminate the opportunity for revisions, $300 will be taken off your final design cost.
(Alternatively, a second or even third revsion meeting can be added for an additional $50 each, with $100 added for each additional revision).
This pricing system is in place to cover the time it takes for me to make revisions.

THIS MEANS that the cheapest full design map (one under 2,000 square feet, without revisions, with one hour of consultation time, and with one hour of measurement time) costs: $650.00
The minimum design with revisions costs: $950.00 (one hour consultation time, one hour of measurement time).

The above prices include maps that show planting recommendations to the square foot. For a less detailed map, consider a quick-sketch landscape design map.

(*You might ask… Why these dimensions? They are the maximum dimensions that fit on my different scaled graph paper sheets on a clipboard! If you have a yard that is a weird dimension, just go by the square footage for pricing)

Why These Prices

“You charge how much per hour?!”
“I know a (insert more-esteemed professional title here) who doesn’t make that much!”

A big mistake I made when I first started offering landscape design services was not charging enough, and then needing to take on a ton of work to pay the bills. I became overwhelmed by a busy schedule, and did not do as good of a job as I would have liked.
I have to charge $100.00 per hour to make enough money to cover expenses and not overbook my time (Also, this number has to cover taxes, drive time, gas, payment processing fees, scheduling time, marketing… all that happy stuff).

I understand that it is a high hourly amount, but trust that I am charging more so I can offer better services (plus, it is the most realistic way to keep my dream job alive). Thank you for understanding!

How the waitlist works…

Sometimes, I will have a waitlist. I take on only a certain number of clients per month in order to offer flexibility and quality communication time to every client I take on. This means that I must have a waitlist. Upon contacting me, I will let you know when my next availability is. Thank you for understanding!