Welcome to part two of our side yard landscape process with Madison’s very own Indian Creek Wholesale Nursery!
In case you missed part one, catch yourself up quickly by clicking here to read it. It’ll tell you all about why we’re doing this process, why we picked Indian Creek to give us a hand with all of it (instead of designing it all ourselves), and more. Then, head right back here to read part two!
Indian Creek Landscaping Part Two: Design Reveal & Plant Walk
All we had to do after lead designer Chris McMullen left our home last week (after our initial, quick meeting) was sit back and anxiously await our online appointment to see what he came up with.
Last Thursday was our scheduled Zoom appointment with Chris where he’d be sharing with us all of his big ideas that he’d put together to give us the sideyard of our dreams. As soon as we logged into the meeting, I let out a big gasp!
THAT’S MY HOUSE!
(But also, that’s not my house. It’s just a digital replica. But that’s what my house could look like!? SIGN ME UP!)
I could not believe my eyes. McMullen’s ability to create an exact digital replica of our home left me speechless. He even included our porch swing and all of my flower pots to help me really get a feel for how all of the new plants would actually look.
I was already so in love with what I was seeing!
For the next 45 minutes, McMullen digitally took me on a “tour” of my own yard, sharing in-depth about each and every plant that he’d selected. He was incredibly patient with my questions and never made me feel rushed.
As a reminder, here are some images of what our current side yard looks like compared to what the digital designs show that it could be one day.
A couple of things that really, really stood out to me in a positive way about this step of the process:
- McMullen didn’t just pick out attractive plants; His incredible horticulture knowledge absolutely shined in his selections. He described that at least one plant would be blooming at some point throughout the entire year, so the side yard would never look dull. He shared about the plants that love full sun versus mostly shade and how that played into what he selected. He shared about why he put certain plants next to each other and how intentional he was in adding contrast in color, height, and texture throughout the entire design. I was blown away.
- Not only did McMullen make outstanding plant selections, but he also added things such as a landscape border, some lighting, and a paver pad for our pesky garbage and recycling bins. He truly created a side yard that is not only visually attractive but also functional.
After Viewing the Indian Creek Landscaping Design
After viewing the design, it was time to talk about money. McMullen pulled up a plant list that itemized each of our plants, how many we would need, and how much each would cost. The cost for the plants was less than we were expecting for a project of this scale, so we were pleased!
Next, McMullen emailed us our plant list and some digital still shots of our designs. He encouraged us to swing by Indian Creek Wholesale Nursery to have an employee walk us through the nursery and view all of our plants in person.
Nursery worker Sean Eaton took us on our plant walk, and there were no questions he couldn’t answer.
His knowledge of each and every plant was incredible. I was already thrilled with what McMullen put together, but seeing all of the plants in person made me even more anxious to keep this train moving right along.
At the end of our plant walk, we confirmed the delivery date for our plants (this Friday!) and discussed many tips and tricks for ensuring the healthiest plants once they’re in the ground. Eaton was very patient and thorough with explaining a variety of fertilizers, composts, etc. that we could use at certain times throughout the plants’ first year to see them thrive. When we left the plant walk, I felt very confident in our plan moving forward.
This Saturday morning is planting day! Indian Creek landscaping customers can either choose to install the plants themselves or hire a contractor. Since we don’t have any plants to remove, we’ve opted to plant them ourselves. Wish us luck!
Discussing the Financial Side of Things
Here’s a breakdown of the financial commitment of hiring the Indian Creek landscaping design program.
Step one: The fee to have a professional designer come out to one’s home to survey the project is roughly $75-$175 depending on the scale of the project described. During this appointment, the designer will stay roughly one hour making a sketch of ideas of how to overhaul a certain area and make very specific plant suggestions.
If a customer decides that he or she wants the designer to create an entire design replica for the project (as seen above and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!), the initial fee will be applied towards the overall design fee. This fee is determined by how long the designer anticipates it will take to make the plan.
Step two: The fee for an entire design plan is split into two payments; one payment is due before the design process begins and the second part is due upon completion of the project. Your experience will then play out exactly how you’ve read in parts one and two of our process.
Step three: This final step involves actually going through with purchasing the plants themselves. Once the customer decided that he or she is ready to make the entire plan a reality, it’s time to pay for the plants! Customers will have the option to do a plant walk and actually select each and every plant to put on the truck and have delivered. Indian Creek desires for the customer to have as much involvement in the process as they’d like.
In a nutshell, there is a design option to fit every single budget!
Have a budget of roughly $175? Give Indian Creek a call to discuss how to overhaul a specific bed and receive a rough sketch of plant suggestions.
Have a budget of roughly $250-$1,000? Give Indian Creek Wholesale Nursery a call to receive an entire digital replica of your project with a matching plant list and scale of where to put every single plant. (My parents’ received a professional landscape scale of everything around their yard, and it increased the value of the property tremendously. My parents love that the previous owners were able to pass off the landscape plan so that they know now about everything in the ground.)
This is 100% a worthwhile investment in your yard and home. This option takes all of the guesswork out of the project, leaving homeowners with a timeless plan for how to move forward with improving their yard. This visual project also guaranteed that homeowners will be satisfied with what they put in the ground because they’ve had the chance to visually already see it (because WOW those replicas are so good!)
We have a neighbor that also hired Indian Creek Wholesale Nursery to do a soft and hardscape landscape plan for them. They have a very large backyard that currently has very little landscaping, and ICWN was able to create a visual of the entire yard with beautifully landscaped beds on all four sides plus a hardscaped area (outdoor kitchen, pergola, etc.) My neighbor now has a plan for how to move forward in phases with her backyard. Indian Creek gave her a roadmap for where to go from here as their budget allows.
As aforementioned, our plants arrive Friday, we’ll plant Saturday, and then I’ll be doing the whole before and after article next week! Stay tuned!
Psst: Did you know that from my first conversation with Indian Creek to the time the plants go in the ground that the whole process will have only taken three weeks? What could your yard or project area look like three weeks from now if you gave Indian Creek’s design program a call today? Rip that Band-Aid off and go for it. Make the call, get the info, and get that design plan! You won’t be sorry. We’ve done a ton of our own landscaping on our other homes in the past, and working with these designers shows me how much time we’ve wasted in the past struggling to come up with our own plans.
Click here to fill out an inquiry form with Indian Creek’s design program. Of course, filling out the form and having a quick discussion about the next steps is complimentary.
Indian Creek Whole Nursery Vision & Mission
MISSION: To honor God by growing quality, convenience, and character
VISION: To create economic opportunity and enrich the landscape of the Tennessee Valley
Click here to continue to part three: the reveal!
More from Madison
Indian Creek Landscaping in Madison Part One: Surveying the Project
