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The exterior landscape should be viewed as an extension of your buildings and property. As such, just as much thought and effort should be employed in the design and furnishing of your outdoor space as is employed in your interior space. The landscape should echo the architectural elements of the buildings but most importantly convey an overall visual message of your pride of ownership to the general public, your tenants, your tenants customers and your tenants employees. A well designed and groomed exterior image can reduce turnovers and encourage tenants and tenant’s customer along with their employees to remain loyal while increasing lease rates.

A superior exterior design begins with a well-conceived Master Design Plan. The Master Design Plan identifies the plant and hardscape material that would best satisfy the needs of the client, the site, and the role of the building to be landscaped. It also provides an overview and a more detailed scope of the development of the outdoor space. It outlines the objectives, priorities, and time line, as defined jointly by the client and the designer. It establishes the process for the planning, the layout, and the arrangement of all the elements to be incorporated into the development of each exterior space. The goal is to provide, within budget, the greatest amount of function, beauty, harmony, and unity.

The first step in creating the Master Design Plan is establishing a budget. Reputable and published reports extol the virtues of the "10 Percent Rule." Plan to budget, or invest, 5%-10% of your building’s value for landscape projects: 5% for design, 55% for plantings, and 40% for hardscapes. Reports indicate that this investment can increase overall property value by as much as 20%.

There is a price to produce high quality and unique plans. What are the penalties for a poor design? Some common undesirable results are obstructed views and plants that quickly die because of improper selection and/or location. Mistakes can be expensive in terms of not only dollars, but in time, frustration, and dissatisfaction with the completed results. It costs just as much (maybe more) to install a poorly designed landscape as it does to install a well-designed project.

The concept phase is the initial process in the formulation of a Landscape Design. The concept phase establishes the visual and physical relationships among buildings, plants and hardscapes, and considers the following:

1. Site Analysis and Inventory: accesses the potentials and the limitations of the site.

o Considers topographical influences of soil type, terrain slopes, wet areas, and drainage.

o Considers the "micro-climate" influences of sun, shade, winds, rain, snow, and noise.

o Considers the "macro-concepts" of social and environmental issues, water / utility consumption, global warming etc..

2. Identification of Lifestyles and Personal Preferences.

3. Architectural Analysis: defines style of building, architectural features to enhance and considers future maintenance along with replacement costs.

4. Definition of Space Function and Usage: provides for the interaction between people and the site and considers the mood desired for each outdoor area, e.g. professional, elegant, relaxed etc..

5. Identification of site circulation: facilitates vehicular and pedestrian traffic access / flow.

6. View Enhancement: analyses and enhances view from all points, inside and out, and screens out undesirable views. Also provides points of interest and the WOW factor.

7. Amenities: identifies and specifies specimen plantings and hardscape elements (walkways, patios, pergolas, arbors, trellis, water features, outdoor furniture and statuaries). Considers the interface of elements for aesthetics, function, scale, proportion, balance and contrast. Special attempts to involve all "Senses and Seasons."

8. Impact on the interface between design/installation; design/future maintenance; installation/with future plant growth and or building expansion.

Landscape designing is both an art and a science. A good design blends artistic expression with technical know how.

Every project is unique, like fingerprints, snowflakes, or zebra stripes. We do not believe in rubber stamp packages and the cookie cutter approach, but prefer to customize and personalize each design and installation.

Skyhorse Station can help you design, install and maintain all phases of the development of exterior spaces. Our experienced design and install team consists of horticulturists, foresters, and Michigan Certified Nurserymen who are problem-solvers with a passion for this industry and a reverence for nature. They are cross-trained and schooled in fundamental design principals and approaches, allowing Skyhorse to implement your landscaping needs into your individual outdoor space in a more organized, efficient, and timely manner. This "one-stop" approach allows you to stretch your landscaping budget and maximize your results.