Landscaping help

[Anonymous]

Our yard is a mess- overgrown, crowded, etc. We don't know where to start. Neither of us is into gardening or landscape design. We are aiming for good, not gorgeous, since I know landscaping is expensive.

Should we start with a landscape archiect or is that an unnecessary middle man? Since we don't know much about design, I'm not sure that we could just tell a landscaper what we want done. We need someone who can guide us but we don't want to spend a ton of money.

Any suggestions? If you know of specific individuals or companies that would be great. We are in Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

if you use a landscape arcitect u will be spending big $$$ get the local landscape guy clean things up, thin things out and then go to a nursery and pick out things u like

[Anonymous]

We have used Diversified Contractors (dcpatio.com) for our recent hardscape project. The outcome was beautiful. The guy is located Rockville area. Very knowledgeable with landscaping.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you need to hire a separate landscape architect - esp. if you just want something basic. A landscaping company that does more than mow and edge, should be sufficient.

That being said, I think it is well worth the money to get a yard started (or re-started) right. Careful planning in the beginning will save you money down the line.

Line up 2 or 3 landscaping companies to come to your house and talk to you about your yard. This spring I used Greenstone Landscaping to help "clean up" my yard. It wasn't extensive but they did a nice job.