Oh, Confusion, my dear friend...

 What is going on here?

Well, another day, another laundry list of questions. I accompanied my boss to a client meeting, the nature of which I was not aware. I thought we were just "checking out" the progress of our summer work. So, I didn't think to bring the client file or any measuring tools. Well, that was the wrong choice, because we were discussing a previous design and measuring for a new one. Luckily, the client was organized and had a copy of the design. And thankfully, my feet with shoes on each measure about one foot. So, I figured distances by walking one foot in front of the other, and my boss took notes on our client's plan. Really professional, I know.

There was an entire discussion during the meeting which I was completely confused about--some sort of stone fire place/ring/pit in the backyard. I guess they had discussed it before, so I was the only one who was unawares. Well, it was dark at that point, and we didn't measure the back yard, where the stonework is proposed. So, hopefully I can go back out to do that before we start actually designing.
But, generally, I think I got the gist of the discussion between the clients and my boss. But, I wonder how it will proceed from here. What I foresee is my boss handing me a rough drawing with plant code names scribbled all over it, which I will translate into a formal design. And that's ok.

Luckily I did do a few things right. I did take lots of notes and photos of the site to refer to later. But, in conclusion, I have a few things to learn:

1. Always bring files with client information to meetings
2. Always have a measuring tape hand and keep it in the car
3. Go over the project details with the boss before the client meeting, to be better informed of what will be discussed.
   

Estimating

How do you estimate for a Master Design Plan? That was my task this past week for a condo association. They wanted a ballpark number for their committee's budget meeting for 2010. I figured into the estimate what I thought were the most important factors: site visits, client communication, design time, follow-up meetings, and administrative time. But, how do I know how many hours I'll actually spend designing? I don't. I knew how much time I spent designing smaller projects, though. So, I guesstimated to come up with an educated guess and then passed it by my coworkers for review.

Next, I had to send a convincing email to accompany and support the pricey estimate. My coworker suggested including examples of our previous work, listing our strengths and capabilities, and any other convincing language. I was a little hesitant to write an email from scratch, so I pulled up an old letter we had sent to another client. I modified it considerably and used it as my template. Then, I emailed it off with the estimate, and in response I received a grateful email from the client, reinforcing her respect for our work.

Approaching Dormancy

Things have slowed down quite a bit at the office now. It's almost holiday season, so people are thinking less and less about their landscapes, especially spending money on them. It's November, and most yards and landscapes are brown and scraggly looking. Needless to say, it's getting harder to convince people to think about, much less commit to, design projects. So, they'll wait, winter will pass, and then there will be a mad rush in spring for installations.

As a designer, we walk a fine line between encouraging our clients to commit to projects and pushing them. A few phone calls to touch base? Ok. But, when does that become nagging? A client of ours just went on a 1-week vacation and said they'd call us when they got back. Well, it's been a week now; what if they don't call? Do I keep calling until either a) we get an answer from them or b) they just ignore us. I've put in a lot of design time for them already, and I can't just let that go. So, how do we get through the winter with only a handful of clients?

Tea Time

photo from Prairie Cottage

This is new. A client invited my coworker and I in for hot apple cider and treats this afternoon! How 'bout that? It was an unexpected surprise while we were puttering around her yard doing our fall clean-up: raking leaves, trimming dead foliage, and putting the beds to sleep for the year. It was really nice to sit with her and chat about things--nothing in particular really--and to forget about the client-worker relationship and be on the same level for a moment.

Get 'Em Talking

I met with a client this afternoon about a rain garden for the apartment he owns. It was a brief encounter, but (I think) fruitful. He sort of gasped when he saw the estimate, because the labor is pretty pricey. The plan involves regrading and excavating the site for a dry stream bed and a rain garden. I got him talking a little, and realized that his dilemma is choosing where to sink his money. He could put money into the apartment building that he wants to sell, or he could put a lot of money into his Lake Minnetonka property. Lake Minnetonka, peoples!!! He owns the land, but hasn't built the house yet, and he's already pretty overwhelmed, because Minnehaha Creek Watershed District is making him plant a buffer zone along the lakeshore. I reassured him that we've done quite a bit of lakeshore restorations, including buckthorn removal, and his ears perked up. He had no idea that people like us existed and did that kind of work. It was really affirming to tell him, "Yeah, we do that, and we'd be happy to help you."

So, I'm not sure if he'll progress with the apartment rain garden, but he could be a potential client for a restored shore.

All Alone

Today was a big day. I had my first solo client meeting. My boss couldn't be there because of a family emergency, so I armed myself with designs, estimates, pictures, the works, and it went surprisingly really well. I explained the design and the costs, they asked a bunch of questions that I couldn't answer right away, and we planned for another meeting. They liked the plan and gave me good feedback that I can work with. I'm going to rework the design a bit and revise the estimate, and hopefully we'll get started on installing this fall! I have my next solo meeting tomorrow, and I hope that goes even better!

