Maintenance
Care after the build.
A garden is not finished when the crew leaves. It is finished about three years later, if someone who knows the plan looks after it. Monthly care for gardens we built, $450 to $1,400 a month.
What a visit is
Not mow and blow. A horticulturist and one builder, once a month, working from your plan.
Priya and one builder run every visit with the original plant list in hand. They prune for the shape the design intended, not the shape that is fastest. They walk every drip zone with the controller running. They note what is thriving and what is sulking, and you get a short written report with photos the same day.
- Small garden, under 3,000 sq ft
- $450 to $650 a month
- Mid size, 3,000 to 7,000 sq ft
- $650 to $1,000 a month
- Large or hillside
- $1,000 to $1,400 a month
- Mulch, replacement plants
- Billed at cost, approved first
The seasonal calendar
What happens when.
- Jan to Feb
Prune and mulch
Fruit trees and roses pruned. Grasses cut back before new growth. Three inches of mulch on every bed. Controller set to rain skip.
2 visits - Mar to Apr
Wake up
Drip turned back on and every emitter checked. Weed flush pulled by hand. Ceanothus and manzanita left alone while they bloom.
2 visits - May to Jun
Shape
Salvias deadheaded, hedges shaped once. Controller moved to the summer schedule: deep, early, twice a week.
2 visits - Jul to Aug
Watch water
Flow readings checked against last year. Stressed plants flagged. Nothing is pruned hard in the heat.
2 visits - Sep to Oct
Plant
Planting season opens in October. Replacements and new beds go in now. Lighting timers reset for the shorter days.
2 visits - Nov to Dec
Rain ready
Drains and swales cleared. Drip shut down or set to monthly. Leaves raked off the gravel, left on the beds.
2 visits
Only gardens we built
We maintain our own gardens and nobody else's. It keeps the crew small and it means every visit starts from a plan we drew, a plant list we wrote and an irrigation map we made. If you want care for a garden someone else built, we are happy to recommend two good local firms.
The first year of care, four visits, is included in every design-build project. After that, most clients stay on a monthly plan. About a third switch to quarterly visits after year three, once the garden can mostly look after itself.