The eight, and two of them lose us work.

How far out are you booked?

About five months for design and build. Design on its own is usually six weeks. We say this before you ask because half the enquiries we lose are people who needed it done by Memorial Day, and it is better for both of us if you find out on the website.

What does a front yard cost?

A typical Boise bench front yard — taking the lawn out, planting, drip, and a low wall — runs $18,000 to $34,000. A design on its own is $2,400 and it comes off the build if you build it with us. Every quote separates plants, stone and irrigation so you can cut one of them without ringing us.

Will you take my lawn out?

Yes, and it is usually the cheapest part of the job. We sheet mulch rather than spray or strip — cardboard, compost, and a season — unless you need it gone before autumn planting, in which case we cut and remove it.

What will you not plant, and why?

There is a list, it is published, and there is a reason next to every entry. The short version: nothing invasive here, nothing that wants a wetter climate, nothing that dies from the middle out in year six, and no turf as decoration.

Who waters it the first summer?

You do, and it is the single thing that decides whether the job works. The drip is set up and the schedule is written down, month by month, for three years. Year one is weekly, year two is monthly, year three is almost nothing, and after that most of the palette wants no water at all.

What happens if a plant dies?

In the first two years we replace it once, free, unless it died of something we can both see was not the plant — a dog, a truck, or an irrigation valve nobody turned on. We do not ask for a receipt and we do not argue about it.

Do you do maintenance?

No. We come twice a year for three years and that is included in the planting price, not a contract — we are checking our own work and taking the schedule out another year. If you want somebody cutting things back for you every month we will give you two names.

Do you work in the strip between the sidewalk and the road?

Yes, and the city has rules about it: nothing over three feet at a corner, no trees within ten feet of a hydrant, and the water in it is still yours. We handle the paperwork and it adds about two weeks.

The two that lose us work are the booking one and the refusal one, and both are on the site on purpose. Somebody who needed it finished by Memorial Day should find that out in ten seconds, not after two site visits and a design fee.