Big Mistakes - What They Can Teach Us

I messed up. I underbid my first big project by several thousands of dollars, and I feel completely incompetent.  I put my boss and crew through a heck of a week at the project site, and now I got worry.

So, instead of going into the details, I'll tell you what I learned from my mistakes (and my two hour meeting with my boss).

• Bid better. A client may not want/be able to pay for the amount reflected on their estimate. That's understandable. Rather than reducing our prices, however, we should make suggestions about phasing the project and/or omitting certain items.  In the case of this particular project, we cut costs wherever we could to fit the client's budget, and in so doing, we backed ourselves into the tinniest of corners.

• Double check. Triple check. Octuple check your numbers. I left off a portion of the estimate which cost our company, and could have easily been avoided if I checked the plant orders with the bid. There were other major discrepancies that also could have been caught. Though I had the estimate reviewed and checked initially by my co-workers, we should have gone over it again together when we were finalizing costs and placing orders.

• Don't worry about spending "too much" time creating an accurate estimate. It's better to spend company time researching and calculating costs if it results in a flawless estimate than skimping on time and underbidding the client. I often feel constrained by our itemized time sheets, because it shows how much time I spend on a project. Time spent can be interpreted as time wasted, and that's the last thing I need to worry about.

So, how do I move forward with projects and perfect the art of estimating without running the company into the ground in the process?

Butting Heads in the Office

I had the longest meeting with my boss yesterday. The meeting wasn't long; it was the battery of criticism I received and wasn't prepared for.

 There seems to be a communication barrier between us, which makes certain projects difficult to understand and work on. I play several roles in my position, one being the Decipherer of information and Transcriber of design ideas. My other role is Messenger of information between my boss and our subcontractors and crew.

I now realize that I have to:

• Take initiative in getting the information I need, because it won't necessarily be provided. This includes design notes, drawings, photos, estimates, accurate measurements, site analyses, and any other relevant information. I need to make sure I ask for all that up front so I can avoid these communication barriers down the road.

• Meet with all the players on site. This it's been working: my boss goes on site, brings back information, which I then send on to our subcontractor, and what results is a bad game of telephone. In order for our projects to be successful, we all need to take the time to work together on site. But, of course, the limiting factor is time, so I need to be proactive about scheduling that time. That or I make the suggestion that my boss work with the subs directly, and leave me out of the equation.

Any thoughts?

Circling Back

I'm working on a complete re-design for Macalester Plymouth United Church in St. Paul. They originally asked us to design an empty lot next to their building, and now we're looking at the entire landscape. A house used to stand on the lot, but was demolished last year, leaving a footprint of coarse fill and exotic invasive weeds.

The project is a unique one for me, because it's so close to my Alma mater - Macalester College. The place where I put down my roots in Minnesota is just across the street.  I spent countless hours in the painting studio overlooking the very site on which I'm now working with EnergyScapes. I painted this same view from my studio space, working late at night because I enjoyed the hues that emerged from the darkness. One of my paintings is a portrait of the big white house that formerly stood on the lot next to the church. The painting is dark - a faint horizon line of tree tops against the night sky, and a roof line emerging pale against the dark background. That image, which I painted in 2002, hangs on my wall at home, a snapshot of the peaceful evenings when all I did was observe and paint.

The image I'm looking at now is bare, where the house once stood. I'm imagining swaths of colorful prairie species moving around the site. There is a patio where people will congregate and curving paths guiding them to and fro. Fragrant flowers are within arm's reach of the seating benches and new trees will grow up into their majestic canopies. The space welcomes you in and guides you about.  In spring there will be bursting buds of serviceberries and crabapples, nodding heads of Virginia bluebells and humble Uvularia. Summer will bring buzzing bees to the warm prairie flowers and grasses. Seed heads and berries will persist from fall into winter and the birds will be happy. Stormwater will stay on site with a series of rain gardens that will solve the current drainage concerns.

How could I not be excited about this project? It's my opportunity to be part of something transformative and full of energy. I feel like I've come full circle from my Macalester education to this project - finding new challenges and delights, and growing throughout the wonderful process.

An Internship

I began a design internship last fall with EnergyScapes, Inc., a native landscape design/build firm in South Minneapolis. I learned about EnergyScapes through my best friend who grew up next door. I started working with them in the fall of 2008 as part of the maintenance crew, and continued in 2009 on both the maintenance and installation crews. As my internship came to a close in January, I transitioned into a design position, and am now the Ecological Designer. My coworkers and boss have taught me valuable lessons along the way, and I continue to learn from them everyday. I love my job for that and the challenges that come with it.

Garden Tours - and I'm on one!

 the backyard with the client's sculpture

My garden design for a St. Paul residence was included on the Minneapolis-St. Paul Home Tour this past weekend. The home was one of 18 homes on tour in St. Paul, and the backyard featured the redesign I completed last summer. I can't take credit for the installation, which was contracted out by APL Landscape Solutions, but I did design the graceful curves and intimate spaces that define the garden.

The Home Tour was an exciting opportunity for me, because it was my first chance to represent myself and network with people. I arrived on Day 2 of the two day tour with a stack of business cards, looking forward to discussing the garden with people. It was a welcome challenge for me, because self-promotion is something with which I regularly struggle. The experience was even more challenging being that most of the tour goers are do-it-yourselfers who don't necessary want or need the help. I hesitantly offered my card to a couple people, but I still had a sizable stack of cards left after three hours. It was a learning experience for me, and I do feel that I'm slowly coming out of my shell. One networking day at a time.

Though I didn't shake everyone's hand or make myself particularly well known, the tour was really encouraging for me. Most everyone complimented some aspect of the garden. One of the lines I overheard over the course of the afternoon, and which particularly touched me was, "Oh, what a peaceful space!" I'm glad I conveyed some things clearly through all of this!

