Intermediate Garden Design
Example of an intermediate design
The intermediate design is a good choice if you just need general ideas and are comfortable filling in the details yourself, such as choosing and measuring out exact locations for trees, vegetable beds and so on. It is by far our most popular design option.
Service summary:
The Intermediate Design Pack contains the following:
Cost: $990 urban / $1190 nearby rural (Note: additional $50 surcharge if initial consultation on a weekend)
Costs for rural properties reflect the greater complexity of rural properties, and the longer preparation and travel times involved. Nearby rural means within an hour's drive of Canberra. Please contact me for pricing for properties further afield than this.
Optional extras:
Service summary:
- Garden consultation
- Intermediate Design Pack delivered via email.
The Intermediate Design Pack contains the following:
- Site analysis diagram(s) (A3 size)
- Design (A3 size)
- Explanatory notes to your design
- Appendices containing detailed explanations of any permaculture techniques included in your design.
Cost: $990 urban / $1190 nearby rural (Note: additional $50 surcharge if initial consultation on a weekend)
Costs for rural properties reflect the greater complexity of rural properties, and the longer preparation and travel times involved. Nearby rural means within an hour's drive of Canberra. Please contact me for pricing for properties further afield than this.
Optional extras:
- Additional consultation to talk through concept sketch and report (additional $200 (weekdays)/ $250 (weekend rate).
- Hard copy print outs of design pack (additional $30)
Design FAQ's
Q: What are site analysis diagrams and why do I need them in my design pack?
Permaculture is based on systems thinking. In order to design a garden that, harvests water, builds fertility over time and avoids unnecessary extra effort on your part, it's important to take account of factors like solar access, wind direction and shelter, aspect and slope, water flows during rain, soil type, fire risk, as well as the impact of buildings and existing plants. This analysis is included in your design pack to help you to see the underlying opportunities and limitations of your site and hence see the rationale behind the design. It's about helping you to see with the eyes of a permaculture designer! How you use your garden is also important, so in many cases a separate zone map is also provided.
Q: How much detail will I get in my intermediate design?
The intermediate design shows my suggestion for how your site could be laid out. The purpose of this design is to communicate what is possible in your block, and give a general sense of where things can be placed. It doesn't specify exactly which plants you could use, but does make suggestions for plants in each location. The image above shows the level of detail in the design. Trees and main paths are usually identified but it is up to you to choose the ground covers and herbs you would like.
We all know that things change over time, so an Intermediate Design is a good choice as it offers plenty of flexibility for you to take what you want from the design and adapt it as you need as new information comes to hand.
Q: What scale will my design be?
To stay cost and time-efficient, we use to-scale aerial imagery of your property for the basis of the design.
Your whole property will be shown fitted on an A3 page. For a standard sized residential block, this means a metre in your garden could be represented by anything from 0.5 cm to 0.7 cm in ruler measurements. A reference measurement (such as the length of your roof line or a garden boundary) will be provided to allow you to get a sense of the scale and estimate distances.
In a garden, unlike a building plan, distances aren't as critical and half a metre here or there does not dramatically change things. For most people, knowing that an area can fit three trees, 4 metres apart, is enough detail for them to go out and plant them in that location!
Q: What if I don't understand my design or something isn't clear to me?
While we strive to make your design and explanations as user-friendly as possible, please don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions or feedback! I am always available by email or phone.
Alternatively, you may like to have me come and talk through the design with you and answer questions. This can easily be arranged for a small additional cost.
Q: It looks like this design option has changed since I last visited your site - what's happened?
The intermediate design has evolved in response to client requirements over the past year or two, and is essentially a service that is mid-way between our previous Level 1 and 2 design options. That is, it provides scaling and a beautiful drawing like our previous Level 2 design, but at a slightly lower level of detail so your whole garden can still fit onto one A3 page. The different price reflects the greater level of detail and service than provided with the previous Level 1 design, while still coming in substantially below the cost of our previous Level 2 service. For anyone looking for a more budget design option than this, there is an optional extra placement sketch now provided as an add on to the Garden Consultation - more information here.
Next steps:
If you need assistance with landscaping, please note that Canberra Permaculture Design does not directly offer a landscaping service (my arms are not nearly muscly enough to give you good value for money!) but I can provide assistance with project management or working with your landscaper to ensure they 'get' the ideas behind the design.
Q: What are site analysis diagrams and why do I need them in my design pack?
Permaculture is based on systems thinking. In order to design a garden that, harvests water, builds fertility over time and avoids unnecessary extra effort on your part, it's important to take account of factors like solar access, wind direction and shelter, aspect and slope, water flows during rain, soil type, fire risk, as well as the impact of buildings and existing plants. This analysis is included in your design pack to help you to see the underlying opportunities and limitations of your site and hence see the rationale behind the design. It's about helping you to see with the eyes of a permaculture designer! How you use your garden is also important, so in many cases a separate zone map is also provided.
Q: How much detail will I get in my intermediate design?
The intermediate design shows my suggestion for how your site could be laid out. The purpose of this design is to communicate what is possible in your block, and give a general sense of where things can be placed. It doesn't specify exactly which plants you could use, but does make suggestions for plants in each location. The image above shows the level of detail in the design. Trees and main paths are usually identified but it is up to you to choose the ground covers and herbs you would like.
We all know that things change over time, so an Intermediate Design is a good choice as it offers plenty of flexibility for you to take what you want from the design and adapt it as you need as new information comes to hand.
Q: What scale will my design be?
To stay cost and time-efficient, we use to-scale aerial imagery of your property for the basis of the design.
Your whole property will be shown fitted on an A3 page. For a standard sized residential block, this means a metre in your garden could be represented by anything from 0.5 cm to 0.7 cm in ruler measurements. A reference measurement (such as the length of your roof line or a garden boundary) will be provided to allow you to get a sense of the scale and estimate distances.
In a garden, unlike a building plan, distances aren't as critical and half a metre here or there does not dramatically change things. For most people, knowing that an area can fit three trees, 4 metres apart, is enough detail for them to go out and plant them in that location!
Q: What if I don't understand my design or something isn't clear to me?
While we strive to make your design and explanations as user-friendly as possible, please don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions or feedback! I am always available by email or phone.
Alternatively, you may like to have me come and talk through the design with you and answer questions. This can easily be arranged for a small additional cost.
Q: It looks like this design option has changed since I last visited your site - what's happened?
The intermediate design has evolved in response to client requirements over the past year or two, and is essentially a service that is mid-way between our previous Level 1 and 2 design options. That is, it provides scaling and a beautiful drawing like our previous Level 2 design, but at a slightly lower level of detail so your whole garden can still fit onto one A3 page. The different price reflects the greater level of detail and service than provided with the previous Level 1 design, while still coming in substantially below the cost of our previous Level 2 service. For anyone looking for a more budget design option than this, there is an optional extra placement sketch now provided as an add on to the Garden Consultation - more information here.
Next steps:
If you need assistance with landscaping, please note that Canberra Permaculture Design does not directly offer a landscaping service (my arms are not nearly muscly enough to give you good value for money!) but I can provide assistance with project management or working with your landscaper to ensure they 'get' the ideas behind the design.