Client Organizer – Dwight Goodin

A successful garden must be well designed, well installed, and well maintained. This questionnaire will reveal your needs and desires and will help me to understand the site. If you have downloaded this from my website, please print this into a hard copy. Please take some time to reflect on these questions and fully complete the questionnaire. Ideally I would like you to take this form into the space that is or will be your garden at the time of day you would naturally use this space. In that way you can experience how the light changes and you can more easily determine how best to answer these questions for you and your garden. All of the information will be confidential.

When you are finished please submit the form below, and one of our landscape professionals will contact you.

Please, contemplate your current garden space.

What do you like most about it right now?

How do you live in it?

What would improve that experience?

How do you feel when you are in your garden?

How would you like to feel in your garden?

What do you like LEAST about your garden right now?

THE FUNCTIONAL ENVIRONMENT

DESIGN FUNCTIONS

Please check each function that will apply to your use of the garden space.

Outdoor Dining
Indoor / Outdoor Entertaining
Children
Pets

Please check all garden activities that may apply:

Consider what areas of your garden are viewed from the inside of your house. Which views are the most important?

Are there specific features that you would like to see from certain windows?

Think about some ways that your outside garden can enhance the inside of your home when seen through the windows.

DESIGN MOOD

Please check all moods that apply:

YOUR ENVIRONMENT’S VITAL STATISTICS

Do you consider your home to be a permanent residence or an interim home?

Permanent Residence
Interim Home

Do you want to screen features with plants or architecture?

Plants
Architecture
Both, Plants & Architecture

What is the style and age of your home?

Describe (if known) the location of underground utilities and any distinct drainage patterns or problems.

Do you have measurements of design areas? Plot plans or surveys?

Describe your property’s place in the surrounding topography. Are you surrounded by hills or flat lands, are you near a body of water?

What is the geographic orientation and quantity of sun?

How would you describe the character of your site?

Are there existing features that you would like to remove?

Are there features that you wish to renovate or paint?

If your garden could help you to live better, describe what that would be like.

HARDSCAPE - THE STRUCTURAL ENVIRONMENT

DESIGN THEME

What design theme do you prefer? Please circle one or more.

Asian (strong symbolism, simplicity, use of stone elements, sand or gravel)
English (colorful, mixed borders, perennials, topiary, eclectic, naturalistic)
Northwest (asymmetrical, 12-month interest, native plants, mixed woody and perennial)
Contemporary (single specimen plant, mass plantings, simple)
Formal (symmetry, clipped hedges, lawns, seasonal container plantings)

MOTIF

Check all the shapes that you prefer

BUILDING MATERIALS

Check all that appeal to you as possibilities:

UTILITY STRUCTURES

Check all features that you would like to include:

LANDSCAPE STRUCTURES

Check all features that you would like to include:

INSTALLATION, CARE AND MAINTENANCE

How much time will be spent on maintenance each week by family members?

Do you employ a gardening service?

Yes
No

Who fertilizes/treats lawns and shrubs?

Do you want an immediate landscape or are you willing to watch it grow and develop over time?

Will you hire someone to install the landscape or do it yourself?

Hire someone
Do it yourself
Both

BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS

Please indicate the budget figure that is closest to what you are willing to spend:

Does your budget allow for complete renovation immediately or adaptation of the plan in stages? Please explain:

IRRIGATION

Once a landscape design has been installed, even with drought-tolerant plants, the vegetation needs to be watered consistently for two years. What is your form of irrigation?

SOFTSCAPE - THE PLANTED ENVIRONMENT

The plants that you select for your garden can provide many things. Take a moment and consider the goals listed below. Place a check by each goal that you would like to achieve through your plants:

low maintenance, drought tolerant landscape
make a statement or provide an image: what would that be?
create a sanctuary or a place for solitude
organically grow edible vegetables and/or herbs
attract wildlife
noise/wind reduction
provide cut flowers
provide for exercise or therapy
create privacy

Are there plants that you are particularly fond of?

Are there plants that you dislike or are allergic to?

What colors would you like to have around you in your garden?

Are you interested in specialty garden areas, i.e. vegetables, roses or herbs?

Would you like these integrated or in separate areas of your landscape?

Check your favorite season(s):

When will you be using your garden?

Please check one:

Lawn is an important part of my garden.
A well-maintained lawn is nice but I can’t/don’t want to take care of it.
I dislike lawn.

Please check one:

I will garden organically.
I appreciate the concept of organic gardening and don't know how to do it.
I understand Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
I will use chemicals.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Name *

First

Last

Address

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

State

Zip Code

Home/Office Phone

Cell

Fax

Email *

Dwight Goodin’s Client Organizer