So, here's a recap of the key points:

1. Know which plants in the design have seasonal interest (before the client meeting), because they're going to ask which have fall color. (I had to check and email them later.)

2. Re-read any/all notes in the client folder prior to the meeting in case there's anything I missed. For example: they have deer (duh, I included a deer fence in the estimate), and so they might ask what plants deer prefer and which are "deer-proof" (I had to check).

3. Listen and write down every single thing the clients say so that I can refer to it later when I'm redesigning (I did do that)!

Do-It-All-Fridays

A recent plan for a client

Another day of estimating for one client, measuring for another, designing for another, and planning to meet with another. A new client was referred to us by his neighbor, a client for whom we recently installed a rain garden. It's great--their apartment complexes are right next to each other, giving the neighborhood a double dose of sustainable landscaping! Their projects are almost exactly the same in many ways: they have the same lot and building measurements, the same soil type (which is loamy!), and their downspouts (1 each) are located in the same location. So, it makes my job a lot easier, because I can use the same calculations for runoff water to design a similar rain garden, I can use a similar estimate, and I can use a similar plant palette to build consistency within the neighborhood.

Other fun Friday activities included making plant lists, communicating with clients, and working on the PPL project. The project we're doing for the non-profit Project for Pride in Living is an "Eco-Village" in North Minneapolis. The village will be a demonstration landscape used to educate the community about sustainable landscaping techniques, like rain gardens for stormwater management and windscreens for energy savings (see below).

University of Minnesota SULIS

We're installing the project next weekend, so I made a bunch of calls for donations. We're trying to get a tree nursery to donate a few evergreens and a tree care company to donate wood chips. After tons of calls, we still had no evergreens, but we were able to get 2 truckloads of free mulch delivered to the site by Asplundh!

Ill Communication

A fork in the woods? A 'y'? What?

Communication 101: Be clear with your clients. Be clear with your staff and coworkers. After talking with clients, coworkers, and the boss today, I learned a bit more about learning a bit more. Yes, that's right. The more I know, the less time I waste and the better I can do my job. The less I know, the less I can do and the more I seem like an idiot to said clients, coworkers, and boss.

A client called the office today, confused about the "whole process," asking if I could explain how it all works. She was a bit frazzled, because she wasn't aware of what had been happening since her initial consult with my boss, and what would occur at the proposed concept plan meeting. She had good reason to be a little upset: the entire process of meeting, designing, proposing, humming and hawing, budgeting, etc. hadn't been clearly explained to her. She wanted numbers, too, like the design and install estimates, which I couldn't possibly give over the phone. Would she really want to meet with us after I rattled off a handful of insignificantly high numbers? Probably not. So, I encouraged a meeting of the minds for next week, at which point my boss can break the news, and I can listen and learn. And take good notes.

From Designer to Crew: The Installation Phase

My coworkers and I met yesterday to go over a design I created that they're installing today. Tricky! It seemed so intuitive for me, but we spent about half an hour going over the details. The timing of the project is not ideal, because of a concrete contractor--we're installing before he installs, and our project kind of depends on the grade and slope of his project. So, there's that. Being a crew member this summer, I spent countless hours trying to understand designs that were less than clear. So, being on the other side now, I have some well-grounded fears:
1) Will my coworkers scratch their heads trying to decipher my plan?
2) Will the soil be compacted and tougher to work in than assumed?
3) Will they be able to complete the project in the time I estimated, or will it be way over-budget?
4) Oh, and will it rain/snow like it's supposed to today?
Oh god, I hope they don't hate me for this!

Week's End

Fall is definitely here and snow is in the forecast.

It's the end of the week, and I feel like I'm getting the hang of things around here. I'm learning the design process from the initial client meeting to the implementation stage. We're going ahead with one of the projects I helped design--a rain garden for an apartment complex. So, next comes the signing of contracts, paying of deposits, scheduling of Gopher One, and ordering of materials. My coworker is coaching me on all the details, and I'm grateful for her patience.

So, today was a do-a-little-bit-of-everything sort of day. I followed up with past clients, revised some estimates, learned about the client contract, completed a plan, met with a client to seal the deal on the aforementioned plan, and measured a site. It was great to be so busy learning all day.

Implementation Works!

before (May 2009)

after (October 2009)

after

I redesigned a client's back yard this spring, and they recently had a firm install it. It's strange to see it in 3-D, versus on a 24 x 36 sheet of paper. Here are a few before and after shots of their back entry.

Fun with Colored Pencils

Everyone was scrambling in the office today to get our presentation ready for 3M. They put out an RFP (Request For Proposal), and we're one of the (probably many) companies that's proposing a more sustainable landscape for their campus. My job this past week was to trace and color maps. The tracing experience was one thing, but the coloring was another. I colored a few close-up sections, like the one above, to be used in the PowerPoint presentation. So, let's cross our fingers!

