Early in my design career, I put a lot of focus on presenting my individual plant selections to clients during the presentation process.

I would typically include full color photos of each plant along with the landscape plan.

These days it's rare that I include pictures of plants when presenting a plan. Most often, I'll show my client a few key plants pictured in a catalog. And that's about it.

I know designers are all over the board when it comes to presenting their plant choices.

I have picked up some good advice over the years that I can share here.

Here are some ways to present your plant choices, starting with the simplest:

1. Give your client a plant list and tell them to use Google Image search. I do this sometimes.

2. Show them photos from a catalog or book.

3 Print the photos on 8 1/2"x11" photo paper. You could have separate pages for perennials, shrubs, etc.

4. Add the photos to your actual drawings. I did this for a couple of years. It's a lot of work though.

5. Bring actual plant cuttings to present. When I first heard this idea, I thought it was brilliant. Walking in the door with a bucket full of plant cuttings could help you sell your ideas.

6. Give your clients a tour of the local nursery/garden center to look at the exact plants. You can even let them tag the exact plants they want.

So what has worked for you? Are you doing anything unusual or different from what I listed above? Let me know...

All the best,

Chris Heiler, Editor

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