In fall of 2011 I went up to a property in Kalama when a gentleman called me after looking at my web site and blogs. He wanted a formal garden setting that required different levels, as the property has steep slopes. The idea behind the landscape was for his personal enjoyment and to have weddings held at the site. It has a wonderful view of The Columbia river valley and will be quite exceptional when finished. The only issue we have is that at this point, there is no home, no electricity and no water. I’ve got to say this is the first time I’ve landscaped a property without a home on it. Let alone water or electricity.
The gardens will be quite formal with up to five water features, paver patios (one of which may be a huge chess board), decomposed granite walkways with steps that match the retaining walls we are installing, led landscape lighting, plantings, irrigation etc. It now sounds like the fire pit we have built will have some additions on it by putting a water fountain behind the fire pit.
The landscape designer is Troy Outman with Outman’s Landscape Design. Below I will post a couple of the photos showing some of the beginning progress of the landscape project.
The first photo shows some progress on the formal water feature and a retaining seat wall that will house the fire pit.

The second photograph shows a little more of the hardscaping being done and the outline of the fire pit.

The third photo shows the side view of the formal water feature.

Woody’s custom Landscaping has been serving the Vancouver WA and Clark County area for over twenty years with award winning landscape services.

First off a good landscape tends to want to evolve. Maybe the kids are now in their teens and do not want or use that huge playground structure that got put in when they were tots. Maybe, since the kids are now in their teens, that playhouse in the back forty may be used for other things instead of playing house and is now a potential for unwanted activities. For most of us these are easy changes. What tends to happen most often is the lawn is too large and it’s time for more planting beds or a replacement to a new smaller lawn area. As we grow older we may want to actually enjoy the outside more. This usually leads for demands of larger entertaining areas, including a larger patio area or a covered patio area. It could be that cooking outside has become more than a 4th of July occurrence, and a larger outdoor kitchen area is dreamed about.
More often than not a once landscaped yard just gets worn out. The shrubs are too big, or the backyard landscaping is much more shady then 10 years ago and nothing grows well. Most of our landscape needs change over the years and a landscape that was installed 10 years ago may not suit your landscaping needs today.

The best way to start the process of a new landscape is with a reputable landscape designer or landscape architect. Most good landscape designers or architects will supply a nice set of plans for your future landscape changes. Great landscape designers should supply you also with a budget for your new look. Nothing is worse for us as landscape contractors, than seeing a client with a fantastic set of landscape plans, but no idea of what it may cost. Let’s face it, every one has a budget that they have to work from. Make sure that you are working with a landscape designer or landscape architect that can supply a working budget. If the initial cost from the landscape plan is too high with your landscape budget, materials can be changed, plant sizes can be reduced, or maybe just reducing the size of some of the hardscaping will put you within budget. Many times I experience that my potential client just did not know that the fantastic landscape plan they have is way over their head monetarily.

The next step after getting a workable landscape plan is to find a qualified landscape contractor. Make sure you are choosing a landscape contractor that is licensed, insured and bonded with your state. This is the minimum requirement. Then get a list of current landscape references from the landscape contractor and make sure you call them. Make sure that the landscaper you may choose, can in fact do the work as per the landscape plans. If the landscaper wants to change the plans, either they have a huge ego or they are not sure of what they are doing. If I may add, please don’t fall for the lowest landscaping estimates. If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

We have been landscaping in the Vancouver Washington area for over twenty years, with many residential landscape awards and exceptional landscape services. Choose the best and forget the rest.

