THE BEST TIME TO PLAN IS WHEN????

While I am sitting here watching the snow fall outside of my office window, I am already thinking, “do I have everything ready for the winter? Is my snow blower ready? Have I put all of the lawn furniture away?”  It sure has been a strange year and I am wondering what will happen this winter. Will it follow suit with how the year has gone (maybe record snow fall, record cold temperatures??). Ok I get it , you aren't reading this just to find out if I am ready for winter, right?? Ok. Let’s talk about a much more exciting topic.

This is actually not outside of my office window, but my wife's commute to work… I just love this pic.

PLANNING A LANDSCAPE PROJECT FOR NEXT SPRING!!

I am starting to think about our spring landscape project. As many of you know, we bought a new house here in Vermont (well, new to us!). When we bought this house, one of our goals was to install a pool at the house for the family to enjoy. As a kid, I had a pool and I remember all of the awesome memories I had with our family and friends (late night swimming, pool parties etc.). This past spring when we moved to Vermont and lived with a family member, our kids loved being able to go swimming every day (often they would go in multiple times). When we decided to buy this house, Kate and I made the decision that we were going to buy a pool for the house.

Now the fun begins, we have put our deposit down and the pool will be delivered next spring (hopefully!!). Ok now we can breathe and not worry about this until March, right???? Actually, it is the opposite due to COVID. Many people are ordering pools or planning for more landscaped spaces on their property. I have always said the winter is the perfect time to plan for these projects. I am now following my own advice and I am knee deep in planning our pool project for next spring. Not only are we looking at the design of the pool, but we are thinking about the other features that will surround the pool area. Below is a list of things that we are talking about as a family.

 Outdoor Spaces to complement the pool

1. Outdoor Dining

   -How do we integrate the grill into the dining area?

   -We need a space for our outdoor dining table.

2. Outdoor Entertaining

   -Creating a space that has enough room for us to have family and friends over once COVID is over (fingers crossed).

3. Wood burning Fire Pit

   -Wood fire pit for the family and friends to all enjoy. I mean who doesn’t love a Fire Pit?

4. Paving Materials

   -Deck vs pavers

   -I am actually leaning towards a mix of decking and paving. This will actually create a nice transition from the house as the back door is 1' higher than the ground elevation.

5. Access into the pool.

   -Do we want the pool to be tucked into the hillside and build a wall to retain the grade? Or place it on top of the hill.

   -On top of the hill is actually growing on me and would create a nice space for the pool. Next step is drawing up a concept plan to explore the many options.

A sketch I produced for one of my recent projects looking at the pool orientation.

When we put the deposit down on the pool, the company said hopefully we can deliver this in the spring. There is still a tremendous back log on pools from COVID and it doesn’t look like it is going to get any better. The other thing to think about is that  contractors are already booking into the summer of next year. I know many contractors are really hoping for a short winter as they have so many projects already on the books. Not to mention while you are inside during those long cold winter days, it is really fun to daydream and think about spring and summer all while planning for these projects.

So far this fall, I have had multiple clients come to me looking for a Master Plan so they can start to plan for the spring time.  I have recommended to these clients the sooner you start talking to contractors, the better your chances are of having the project completed next spring or summer.

The interesting thing to me was because of COVID many families are reassessing their priorities and where to invest their money. There are many people out there who want to invest in renovating their current yard. Families are looking at how they can shape spaces for their family to enjoy and friends once COVID is over. The other trend I am seeing is people want to improve their property, but they don’t know who they should call. I have been telling people whether you want to hire me or not, you want to talk with a Landscape Architect. They have the education and experience to help you visualize your dream property. Stay tuned as I will provide updates on our progress of our pool project. Maybe you want to hear more, if so feel free to email me at jay@jmillerlandscape.com or you can call or text me on my cell 802.535.8586 to discuss anytime. I am always glad to help.

 Below are some examples to inspire you for your next project!