| |  What is a Plant-A-Plan? This is Kennedy's most
economical landscape design service. Our Plant-A-Plan service is essentially
free. Our idea is, if you are buying your plants here, we will help you
put them in the right place. It's a simple concept that works well for
everyone involved. So what's the catch? The catch is that you
have to dig the holes for the plants. Hey, that's not so bad. The
Plant-A-Plan is a great service for our customers because you can earn discounts
by buying quantities of plants, receive our 1 year plant guarantee, and
get a free design, all in one package.
To make the design process easier, we ask you to follow these
few simple procedures:
1. Kennedy's wants your landscape to look as professional as possible.
The more information you give us
about your existing landscape site, the better we can help you create the envy
of the neighborhood. We recommend taking pictures of the area(s) to be
landscaped. Take several pictures from different angles.
Pictures give us the visual perspective we need to "see" what we're working with. 
2. Sketch your existing area. Accurate measurements rounded to the nearest
6" are important. Do the sketch in
"plan view", as if you were looking at your property from
directly above in a
helicopter. You can use your own graph paper, but we prefer you use Kennedy's
graph paper, which is included in a Kennedy's Plant-A-Plan packet
available in our information area. Please draw your sketch using a scale
of 1:1, meaning that one block on the graph paper equals 1 foot. For
example, to draw a straight 30' fence you draw the a line 30 boxes long.
Start with a fixed object such as your house, driveway, fence, pool, etc..
3. Next consider your existing soil conditions. Soils differ in many
ways. Some soils are well-drained and sandy, while others may be poorly
drained, like clay. Clay soil sticks together and often causes puddles to
form in the yard after wet weather. Some soils are dark in color which
usually represents organic matter. Soils rich in organic matter, grow
plants more easily than others. Soil pH is also a factor. Soils with
a high pH are acidic. Soils that are sweet are considered alkaline.
Most soils in New England are acidic, but to be sure you can purchase a soil pH
test kit in our garden center. To learn more about soils, we have several
good books in our garden center. You can also bring
us a sample of your soil condition if you need help identifying your type of
soil. To take a soil sample, dig down about six inches and take a shovel
full from different spots in the yard. Put the sample in buckets or bags
so we can take a look.
4. Consider your available sunlight. The amount of sunlight is the
easiest thing to forget when designing a landscape, but is a very important
factor. Many plants are picky about how much sunlight they require.
Sometimes the effect show right away, and with others it may take years to cause
a problem. At Kennedy's we rate the amount of sunlight in four ways:
-Full Sun: Direct sun, with no shadows, for at least 6 hours
through the middle of the day.
-Part Shade: Direct sun for about 3-6 hours, or a full
day of bright filtered sun.
-Shade: Less than three hours of direct sun.
-Deep Shade: No direct sun or bright light.
The best way to determine your sunlight is to go out in you
yard several times on a sunny day and note how long the sun shines on different
areas of the yard. There is often varying degrees of sunlight in small
area. For example, against the north side of a small house, the conditions
will be shady most of the day, but five feet away might be full sun all day.
5. Be sure to note of anything else that may affect your landscape.
Kennedy's would like to know if you like to garden and you don't mind being
outside caring for your plants, or if you want low maintenance plants, so you
enjoy other hobbies. Let us know if the landscape area is far away from a
water source and the plants will not likely be watered regularly. Note any
specifics about your yard such as a high water table, rocky ledge, large trees
with extensive root systems, locations of sewer and septic systems, underground
utilities, irrigation systems, and areas where you've had trouble growing plants
in the past.
6. Lastly, we ask that you call Kennedy's before you come in for a
Plant-A-Plan. We cannot take scheduled appointments, but Kennedy's
attempts to have a qualified horticulturalist on staff at all times to help with
your Plant-A-Plan, but as in any business, some times are busier than
others. The Kennedy's Plant-A-Plan design staff is also our nursery sales
staff, so we often have to divide our time equally with our customers. The
quietest times are usually during the week after 9am or before we close in late
afternoon. It is also possible to make arrangements with a staff person to
stay a little later on a weekday night. Weekends can be hard for us to
give you enough time, but anything can be accomplished with your patience.
Plant-A-Plan drawings are to be kept on file at
Kennedy's.. We assume you will be purchasing all of the plants on the plan
from our store. If you do purchase all of the plants from us, you may take
a copy of the plan home.
We recommend leaving the kids at home during planning
sessions. We need your full attention and cannot ensure your children's
safety when they are not attended at all times.
Your business is very important to us as is all of of
customer's. If it is busy, we will need to assist other customers during
your visit. This will require your patience.
We look forward to working with you soon!
| |
|
If you are interested in receiving
information on new plants & products, garden tips, coupons, and our
events, lectures, sales, and specials click to our contact
us page.
|
|
