Going through the process outlined on the link below will give you an idea of how a designer would draw and analyze your lot. Most basic design books also explain how to do this, so see what your local library has on the topic.

Knowing how to do a bubble diagram is not going to help you create a satisfying design, however. It all depends on what you want out of your landscape.

Check with local nurseries to see if they have any designers on staff, or if they can recommend someone. Also, look in the phone book under landscape design. I find it hard to believe that there are no designers in the DFW area.

Here is a link that might be useful: link

That is a wonderful link! Thank you very much!

I guess I should clarify what I meant in my post regarding landscape designers. I have a subscription to Angie's List, and have tried to find a landscape designer from there. Everyone that I have called has either said they would only give me the design if they were hired to do the plantings and hardscape; or they have cost an arm and a leg to come work with us, just for the design. ($100 per hour is a bit excessive in my opinion, and many of them cost more!).

What I should really ask is if anyone has any planting suggestions. My husband and I have talked about this more since looking at the link.

We both agree that we don't like winter "stick gardens", that we like evergreens. We both want to have a pergola someplace, a water feature with a big bubbling pot (so as not to have standing water, but to get the sound), and that we would like to have a room garden, or several distinctive looks and feel to the garden. I love the cottage garden look; and my husband wants an extension of the house, where he (or guests) would feel comfortable walking around or sitting in a comfortable place.

Here's what I'm wondering. If you don't have time to do much, and your husband doesn't want to spend 2-3 hours weekly to mow the lawn, how is it you will have time to garden? Gardens take time! Lots of time, though there are gardens that take more time and those that take less.
Among the most labor intensive of all gardens are cottage gardens.

new: that's an ambitious list of projects.......quite a bit more than just simple plant selection. Not that you can't bite the learning curve and figure out how to do it all yourself, but I'm going along with the two previous comments with the premise that you DO have busy lives and a bunch of kids and these types of design considerations take time and/or experience to realize. I am also going to assume that there are basic gardening issues, like evaluating and amending your soils, mulching for weed control, etc., that you could use help with. A designer or other professional is worth the investment.

$100 an hour may seem like an arm and a leg (and perhaps it is for Texas) but it is a pretty common rate for experienced designers in any sort of urban area - like DFW. Perhaps you can get by without a detailed plan - some DIY'ers can - and a few hours of onsite professional help may be all you need to get started.

It's a matter of weighing the alternatives. Take the time out of your busy lives to do the research and learn how to create a design for your garden yourselves, with the accompanying inevitable trial and error regarding plant selection. Or invest in a professional to get you past the learning curve and to the point where you can effectuate a real landscape. If you choose the second, contact the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) for some possible leads. They have a chapter in your area.

Here is a link that might be useful: APLD - Southwest Chapter

If you go to the nursery and check the price of plants, you will see how quickly you can eat up $700-800 by buying plants that either die because of poor selection for the site conditions or poor planting practices, or that you decide afterward were a mistake as you learn more about their habits and your goals. IMO the cost of professional design help will more than pay for itself by eliminating impulse purchases, mistakes, bad choices, wasted time due to indecision, and faster results as your efforts in implementing a design become focused and get you to your goals that much more quickly.

For plant selection, there are specific forums for shrubs, trees and perennials here on Garden Web, but you won't have a design, just recommendations for plants that will probably do well on your site.

I jumped into landscaping my property while my kids were little and ended up making a horrible mess that I am still trying to recover from. And I killed a lot of plants. I sure learned a lot, but mowing the grass and reading books for a few years would have been more relaxing, and more productive.

I would suggest... (a) don't take anything out until you know what you're going to do instead... especially that cute little brick wall. It's all you've got that passes for contour, and really adds something. (b) do one area at a time until the plants are established. While your plants are small you will have spectactular weed growth between them, so every time you establish a new bed you will need to be watering and weeding through its first season. Save your energy for your kids and just have one area at a time in maxi-weeding stage.

Lawn is pretty much the least labour-intensive option for a yard, and the most kid-friendly. It also sells the best, speaking of equity. You could put thousands of hours and dollars into a garden that would add absolutely nothing to the value of the house and maybe reduce it.

KarinL

How could it possibly take 2 to 3 hours to mow a 1/3 acre lot? I had a 1/3 acre lot and did it in about 30 minutes with a push mower. Any type of gardens will be lots more work and lots more time than a lawn. Perhaps you should just hire one of those mow-and-blow guys and save yourselves time and money.

Bradford pear tree you say? The previous owner of my place planted 3 of them and the neighbor across the street just gave me theirs...well actually the tree service gave it to me after they cut it down and sent it through the shredder! If you search these forums you will not find a lot of positive comments about Bradfords.

I see a lot of signs in your post that you are a novice gardener and an extremely novice garden designer. $100 per hour is about what I would expect for a plumber or electrician so I would not expect any less for a skilled designer. If you are willing to start slow and let your garden evolve over the next 10 years then go for it. If you would rather not invest the (considerable) time and effort involved then bringing in a professional seems like a good idea.

- Brent

gottagarden is right. 2-3 hours? 1/3 acre? Is he using a pair of scissors? If you have a gas powered push mower, I would think 15-20 minutes tops.

Keep in mind that a designer may only take work if they install it because a well thought out design is only effective if the installation is done properly. At that point, it is still considered their work, and it could reflect poorly on them.
There is a lot of research that goes into design, and not all of it is directly charged to your hourly rate. You are paying for their mind, and their expertise to make your property a living entity. A designer doesnt just make it look pretty. Function/proper plant and material selection, as other have said, could save you thousands.