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William R. Hoppé & Associates |
Living in a |
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01. Overall speaking, what do you like and/or dislike about the exterior spaces (the front, the rear, and both sides) surrounding your home? Are they useful or useless? Beautiful or just so-so? Do they offer a proper setting for the home? How much privacy do they offer? Enough for you to "do things"; in them like reading a book, having dinner with friends, sunbathe? Does it seem they belong more to the neighborhood than they do to you? Do they feel and act like outdoor extensions of your indoor living spaces? Or, does your "home" seem to start at the front door and end at the back door? How important is all of that to you? If you had your "druthers" what would you like? 02. How much of the space in front of your home (excluding the driveway, of course) is clearly devoted to semi-public use (benefiting the community more than it does you) and how much really is meant for your own, private use and enjoyment? How much and in what way (if at all) are you bothered by that? 03. Are you "wedded" to the idea that "each home shall have a front lawn the envy of many a golf course? " Why? How big? All that mowing doesn’t bother you? 04. Does the "front yard" give visitors a strong sense of "having arrived"?" How friendly and warm a "Welcome" does it extend to them? How prominent is the front door to your home from, say, the driveway? Is it easy to spot (in the dark) and to get to (in bad weather)? How often is it used? Why? 05. What "image" does the current "front yard" project? What does it say about the occupants of the home (you)? Do you like what it says? If not, what image would you like it to project? Why? Any ideas? 06. In your opinion, does the "front foundation landscaping" (you know, those bushes right in front of the house) compliment the house architecturally, does it compete with it to some extent, or does it partly or completely hide it from view? Do you like or dislike it? Why? 07. To what extent, if at all, are you willing to depart from what is the "landscaping norm" of your neighborhood or your community? Why? To what extent? Why not? 08. For instance, could you conceive of having a semi-private, front entrance court-yard or "garden" including, possibly, a brick or stone sitting terrace, a small fountain and/or fish/lily pond, a nice statue, and some appropriate and colorful plantings? If you had such "a place" would you use it; how often – how much? If you can’t conceive of it, why not? 09. Climatically, is the front yard a windy or a calm area? Does it seem to be warmer or colder than any of the other spaces? How about in the winter? As to shade, are the trees mature ones, suitable, well spaced, healthy, and adequate in numbers? 10. Is one of the two side yards clearly dominant over the other? Is one, potentially, more useful than the other? Is it in fact used? If "yes", what is it used for? If "no", why not? What about the garbage, the recyclables, and the trash; what provisions for their storage and pick up have been or will need to be made? How about fire-wood? 11. How about a well screened "drying yard" for your "mentionables", like sheets, shirts, table cloths, towels? 12. Would you like to see those side yards more or better integrated with either the front- or the back-yard, or with both? How? Why? Or would you like either one or both of them to be self-contained and useful areas in their own right? How? What? Why? 13. With respect to the back-yard; how much of it is wooded or covered with (native?) shrubs and bushes –vs– open space? 14. What do you like or dislike about the back yard? Is the open (usable) space too small, big enough, or too big? To do what? If it doesn’t offer total privacy, is there enough privacy to suit you? Is the area rather flat or does it drop away or rise up from the house? How sharply? Are you looking down a precipice or up at an embankment? 15. What are the views beyond your property lines? Are they pleasant or are you forced to look at the ugly backsides of neighboring homes – at one or more standard decks that are as attractive as fishing piers at low tide? How about screening? 16. On the subject of "view sheds", which ones would you like to preserve and "incorporate", and which ones would you like to obliterate? Why? 17. And on the subject of privacy; must it be total or may it be partial? Which? Why? 18. Would you like to live in a world of your own and apart from your neighbors without giving them the impression that you are standoffish or unfriendly? Considering the density of your community or the closeness of your neighbors, to what extent would that be possible or desirable in your opinion? Any other thoughts on this subject? 19. If you have children; how many boys, girls, and of what ages? What uses of space will they be growing into or out of and how soon? If very young, would you like for them to have their own play-yard? Does that area have to be shielded from and visually –if not physically– separated from, or integrated with, the rest of the garden? Why? How important is it to you that you can monitor them while they are playing? How about play equipment like swings, slides, etc.? Or how about a play-house or a children’s flower or vegetable garden? 20. What about an area to play football or basket ball? How important is that to you? 21. If you are thinking about (ever) having a swimming pool; are you a family of swimmers or just "dippers"? Are you aware of the fact that swimming pools, per sé, make lousy investments? What about community/public pools? 22. Do you do a lot of entertaining? Family, friends, business associates? Formal or informal? Large or small affairs? 