When my potential clients want a landscape estimate, I always try to help them figure out   what they want. When to many variables enter into the landscape estimate, I usually try to suggest thinking about landscape designers. The most recent estimate I went on was one with too many variables. There was no way to convince him that a simple landscape consultation, would benefit the outcome considerably. The problem was that he already had someone else providing them with a estimate but he did not have any idea of what they were proposing to install. This does not help the potential client at all. They had no idea of what kind of walls they wanted, type of plants or where things should go. This does not fair well with the landscape contractors that will be giving the landscape estimate. For example this client wanted a circular paver patio and fire pit. He did not know how large a patio he wanted, so I threw out a dimension for him. My concern was, 30-40 sq. feet of paver patio can make a $500.000 to $600.00 dollar difference in price. How is this a apples to apples bid? The other concern I had was the constant, How much is that? What’s the cheapest ? You can now assume that there was no way I was going to get the potential landscape client to spend a couple of hundred dollars to at least get a landscape consultation. This would help to him figure out what kind of walls should be installed, how big a patio should be bid on, what type of materials will be used. The way this estimate stands right now will probably be pure confusion on the clients part when they try to figure out what all the different prices are and how to compare them with each other.

Please if the project is a full yard landscaping, get at least a landscape consultation and hopefully a landscape design. It’s one of the best ways to get a idea of what you are doing, the materials to be used and of course a way for all landscape contractors to bid apples to apples.
The cheapest price does not mean anything, except dissatisfaction.
Serving the Vancouver WA area for over twenty years with award winning landscape services.

It would be nice to say we can just ignore our neighbors beautiful landscaping. The problem is that green grass, wonderful shrubbery and a Sunset Magazine back yard is hard to ignore. No need to stress. Woody’s Custom Landscaping, Inc. is here to solve all your envy issues. It really isn’t that hard to keep up with the Jones’s with a little planning and a working budget. Our team of experts at Woody’s Custom Landscaping, Inc. are some of the most talented landscapers in the area. We are friendly, courteous, knowledgeable, and very skilled at all phases of landscape construction.
Here are some of our services. If you would like to go right to our web site, it is www.woodyscustomlandscaping.com.

The best way to start off in landscaping your home is with a landscape design with great landscape designers. We can help there.
Construction of Outdoor Living spaces including; flagstone and paver patios installed by certified technicians, outdoor kitchens, landscape masonry, seat walls, landscape lighting, and water features.
For those people who live on slopes we construct retaining walls including: CMU block walls, segmental retaining wall unit walls, natural rock walls, and cultured stone or flagstone applications to CMU block walls.
Clients that want to better their green areas love our quality sod lawn installations, plant choices and installation and Rainbird irrigation systems.
Off course we do also do all the incidentals like: landscape drainage, bark installation, soil preparation and consultations.
Twenty years of professional landscape services in the Vancouver WA areas that are award winning and full of happy clients.

I’m sure sure you are ready for the, “look no further” routine. I wish that you would look a lot further. Check out our website of landscape projects, awards, videos and of course our blogs. We try to offer a wealth of information and facts about various aspects of landscaping. woodyscustomlandscaping.com We offer our handiwork in the Portland Oregon area and the Vancouver Washington area

One thing I would really like to stress, is to hire a licensed landscape contractor. Many say they are, but aren’t and they may just take you for a ride, which discredits the name landscape contractor.
After you have determined that in fact the person you have chosen is licensed, then go find two more licensed landscape contractors. If you are really on top of it, you probably have a landscape design ready.

We offer a design build method of landscaping and really want our clients to have a landscape design first and a estimate second. We try to select landscape designers that fit our clients personalities as well as the scope of work involved. The designers we suggest are not affiliated with us other than with a good working relationship together. This helps make a good design build team. The landscape designers will help you keep the project in budget, without getting the contractor involved. In other words the landscape designers we suggest, work for you, not us.
Let’s get back to landscape contractors. Are they offering professional landscaping services? You have determined that they have a current license. The next step is qualifications for the work you want done. If paver patios or retaining walls are involved you should check and see if any personnel that work for the contractor are certified either ICPI or NCMA. You may want to also see if they are “landscape industry certified”, which is a national certification for landscaping through PLANET.