Tracing

I spent 7.75 hours today tracing over plans. I learned soon into the process that: a) I have a shaky hand, b) it's helpful to adjust one's drawing table to avoid a stiff neck, and c) I never want to use a 1" = 300' scale ever again. Yes, that's right. I was tracing the base map of 3M's campus for a proposal, and it was in 1/300 scale. This is murder for shaky hands like mine. Well, at least I got the general picture.

I traced another other plan for the sake of a client, because it was basically a bunch of scribbles of plants masses and code words. We have a code system for labeling plants which is loosely based off of their scientific names. For instance, Amorpha canescens (leadplant) should probably be 'Ac,' but because some other plant probably has that code, it's something like 'Aaf.' Needless to say, they're not the most user friendly. So, I took some time to look up all the codes and their mature spreads so I could redraw them more appropriately in their spaces.

The Art of Measuring

Image: http://www.landscapedesignlab.com/article01b.htm

Measuring. It takes some patience and skill. In grad school, I learned how to measure properties for base maps like it was a science--it had to be exact, error-free, and clear. After all, someone had to read all the jumbled numbers and writing later in order to create the map. But, since I can't ask my professor the nit-picky questions anymore, I found that a great reference is the book Residential Landscape Architecture: Design Process for the Private Residence (Booth and Hess, 2008). The art of measuring and base map preparation is detailed in 47-page chapter. Needless to say, I went by the book my first time, and it took me 4 hours to measure my first the property alone.

Skip forward 3 months, and I'm a design intern now. I accompanied my boss to measure a site today, and it was fast and furious. It was also 40 degrees and raining. It only took an hour for us to scribble down some numbers on soggy graph paper, was not at all precise, and I had a heck of a time translating the info onto the base map when I got back to the office.

Lesson learned: I'm gonna do it my way next time--or at least an abbreviated version of the previous 4-hour long process.

Client Meetings and Rain Gardens

I sat in on my first client meetings for two projects I designed. Both projects focus on managing stormwater on site. My design included directing runoff into a dry stream bed which flows into a rain garden. All runoff water from the roof (3400 sq. ft) flows into one downspout, and there is a lot of force from that flow. The client's major concern was overflow onto his neighbor's sidewalk, and the liability issues of that water freezing.


The other client is on her condo association board, and was looking for a solution to manage the runoff within the very dense area where the condos are located. I discussed this project in my previous post, and the factors that make this a tricky project. The difficulty lies in the tight spaces, poor grades, underground wires, large tree roots, and compacted soil. Her main concerns were regarding resources, as her association is relying on a small grant to fund the project.

I look forward to seeing if and how these projects progress. So, I guess now we just wait and see.

Condo Association Project

We're putting together a bid for a project at a condo association to deal with their stormwater, and I've been asked to help with conceptual drawings. I visited the site today, located in the Seward neighborhood, and took lots of pictures and mental notes. I also made a sketch, based on my and my boss' ideas for the space.

The footprint of the site is very small, making landscaping and stormwater management a difficult task. There is almost zero grade, and in some places, a negative grade, so that water runs back into the foundation. As it stands now, there are downspouts on only one side of the buildings, and they direct water straight down into small areas a few feet from the foundation.

The condo association is looking to install French drains in those areas, but are open to other, more creative ideas. Soils and proximity to the foundations make it questionable as to whether French drains are the best option. So, we're proposing a way of incorporating the downspouts with arbors and rain chains to direct water into rain gardens.

Tight spaces and tree roots illustrate the difficulty of grading and creating areas large enough to hold rainwater. Other factors that further influence the bid include the cost of hauling away yards of excavated soil from the site, and the skilled labor to excavate around mature tree roots.

Where I Work

Last week I started a design internship with a small landscape design/build firm in South Minneapolis. I worked as a full time crew member with the company this summer, and am transitioning to being a part time crew member and part time design intern.

Rain Garden Tour

I recently was asked to create a few plant lists for clients for whom we installed rain gardens. I immediately got out the picture books for inspiration--Daniel Shaw and Rusty Schmidt's Plants for Stormwater Design and the Prairie Nursery plant catalog. While flipping madly through pages and scribbling Latin words, I already had the image in my mind of the perfect rain garden. It was the rain garden at the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District office that I had I visited in August.

The visit was part of the annual LEAP (Landscape Ecology Awards Program) Garden Tour, and I thought it was the best garden of the three on tour. The rain gardens were lush, bursting with blooms, and full of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Sedges and grasses undulated throughout with the blues and purples of fragrant hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) and liatris species.

The design has since inspired my plant selections for client rain garden projects.

the downspout

In bloom: blazingstars, boneset, bee balm, Joe Pye weed, fragrant hyssop...

 August color

blazingstars and prairie onions