I believe it is Operational Plan. How you are going about implementing you design plan.

"OP" stands for "original poster" - it is a term that is very commonly used on ANY of these forums, especially when the discussion gets involved with multiple respondents and tends to diverge a bit from the initial topic. References to the OP are used to bring the discussion back on topic.

As a professional landscape designer, I have never heard of terminology such as 'operational plan' - site plan, conceptual plan, master plan, planting plan, yes.... but operational plan?? I have no idea what that is. There is a standard protocol and sequencing of a landscape design installation but designers and landscape contractors are fully aware of this protocol and it seldom needs specifications.

Thanks again to petzold, you've responded to a few of my posts, and it is nice to see a willingness to help! I was afraid that GW was not very active, but now I see that it is in fact "alive"

My thanks also go out to gardengal! I have seen your responses in the landscape design forum, and you seem to be quite knowledgeable...as do many of the folks in that forum. I have found a wealth of information there while reading many of the older posts....newer ones too, but the older ones seem to have more follow-ups. I plan to continue learning from everyone there and perhaps one day I will seek counsel myself.

So, OP=Original Poster, very good to know. Perhaps "operational plan" is when you prepare to extract/implant plants/features around the garden, sort of like an appendectomy or perhaps an augmentation. ....maybe :/

To quote gardengal48, "There is a standard protocol and sequencing of a landscape design"

I would like very much to know more about this protocol. Can you explain or direct me to a source?

Many thanks

acronymfinder.com has about 80 entries for OP with the first two being "original poster". "Operating plan" is down about number thirty or so. There are some "operational xxx" entries but no operational plan.

acronymfinder has more than you will ever want to know about LOL or BFF or MIL or WAG or any number of a thousand things you may find on forums.