23. Do you, or would you like to dine "alfresco"? How about a place to have a drink, to be by yourself, to read that book you have been meaning to tackle, or your daily paper? Or, how about afternoon teas with crumpets (of course!)? What are your thoughts on all of this? 24. If you were to think of a garden as one, or a series of, outdoor rooms without ceilings, what names would you give those rooms (list them in order of their importance to you)? To what extent would you like those rooms to be associated with their indoor counter parts? How about a fireplace in that outdoor dining, living or family room"? 25. Would you like to grow vegetables, herbs, flowers, and roses –or– would you like to have a vegetable, herb, flower or rose "garden"? (What’s the difference? You can either grow any or all of those plants on a fully integrated basis with other plantings – for instance, strawberries and cucumbers make excellent groundcovers while leeks, onions, basil, parsley, and peppermint are beautiful in and of themselves and integrate extremely well with all kinds of flowering annuals and perennials including roses – or you can grow them along with tomatoes, etc., in an area specifically devoted to them.) Something like having an "incredible edible garden"? Any ideas and thoughts on that? 26. If you own a dog, must it be kept out of certain areas (the kids’ play area or your vegetable garden, for instance)? How about a dog-run complete with a dog house? 27. How hard or how easy is it for you to access the garden from the living and dining areas of your house? Will an intervening deck or a balcony with an appropriate staircase be needed? If there is no access from the basement (if you have one) would you like to make such garden access possible? 28. Is there, or may there be, anyone with a special disability or needs who may want to use the garden extensively and for whom special provisions may have to be made? In that same vein, is there anyone who is especially allergic to certain plants or to the stings of wasps or bees? 29. Do you like, dislike, or outright hate the looks of your home’s foundation walls? 30. Are the AC units, the power and gas meters, and the cable and phone boxes situated where they are eye- and/or ear sores? Are they easily accessible to service personnel? Does something have to be done with them to make them more agreeable or -to a degree- hidden from view? 31. About drainage around the home; are there any problem areas and what, if anything, have you done about them? 32. Do you think of yourselves as being formal or informal, conformists or non-conformists? 33. How neat are you? Do fallen leaves and spent flower heads annoy you? How pristine does your property and your garden have to look and be at all times? 34. In designing a garden for you (if you so desire) are there any features you would love for it to have? Anything from your youth and/or from other places and times? 35. To the extent that you recognize garden styles, do you like American, English, French, "Italianate", or Japanese gardens? Which? Why? 36. Do you consider yourselves to be avid, world-class gardeners, week-end gardeners, or no gardeners? Are you blessed with a green thumb or cursed with a black one? 37. Must your garden have at least ONE place that is fully enclosed (dense hedges?) and private (intimate) where you can go to read that book, to day dream, to sunbathe in the nude, or to do "whatever"? 38. Would you like a water feature such as a (formal – informal) fountain or a fish/lily pond somewhere in the garden? If not, why not? How about statuary? 39. Are there any trees, shrubs, perennials, groundcovers, climbers, bulbs, and annuals that you especially like? Why? How about those that you dislike or hate with a passion? Why? 40. What colors are you partial to? Which do you dislike? 41. Would you like a garden offering a riot of colors the year around or do you prefer a more subdued (refined?) look? 42. What types of hard surfaces (asphalt, "bluestone", concrete, brick pavers, field stone, gravel) do you like or dislike and why? 43. Would you like to attract birds? What about squirrels? 44. Will you need a garden shed to house your wheel barrow(s), the lawn mower, tools, that 20’ ladder, the kids’ bikes, sleds, and their (your) toys? What about the garden furniture in the winter? Leave it out? Put it in the garage or the basement? 45. Once you garden is built, how many hours per week will you be able to devote to its maintenance and upkeep? 46. How much of the garden would you like to put together yourself? Note: Aside from putting brick pavers on top of a concrete stoop or patio (a task for a skilled mason), there is nothing that you couldn’t do yourself if you are so inclined. In fact, you will suffer from being vastly over-qualified for the job. To the extent that you are willing to invest "sweat equity" into your garden, your garden dollar will stretch considerably! Keep in mind that out of every three dollars you spend on your garden, one dollar goes to materials, one dollar goes to labor, and one dollar goes to the contractor to cover his overhead, expenses, and profit! 47. How about doing the job over –say– a 3, 4, 5, or 10 year period? 48. Keeping in mind that the per square foot cost of a garden (including all of its "hard-" and "softscape" ) runs anywhere from $25 to $35 these days (much cheaper than comparable indoor space), how much would you like to invest in your garden? Are you aware of the fact that a pleasant, well designed and maintained, and highly useful garden can add to the re-sale value of your home an amount equal to ± twice its actual (commercial) cost? 49. How long do you expect to live in your home? 50. Is there anything else you can think of? Don’t hold back anything! Everything is important. Write a book about it – we’ll be delighted to read it!
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