Autumn Landscape Design: How To Save Money, Get Faster Results, And End Up With A More Beautiful Landscape By Designing In The Fall
Savvy shoppers know that often the best time to buy something is after "the season" is over, or before it begins. According to Tom Altgelt, a Colorado landscape designer serving the Denver/Boulder area, this is very much the case with garden designing. "I often encounter potential clients who think they may as well wait until spring before having a garden designed. I tell them that there are actually many advantages to starting the planning process in the fall." Specifically, a homeowner can have a landscape much quicker, and end up with a result they are happier with, while reducing costs.
One important consideration is getting the best landscaping contractor, and getting a good deal. Since landscape construction work slows way down in the fall and winter, says Altgelt, "sometimes we can get a better price on construction, and very likely we can still get the best contractors, who are often booked solid by early spring."
Depending on location, it may be possible to do much of the physical work over the autumn and winter, particularly with a southern exposure. In the Denver/Boulder area, says Altgelt, "Often, starting in the fall, the really messy work of the 'hardscape' construction, i.e. earth moving, creating rock formations, retaining walls and paving can be completed over the winter."
For the massive rock features some of his clients want, Tom has to drive off-road through Wyoming ranch country to pick out rocks weighing up to 20 tons. Next he tags them and arranges for their removal. If he has too late a start, those rocks could be snowed in until spring! "It's a race against time for me to get them out."
In addition, most trees and shrub plantings can be done in late fall. "They love being planted in the autumn, as winter is when they establish their roots." With a root base established, they will be ready to make an entrance with foliage and blossoms in the spring. Some landscape plants will also be discounted in the fall, and the specialty plants can be ordered in late fall for a spring arrival, to get the very best of the best plant material.
"People who start in the fall will often have a landscape that is blooming and starting to look beautiful in the spring. Those who wait until spring may end up with a big ugly construction mess, with back hoes and mud for much of the spring and possibly into the summer months." I don't think I'd want to see bare earth outside my window when I could be seeing a beautiful garden taking shape.
Then there is the design itself. Ideally, a landscape will be beautiful for all four seasons. However, according to Altgelt, "Most landscapes are designed for the spring and summer, because that's easy with so many plants that are just extraordinary those times of year. When a landscape is designed in the fall, it is easier to envision the effects of plantings that are beautiful in the fall and winter." He mentions the reddish or pinkish Sedum of Autumn Joy, which perfectly complements the deep purple Salvia in the fall. The bright gold black-eyed Susan adds to the fall palette, along with many other beautiful autumn plants that are sometimes overlooked when the fall season is not in the designer's awareness.
Designing in the autumn can also inspire greater winter beauty, so the landscape will still draw attention after the leaves fall. "The evergreens, of course, come into their glory, and there are also evergreen grasses like the Blue Avena and Festucas, which beautifully reflect the blue of our Spruces. Our deciduous ornamental grasses are also very beautiful during the winter, keeping the structure of the garden alive until spring." Deciduous yellow twig and red twig shrubs display their colorful stems all winter long. "The winter is also a good time to envision the rock formations, how to give flowing form and shape to the land, especially by using dry stream beds to direct the run off from storms."
Waxing philosophical, Altgelt continues: "In my experience, the most beautiful landscapes come out of our developing an engaged and heartfelt relationship with nature. To me, designing 'green' landscapes is only the beginning. Most people I've met who have property feel a certain bond with their land and are in some way deeply connected with it. While spring is a time that is bursting with new energy, the fall and winter is a more contemplative time, a time to listen to the land and let it speak to you."
So, a fall design lends itself to practical rewards, such as saving money, along with a soulful experience of co-creating with nature. "When the practical and the spiritual are combined, something truly magical can emerge.
To learn more about what's possible for your landscape design, contact Thomas Altgelt, award-winning Boulder/Denver landscape architect. Visit http://www.altgelt.com to view Denver landscape designs, as well as landscape and garden designs throughout Colorado and internationally.
