A landscape plan is a set of decisions about water, light and how people actually move through a space. Everything else follows from those. Plan-It Vision is led by Trevor Kokenge, whose background is landscape architecture and hands-on gardening work, and every plan starts from what the site is doing rather than from a catalogue of features.
The practical difference here is that the people who draw the plan are the people who build it. Nothing is handed to a separate installation contractor who was not at the walk-through and did not hear what you said about the corner you never use.
How the work runs
We walk the property. Grade, soil, drainage, sun and shade across the day, what is already growing well and what is struggling. We ask how you use the space now and what you have given up on.
We draw and scope it. A plan with materials named, plant selections chosen for the light and water they will actually get, and a written price. Larger projects are phased so the sequence makes sense: site preparation and drainage first, structure next, planting last.
We build it. Our own people, on a schedule you can hold us to. Larger builds run across several visits to manage access and drying time.
We keep it, if you want. Landscapes are at their most fragile in the first two seasons. Many clients move onto a recurring maintenance plan once the planting is in, which is how a bed reaches its third year looking like the drawing.
What the work covers
- Planting plans and plant installation, spaced for mature size rather than for the day it goes in
- Grading and site preparation
- Lawns, from seeding through to full replacement
- Patios, walkways, steps and retaining walls
- Drainage designed into the grade rather than added afterward
- Irrigation and low-voltage lighting
- Fences, sheds, raised beds, planters and water features
Planting for this climate
Puget Sound gives you a long wet winter, a genuinely dry August, and soil that varies within a single lot. Plant selection is made against shade, water access and soil type on the specific property. Beds are spaced so plants reach mature size without being cut back into their own dead interior, which is the most common thing we are asked to repair on landscapes somebody else installed.
Common questions
Do I need a full design to hire you?
No. Plenty of work starts as a single bed or one problem corner. A drawn plan earns its keep when the property needs several things that have to agree with each other.
Will you build a plan drawn by someone else?
Yes. We install landscapes designed by other landscape designers, and we do it often.
How far out are you scheduling?
Design and build work is scheduled by season, usually four to eight weeks out. Ground conditions and drying time move the start date further than the calendar does.
What happens if a plant in the plan is unavailable?
We come back with alternatives that fit the same position, light and mature size, and you approve the substitution before it goes in the ground.