Note what they have accomplished in the industry. One way, is by awards for their projects. Another would be the standard test of time in the industry. A landscape contractor who has been in business a long time, is probably a fairly good choice of a business with a good reputation.
We have been serving the Vancouver Washington and Portland Oregon area for over twenty years with award winning services and certified personnel.

Ugly Duckling to Swan:

Within minutes of Woody looking at our disgusting backyard, he had an amazing design plan. He created a “wow” backyard for us that is now the favorite room of our home (once the rain stops). Woody and his crew completed the job within our budget, under the time commitment and with results that had us amazed with a few days of starting to being overwhelmed by the end. It is more than we could have hoped for. Woody and his crew are friendly, professional and felt like friends by the time they finished.
Give us a look at www.woodyscustomlandscaping.com

This is the kind of review we want from each and every client. I can say the last 8 months, we have had nothing more than stellar and happy clients who decided to use us for their landscaping.
On this particular job, there was no design plan. What I did was paint out with marking paint what I proposed to do, showed videos and pictures of what I was thinking about, and came up with a budget including square footage of lawn, patios, and seat wall, along with an itemized plant list. Their estimate included soil quantities, fixing irrigation, stepping stones along with the sq. footage and the plant list.
That was enough for them. It was very nice to actually install one of my creations again. I really don’t have time to come up with landscape designs any more. Our job is landscape construction.
Many of our clients are looking to get a landscape design and here’s what we do offer. If a client wants me to come up with a budget and a marking paint design, I can do it. If they want a actual design on paper we work with a few excellant landscape designers. I try to fit our clients and landscape designers we use to personality similarities as well as cost and detail interests.
Our phone number is 360-687-1882
Serving the Portland Oregon and Vancouver Washington area with dedicated, professional, and quality oriented landscaping services.

Every season we build many different types of landscape projects. It can be a small paver patio or a 150′ long retaining wall. It can be a complete design build for an entire back yard project or a simple planting project. This year we feel that landscape renovations will be the big hit. Defining planter beds, adding some plants, curb appeal and patios for out door rooms will most likely be the top concerns our clients want.

Innovative ideas in landscape construction are desired by our clients. Sometimes it is hard to keep up with fresh new ideas as a landscape contractor. It takes work on our part to stay fresh and keep new looks coming to our over worked minds. Since we are landscape contractors, our forte is not necessarily making sure you are getting a lot of innovative ideas for your landscaping, but landscape designers do. We do however, make sure that all of our clients get landscape designers or architects that we trust and work with. Our feeling at woodyscustomlandscaping.com is that we can select a designer or architect that suits our clients wants and personality. Let’s face it, not everybody gets along with everyone. So we try to hand pick a designer to your particular situation and project type.
Not every landscape estimate calls out for a landscape designer, but we feel that designers offer fresh ideas for our clients.

Serving the Vancouver WA area for over twenty years with exceptional landscaping services.

Consider yourself very lucky in the Pacific Northwest. We are the nursery capital of the United States. The plant selection in both Washington and Oregon are extraordinary. The reason is because of the perfect climate type to grow plants for many different climate cycles and the wonderful and fertile Willamette Valley. With so many varieties of trees, shrubs, perennials and ground covers available, picking what plants you may want in your yard is a huge task.

This is another reason why we like our clients to use a landscape designer or architect before they start on their landscaping project. There really is no reason to go to a big box store and stock up on your plant material. A landscape designer or architect can implement many plants that will suit your landscaping without using the same old plants every one else has. You can choose from drought tolerant indigenous plants to water loving. The point is, the possibilities are endless.

If color is something you want in your garden? My personal choice are perennials. They multiply easily and there are a endless amount of species that offer color and texture to the garden. Another good choice of planting material that offers color in the garden are trees. Do you want fall color? Do you want winter color? All are abundant in the Vancouver Portland area. It’s simply a matter of getting the right help in your garden. Many times a quick consultation from a landscape designer or landscape architect will open the door to endless possibilities of plant material that can excite you and your neighbors.

