Those good projects

About once, maybe twice, each year, a residential project comes along that really gets my wheels turning. I'm working on one of those projects right now. You see, most residential clients could care less about the landscaping at their home. All they want is just some "bushes" and maybe a tree or two...as long as they are both Crape Myrtles (I'll save my feelings on the over-used Crapes for another post when I'm in a terrible mood and can fully capture my dislike.) I'm working on a project now that is one of those special ones.

Our clients on this one have a clear vision of what they want and are able to communicate that to me. Its nice to be able to work for someone who can say why or why they don't like some of my design decisions. As we go forward with revisions, that input helps immensely with future decisions.

This project has it all. Grading and drainage, preservation, reforestation, micro-climates, lighting and a plant list a mile long. Its rare that I feel the need to get up in the middle of the night to jot something down pertaining to the project so I don't forget in the morning. I've sent myself at least 10 emails in the past week and even done a few thumbnail sketches in the wee hours of the morning.

The really great thing about this project is that landscape construction begins tomorrow morning...before the drawings are complete. The client began looking at their closing date and we gave them a rough estimate on construction time and we came to the mutual conclusion that we had to get started a.s.a.p. or they would likely not meet the deadline. So, in the morning, our guys will begin taming the forest that surrounds the home, opening views pruning and removing dead material, ect. This will let us see what we truly have to work with before signing off on the documents for approval from the almighty Woodlands Association (like the Crape Myrtles, I wait until I'm in the right mood to post about the Association!)

This is a high profile location and we are going the extra mile at our own expense as an investment in the company's future. We should get some great pictures for our portfolio and website out of this one. I'm sure I'll post much more about this project in the coming weeks.