How do you measure the quality of landscape design in a maintenance contract?

Ask some questions to the company who is offering services; check that they know the plant names and how to scare for them. Ask them to identify weeds, they should know the difference between a weed and a poppy start, wouldn’t you think? Ask about how often will they adjust irrigation controllers.

Check to see if there are any variations to the contract stated - storm damage, vandalism etc and see who wears the responsibility (and cost) of such situations

Landscape maintenance is equally important as high-quality planting design. A thorough and detailed maintenance contract is of great significance. As landscape architects, we must advise our clients and communicate effectively with maintenance managers, providing guidance to ensure the long-term success of our designs. This collaboration benefits the final result and helps ensure the longevity of our work. A well-structured maintenance document should outline all facets of the landscape's upkeep, aligned with the goals and vision of each project. This document should cover: Routine Care Seasonal Tasks Sustainability Practices Special Requirements Communication Protocols

The quality of the landscape design in a maintenance contract is understanding and identifying the existing plant materials, landscape bed and turf square footage/acreage, irrigation layout, precipitation rates, psi, gpm, distribution, type of controller, sprinkler heads and nozzle types. The horticultural value of knowing the plants in a landscape, allows you to manage them more effectively. Pruning, nutritional and irrigation requirements can be dialed in to the correct health for the plants. Irrigation knowledge gives plant and turf management the adequate amount of water for survival. Irrigation controller management using cycle/soak programs will keep adequate moisture in the soils. Weekly monitoring will diagnosis problems early.

Quality cannot be appropriated unless a measure is being used for judgment and determination. Without a measure no qualitative reckoning can be determined. So it is, a measure should be ascertained prior to any work. That standard of measure, must be discussed with the client; failure to do so can result in expectations not being met and claims against you. If a client wants a quick fix, then ensure the client knows what quality of work they will get. There is zero point spending time on polished finishes if the clients expectations are only to be secure and coarse.

It’s important to revise and review. Fabric needs to get replaced, stones need to be replenished and soil needs to be amended. A landscape design will not always look e way it was meant to be unless regular maintenance is applied.

I previously spoke about forming a baseline for qualitative purposes. Here’s an article in the Scotsman about the same requirements for assessing the landscape of Scotland. “Setting a target to restore nature is easy – but how do you know that you’ve met it? Well, you need to establish a baseline of what our natural environment looks like today. Then, where you can see that a habitat is declining, or a river is polluted, you take action to improve it. Then, by measuring conditions against that baseline, you can tell if things have improved.” Prof James Curran: Scotland is short-changing its environment, undermining one of our greatest assets and jeopardising our future. By Professor James Curran | Friday 1 December 2023 | 19:56

Quality cannot be appropriated unless a measure is being used for judgment and determination. Without a measure no qualitative reckoning can be determined. So it is, a measure should be ascertained prior to any work. That standard of measure, must be discussed with the client; failure to do so can result in expectations not being met and claims against you. If a client wants a quick fix, then ensure the client knows what quality of work they will get. There is zero point spending time on polished finishes if the clients expectations are only to be secure and coarse.