Awards!

 One of the images of our winning project

We won a merit award! Way back in February, we applied to the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) 2010 International Design Awards. Well, we received a merit award for the project we submitted! We put a lot of time into the application, culling through hundreds of images from the past five years for the project site and selecting our best fifteen to submit. I never thought we'd make the cut, because of the project's "natural" aesthetic. The imagery really told the story, however, and thankfully we had enough "before and after" shots to show the transformation of the landscape.

In Praise of Trees

In need of inspiration recently, I looked back into my photo archive and rediscovered my love of trees. Just look at what they can do. They provide visual interest throughout the long winter months.  They reduce runoff by infiltrating snow and water. They provide food for forest birds, like woodpeckers. They remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, store carbon in their trunks, branches, leaves and roots, and release oxygen back into the air for us to breath. They frame our views. They teach us. They provide shade and cool the ground. How many things are more precious than trees?

Looking Forward

As winter lugs on, I can't help but make a list of everything I'm excited about for this upcoming spring and summer.

1. Doing routine maintenance at these select properties.

 Not a bad place to spend the day weeding, eh?

2. Stonework! Though backbreakingly hard, the end result is so rewarding.

 Stone fire pit in the woods

3. Seeing wildlife while working. 

 

And, because of the law opposites, I present a list of things I'm not so thrilled about:

1. Digging out root bound trees in the heat of the summer.

Look at the poor strangling roots on that thing!

Lakeshore Properties!

Sometimes we get lucky and a great client just falls into our lap. The client of note was referred to us by the architect who designed their newly remodeled lakeside cabin. Their landscape was basically a blank slate: mostly lawn, some old trees, and some weeds. They had a list of goals for the site, which is always helpful, because it gives us something concrete to work with, and it shows the client's investment in the project. In addition, they had roughly drafted a concept plan for the site, which I use, along with the architect's complete site plan and a set of photos to create the following design.

The criteria for the design included:

• Screening from their neighbor
• Privacy from the road
• Prairie-like species
• Inclusion of a fruit orchard somewhere
• Open views to the lake

 Though I haven't yet visited the site, I'm excited because it's on a lake and the soil is sandy, a nice change from the usual clay. I hope to be part of the install crew, because, did I mention the lake and the sandy soil? Except for the likelihood of compaction around the construction zone of the house, the conditions seem pretty great to me.

Concept vs. Final Designs: Do's and Don'ts

I learned this fall when it's appropriate to draft a concept plan versus a final plan. Some potential clients asked us for a plan, along with an estimate. I spent hours on the base plan, design, plant selection, and detailed estimate.  I presented everything at our follow up meeting, and they seemed excited about the project, but were a bit hesitant about the price. After several follow-up emails and phone calls, I never heard from them again. I won't write them off for spring quite yet, but I'm not counting on them calling back. It was frustrating for me and I'm sure the company, because they paid me for all my work,  for which I was planning on billing the client. 

Final Plan

 

 Plant List

This is a great example of keeping it simple in the beginning design phase. Clients don't need a plant list at the first meeting. They probably just want a ballpark estimate and some ideas for their landscape. I learned this is Design 101 (not the exact class name), but didn't really learn it until now.

So, my goal for the next projects are to convey the idea without being bogged down by details. I'll try to follow these points:

• Remember that the first design is a concept plan. That means it is a general notion or idea. It is a lure to attract the clients to a final design and signing a contract.

• Don't spend too many non-billable hours on something to which the client doesn't have to commit. This includes design work, plant selection, and estimating.

My goal is to revisit these often to keep me on track and to hopefully speed up the design process.

Design Award Entry

 The checklist--done and done!

This week I worked on our submission for the 2010 APLD International Landscape Design Awards. What I learned from submitting our entry is the need for before and after photos. And, not just any photos, which would be useful, but excellent photos. I culled through hundreds, if not thousands, of photos on our server to find a few good examples worthy of a design award, and it was really difficult. We didn't have many taken from the same view points to show the landscape's transformation over time. The photos we did have were either out of focus, washed out, too dark, or taken when the garden was not its showiest. So, the lessons learned here were:

• Organize photos in a more user friendly and efficient way that allows the viewer to more easily search for what they're looking for.

• Keep a mental note of where "before" photos were taken in the landscape, and then take "after" photos from the  same locations. Or, better yet, make a photo file of those angles! 

• Take pictures when you first get to a site. Don't wait until after you've worked in the sun all day and are sweaty and tired to take all your photos. You'll probably forget the angles you originally wanted to shoot from, and the afternoon light will probably wash out what you're trying to shoot, assuming it's the height of summer and the sun is still blazing at 5 pm.

MIA

Oh, wow. It's been almost two months since my last post. Yikes. Needless to say, things got a little busy for me. I was working on a couple designs simultaneously for two clients while finishing my semester and starting a new job. So, that makes three jobs now! I'll explain those projects in my next post. But, in the meantime, here's what I've been doing over my school break:

1.  I explored Olmsted and Vaux's masterpiece: Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

New Yorkers sledding in Prospect Park

Huge trees in Prospect Park

2.  I ambled through Fort Tryon Park in Manhattan. 

Serpentine stone wall 

Stonework in the park

Linden Terrace

 Snow covered yucca in the Heather Garden

3.  I took the train to the Dia:Beacon. The art gallery sits on the banks of the Hudson River, sixty miles north of New York City

Dia:Beacon, New York

4.  I explored the Smithsonian grounds and museums in my hometown, DC. 

Sculptural opening at the Smithsonian

Snow in the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden, DC

Huge pines on the Mall

5.  I walked around historic Capitol Hill.

Herb garden at the Shakespeare Library, DC