Savvy shoppers know that often the best time to buy something is after “the season” is over, or before it begins. According to Tom Altgelt, a Colorado landscape designer serving the Boulder/Denver area, this is very much the case with landscape designs. “I often encounter potential clients who think they may as well wait until spring before having a garden designed. I tell them that there are actually many advantages to starting the planning process in the fall.” Specifically, a homeowner can have a landscape much quicker, and end up with a result they are happier with, while saving money.
An important consideration is getting the best landscaping contractor, and negotiating a good deal. Since landscape construction work slows way down in the fall and winter, says Altgelt, “sometimes we can get a better price on construction, and very likely we can still get the best contractors, who are often booked solid by early spring.”
In addition, many people are surprised by how much of the actual landscaping can be done in the fall. In Tom’s words: “In the Boulder/Denver area, the weather is mild enough to do a lot of work in the fall, and even over the winter, especially on a southern exposure.” If a project is started in the autumn, the “hardscape” construction of moving the earth and creating rock features, paving, and retaining walls can often be finished by spring.
If Tom needs really immense (i.e. up to 20 ton) boulders for a project, he races against time to get the boulders tagged and moved before they are snowed in. “These boulders are often up in the mountains, deep in ranch property.”
Most shrubs and trees love to be planted in the fall, so they can put down their roots over the winter. “That way they are ready to burst onto the scene with flowers and foliage in the spring.” Even better, nurseries often discount their plant material at the end of the season, so it’s another chance to save some money. Some specialty plants will need to be ordered for spring, and it’s important to get the order placed in time to have the best selection and highest quality.
The other consideration is the incredible mess that is created during the months the landscaping is being done. “Since the actual work of landscaping isn’t pretty, why not get most of it done during the winter? That way you’re prepared for a beautiful spring and summer.”
And, of course, the most important consideration is the end result. Optimally, a garden will be pleasing all year round, but Altgelt says most are designed to impress us in the spring and summer. That’s because there is such a wide range of plant choices that exhibit their full splendor in the warm months. Designing a landscape in the fall makes it easier to conceptualize plantings that will provide beauty year-round. For example, “a beautiful fall combination of perennials is the Sedum of Autumn Joy, which is reddish or pinkish, next to Salvia, which turns deep purple. These colors resonate with each other. Next if you add the bright golden of the black-eyed Susan, you have a stunning collage of colors.”
After the fall blooms are over, the garden can still look beautiful in winter. Evergreens and ornamental grasses continue to be interesting throughout the cold months. “The deciduous red twig and yellow twig shrubs are not all that special in the summer, but they sure bring a landscape to life as soon as they drop their leaves. Designing in the late fall and winter tends to produce designs for stronger year-round interest.” Altgelt also looks at the form of the earth and rocks which are bare in winter, and plans for water runoff using dry stream beds, for example. “In this way we are literally beginning to work with the fundamental principles of Feng Shui; the subtle energetics of how the wind and water give form and shape to the landscape.”
Waxing philosophical, Altgelt continues: “In my experience, the most beautiful landscapes come out of our developing an engaged and heartfelt relationship with nature. To me, designing ‘green’ landscapes is only the beginning. Most people I’ve met who have property feel a certain bond with their land and are in some way deeply connected with it. While spring is a time that is bursting with new energy, the fall and winter is a more contemplative time, a time to listen to the land and let it speak to you.”
So designing a landscape in the fall can yield benefits, both the practical benefit of saving money, and a more soulful benefit of co-creating with nature. To Altgelt, this is a magical combination.
To learn more about what’s possible for your landscape design, contact Thomas Altgelt, award-winning Denver/Boulder landscape designer. Visit http://www.altgelt.com to view Denver, Colorado landscape designs, as well as landscape and garden designs throughout Colorado and internationally.
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