Don’t just go and find easy plant material to install in your landscaping. Do some research. See what’s new and unusual and experiment. I personally love ground covers. In the Pacific Northwest, I feel there is too much use of bark dust. I love ground covers. They offer great color and texture combinations where in many instances there may be just foundation shrubbery and barkdust.

woodyscustomlandscaping.com has been planting trees, shrubberry and ground covers in the Vancouver / Portland area for over twenty years. Please check out our many services we offer as a quality driven landscaping company.

Why bother to get a landscape design or start a design build relationship in the winter months? There are a few very good reasons to get a landscape design in the winter.
1. Landscape designers are usually not that busy during the winter months. This makes the process of designing your landscape quicker and you usually get a better design because the designer is not
overly busy.
2. Chances are landscape construction companies aren’t very busy and there might be some discounting available. A perfect time to get several landscape bids and your landscape contractor!
3. Winter is a great time to plan, save money and get a financial overview of what your landscaping may cost. The pressure is off trying to make a quick decision on getting a design and estimate before
the industry gets very busy in spring. The design and estimating process can take a good solid month before it can be implemented.
You may be thinking that you don’t need a landscape design. If the job is of any size make sure that the landscape contractors are all bidding the same quantities and sizes. For example: There is a difference in costs of a 5 gallon shrub and a 2 gallon shrub. Make sure the contractor has a accurate planting list with sizes and quantities. Without one there is no way to know which landscape contractor is offering the best price and service. How big is the proposed patio? One landscape contractor may bid for a 250 square foot patio and the other a 300 square foot patio. For a paver patio, that may mean a $700.00 difference.
A landscape design will pin point quantities and sizes of plants. A landscape design will also spell out exactly how big that patio may be.
I do stress heavily on a landscape design implemented for most landscaping jobs. Do not expect landscape designs are at no charge. A landscape design is the best insurance that a prospective client can get. A landscape design will help you know what exactly is being proposed for your home as well as give you a apples to apples bid from your landscape contractors.woodyscustomlandscaping.com
Serving Portland Oregon and Vancouver Washington areas with certified, award winning service for over twenty years.
Below is a review for a landscape job we installed. They had a landscape design which made the work easier for us, since there was no guessing on what or where.
Oct 20, 2010
yellowlab
Jason and crew made us very happy with a large project on our property. We had extensive design preparation, sprinkler installation and tree planting completed. Jason was helpful with ideas, and freely included our desire to do some of the work ourselves to save on costs. Crews arrived on time, were courteous, and left the job-site very clean after they were done. All of the crew thanked me for giving them the job, (a first for us) and were happy when I told them how pleased I was with their work. Woody’s guarantees their plants for a year, and I have no doubt if I have issues in the spring, they will make it right. I found Woody’s through Home Services Network of SW Washington, and would recommend any of the contractors in their group. Thank you Woody and Jason!

Daffodils are up, the leaves are uncurling from winter and the sun when it does come out blesses us with warmth. Yes, spring is here. Time to get all the projects under way. Have you wished your lawn wasn’t covered in moss and weeds? Do you want to have that outside room every one is talking about? Does your yard just not make enough sense for how you use it? It’s that perfect time of year to get your spring projects underway. If it’s a new patio, Woody can install flagstone, brick and pavers. If it’s a new lawn or a irrigation system, Woody’s team will get the job done right the first time. How about a landscape design? Woody has independent landscape designers that will help you plan for that perfect backyard or front yard renovation. Don’t just keep your wish list to yourself. Let Woody’s Custom Landscaping show you just how easy it is to have that landscaping you want.

Our services include:
Landscape Industry certified employees.
Award winning service every job.
Paver, flagstone and brick patios.
Outdoor rooms.
Landscape design
Irrigation
Planting
Retaining walls
Water Features including: ponds, bubblers, pondless waterfalls and reflection pools
Front and back yard renovation.