The Joy of Landscape Design
One of the more common questions we get is, “so what does ‘Verdance’ mean?”
Bright Euryops and colorful Correa inspire joy in this Palo Alto garden on even the cloudiest day!
It probably means “green-ness”… or it may very well be a made-up word. For us and our clients, though, it's a blending of the Latin “verde” (green) and the German “danz” (dance)—the joy that a well-designed landscape brings every single day.
To be sure, a lot of work goes into making a landscape joy-full. First, we need to discover the opportunities and limitations presented by the site: how much sun will it receive? Is it a windy location? What are the qualities of the soil? Is water readily available? What’s the environmental context—native plants and animals, neighboring conditions? Is it quiet or noisy, easily accessible or difficult to reach? Identifying and evaluating these factors is known as the site analysis phase of the design process. Is it glamorous? No. Important? Absolutely.
Second, we have to know our clients’ wishes and needs: what do they expect of their “new” property? Will it be a place to entertain, or to relax? To use, or simply admire? What are their aesthetic preferences? Super-importantly: how much money are they prepared to spend? How much time do they have for the renovation? This investigation yields the design program. It’s part research paper, part connect-the-dots, with answers that often lead to more questions.
Our work then is to reconcile the design program (the dream) with the site analysis (the reality). Planning a lush oasis in an arid desert environment won’t yield joy. Promising a party pavilion on a steep slope is… well… asking for disappointment. The process is a bit like piecing together clues to solve a mystery, or maybe piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. Is it joyous? Well, not to say we won’t bite our lip in the process, but for those of us who enjoy escape rooms and jigsaw puzzles, yes it is!
Our clients who find thrill in discovery will enjoy the journey just as much as we do. We can all play together in exploring design concepts, trying on solutions. These are usually the most gratifying projects for everyone: the clients who say, “it’s more important to get things done right and enjoy the work as we go along.” (Seriously, that’s a direct quote from one of our clients. Love them.)
Of course, other clients just want to get to the destination — and we can’t blame them. That joy is undeniable, the colorful gardens humming with happy pollinators, the laughter rolling out from summer evening dinner parties. We know good things take time, but oh, the suspense! Fortunately, we’re all motivated to see our unique visions become unique realities, and with patience and commitment, they always do.
It’s not always fun and games. Pursuing answers and solving puzzles can be serious business. But when it’s all in the name of creating joy, it’s all good.
Who’s in?
;-)