Organic Landscape Business

By Kristyne McDaniel

In my organic landscape business, I help people plan and implement an organic plan for their landscaping needs.  An organic garden doesn’t have to be dedicated to only one item.  I have special expertise in designing elegant landscapes that are simple to maintain and use organic practices.

The first thing that I do for clients of my organic landscape business is draw the site for the project on graph paper.  I include buildings, plants, sunlight and drainage.  I also take photos and arrange them into a panorama when we are deciding what stays and what goes.

The plans that my organic landscape business make use colored highlighters to designate public, utility, private and problem areas.  We mark highly visible areas pink for public.  We color the utility areas like the trash cans, storage sheds and above ground meters yellow.  We denote private sitting areas in blue and mark problems such as impossible-to-remove rocks and poor drainage in green.

A budget is decided upon with the clients of my organic landscape business and they usually agree to my suggestion of using at least half of the budget on the public areas.  This is important because it creates a welcoming atmosphere.  The best plants in the public areas are low-maintenance.  I also like to include beds that feature evergreen ground cover and flowering shrubs.

An important part of my organic landscape business is helping clients with eliminate lousy views.  Sometimes a lousy view is a neighboring property, sometimes it is garbage cans or utility boxes.  I have found that obscuring the view with a trellis that is growing vine roses or berries is a great plan to make things prettier.

My organic landscape business stresses fruit trees.  Fruit trees are a great choice for shade and also for a beautiful backdrop for herbs and perennial flowers.  We work with our clients to create a desirable view as the focal point of their private garden.

Most people don’t really realize that an organic landscape business can plan not just the aesthetics of a garden, but also the maintenance.  I encourage clients to plan for compost bins and to build garden centers in their backyards to make caring for their new organic landscape easier.

Another thing I try to do as an organic landscape business owner is to educate my clients about beneficial insects and winged visitors.  I let them know that if they plan a garden that is diverse and contains flowers, herbs and vegetables can encourage these visitors and adding a water feature and a bird feeding station will keep them coming back.