FAQs
We’re interested! How do we get started?
Go directly to our Contact Us page and leave your contact information. We will contact you the next business day to learn about your project and guide you through our process. Or, just give us a call at 248-543-4400.
What is your process?
Tell us about your project. Based on a brief description we can usually provide a range for the many types of services we provide. Within a day or so your designer will be contacting you for an initial consult and to set up an appointment at your home to walk the property with you. Ours is a very collaborative process, so we want to have input from all decision makers, anyone who will be using the space. We want everyone involved to have a voice. In this way your designer will get an idea of your likes and dislikes, a sense of your style, and consider all that information before beginning the design process. She will take measurements and take pictures of the property so that she can take into consideration the architecture of your home when developing your custom landscape and garden design.
The site analysis will determine horticulturally which plant choices will be optimal and suit your project. Sight lines from within your home will inform the garden design as well. The inside and outside views should flow naturally and complement each other. Once the design has come together you will meet again with your designer to consider the plan. You may want to make tweaks to the original concept, and that is perfectly okay! We want this to be everything you ever wanted in a landscape plan, and more. We want this to be the best experience around. We have honed our process over more than 30 years to make it as worry-free for you as possible. We strive to anticipate your questions, foresee difficulties that might occur, and work to keep your trust.
Can we install the plan in phases?
Of course. Many of our projects are phased in over time. We work with clients on 2, 3, even 5-year plans.
Do you install your own designs?
We do. As a design/build landscape company we install our projects using our own skilled and experienced crews. This affords us the opportunity to have complete control creatively and insure the quality of the craftsmanship. Our crews take great pride in their work.
I’d like to do the work myself. Will you do my garden design?
Yes and No… We are a design/build company, not design-only. We work with clients in ways that suit their needs. Installing our own work maintains the design intent and concept. However, we can design your landscape and plant the larger plant material and trees that the average homeowner would find difficult to handle.
Do you maintain residential landscapes?
Yes, Four Seasons does maintain landscapes, but we do not offer lawn service. To secure your spot for a spring clean-up it is wise to call in the fall. Our schedule fills rapidly! Don’t be disappointed. We begin as soon as the weather permits. Most of our clients prefer 3 comprehensive visits a year: spring; summer; and fall. Others enjoy monthly visits. We can tailor an individual program to best suit your needs.
Anything else?
Our clients find us easy to work with. Your FSGC designer is also your project manager, directing each phase and detail of installation and insuring complete control and communication. Behind her you have the complete staff of Four Seasons supporting you. You can expect Four Seasons to take good care of you because if we don’t chances are you won’t become a long term client and you won’t refer us to others that we can help. We have the best clients in the world! They return to us year after year for their landscape and management needs and refer their family and friends. We are thankful for their high regard.
What do you do in the winter?
Everybody thinks we hibernate. Not so! Yes, we may work fewer hours, say 30 a week instead of 60, but the respite, you’ll agree, is well deserved. Our crews stay busy by shifting into snow-removal mode. They maintain the safety of large commercial parking areas. They get up in the wee hours to plow snow and are usually on their way home by the time the office staff arrives. Our designers continue to work on designs throughout the winter, meeting with clients, and finalizing details so that they can get the project started first thing in the spring.
We also perform a 4th Maintenance Visit: From mid-November to mid-March, we shape and thin your deciduous plants in preparation for the spring season ahead. There are important reasons to prune at this time. It is more effective to prune a plant without its leaves since we can easily see its branching structure. Also, in winter there is less chance of transmitting diseases from one plant to another or attracting insects to fresh pruning wounds. The goal is to highlight the plant’s natural features and maintain the natural outline of the plant. We remove undesirable, dead, or diseased wood, suckers, water sprouts, and crossing or rubbing branches. We thin the canopy as necessary to increase air circulation through the branches.
