First contact and the brief
The conversation that decides whether the project works
A professional does not start designing when a client rings. They qualify, they visit, they have the uncomfortable money conversation, and they write it all down. The brief is the document every later decision gets measured against — including yours.
You end up with
A written design brief for your own property: goals, constraints, budget, and what you are not doing.
What you produce in this phase
Your design brief
Write the full brief for your property: who uses the garden and how; the must-haves; the explicit exclusions; the budget and staging; the maintenance level you will realistically sustain; the style direction; and the three things that would make you call the project a failure.
Lessons
- 01
The enquiry call: the questions a pro asks before quoting anything
A good landscaper qualifies on the phone in ten minutes: what, where, when, how much, and who decides. Half of enquiries are politely declined at this stage. Learn the questions and you will ask them of yourself.
⏱ 25 minFoundation - 02
The consultation visit: how a pro runs the first meeting
Ninety minutes on site, a structured walk-through, and a specific set of things they photograph and measure before leaving. There is a method to it, and it is repeatable.
⏱ 30 minFoundation - 03
The money conversation: Perth budget bands and what they actually buy
The single most useful thing a professional knows is what a number buys. Realistic Perth ranges for a courtyard, a full backyard, retic, paving, decking and a retaining wall — so you can size ambition to wallet before you fall in love with a drawing.
⏱ 35 minFoundation - 04
Needs, wants, and the five-year view
Clients ask for what they can picture, not what they need. The professional skill is separating the two, and asking what the property has to do in five years — kids, dogs, ageing, resale — before committing concrete to the ground.
⏱ 25 minFoundation - 05
Writing the design brief
The brief is the contract between the site and the design. Everything from here gets tested against it, and in Phase 11 you will score the finished garden against this document.
⏱ 60 minFoundation📐 Makes: Your design brief