Services, Costs, and Processes
 THE BUMBLE BEE PACKAGE (aka “DIY with Help”) Budget: $25 – $5,000 |  THE SPHINX MOTH PACKAGE (aka “DIY with Help & RLD supervision”) Budget: $5,000-15,000 |  THE HUMMINGBIRD PACKAGE (aka “Everything + Installation by the RLD Team”) Budget: $5,000-100,000 |
| Designing and planning your restorative landscape: You may want to start by downloading our $25 digital DIY Guide, “Ecological Landscaping in Colorado.” Use this comprehensive e-book to start planning your new Coloradoscape! You will learn how to design and prepare for the creation of a beautiful, low-water, low-maintenance, habitat-friendly landscape. Using our accompanying DIY spreadsheets and resource directory, you’ll also learn how to calculate, shop, and budget for the materials needed. If you’d like tailored advice or design work from RLD, we can help. We’d start with a site visit ($100/hr), and can then give you a quote for additional consultation hours (and sketching if needed). The only thing we no longer offer for BUMBLE BEE projects is overall project management, which means detailed budgeting and supervising installations. | Designing and planning your restorative landscape: Full packages of landscape design and project management average $1500-2000, and are broken down by hourly estimates tailored to your individual project. The packages include site visits, design sketches, consultation, selection and sourcing of wholesale plants and materials, detailed calculations and budgeting, and coordinating with whoever is doing the installation. Start with a site visit ($100/hr) or free phone call.  (If you have a big project that you want to break into stages, the budget question applies to how much you’re willing to spend on the first stage.) | Designing and planning your restorative landscape: Full packages of landscape design and project management average $1500-2000, and are broken down by hourly estimates tailored to your individual project. The packages include site visits, design sketches, consultation, selection and sourcing of wholesale plants and materials, detailed calculations and budgeting, and coordinating with whoever is doing the installation. Start with a site visit ($100/hr) or free phone call. |
| Finding the right plants at affordable prices: Looking for native, low-water, low-maintenance plants that support pollinators and birds? Use our custom plant selection and delivery service, the “Garden In A Truck,” to get native plants at wholesale prices. — Cost: ~$3/plant on average. $500 minimum includes custom plant selection, sourcing, delivery, and $200 of plants. The DIY Guide includes our best tips for selecting and shopping for retail plants in the Denver area, if you’d prefer to DIY this step! It covers native plants, xeric grasses, edible plants, etc.  | Finding the right plants at affordable prices: RLD can select, source, and deliver plants that are customized to your yard. We specialize in low-water, low-maintenance natives that support pollinators and birds. We also help clients source the plants for perennial food forests, crevice gardens, xeric grass lawns, and medicinal gardens. — Plants costs: ~$2-3 on average, for each wholesale native plants that we buy in bulk.The plant selection process is a collaboration. We’ll send you photos and information about plants we are considering using for the design, and will incorporate your preferences. | Finding the right plants at affordable prices: RLD can select, source, and deliver plants that are customized to your yard. We specialize in low-water, low-maintenance natives that support pollinators and birds. We also help clients source the plants for perennial food forests, crevice gardens, xeric grass lawns, and medicinal gardens. — Plants costs: ~$2-3 on average, for each wholesale native plants that we buy in bulk.The plant selection process is a collaboration. We’ll send you photos and information about plants we are considering using for the design, and will incorporate your preferences. |
| Installing your landscape: Our DIY Guide will also help you manage the details and strategies of your installation. You’ll learn what tools to use, what order to do things in, and how to get help when you need it. — Average materials costs for DIYing dense plantings: $2-5/square foot. That’s $1-10k for a full yard.Need some affordable muscle to help you get it done? Turn to our “DIY with Help” program, which is like a paid village barn-raising. You’ll supervise and manage the installation, but a Lead Helper will be on site to support you and bring extra tools — Average costs for client-managed “DIY with Help” installs: $3-5/square foot for dense plantings. That includes labor, deliveries, and plants and other materials. That’s $2-10k for a full yard. With DIY with Help Projects, you pay the real costs of labor and materials. | Installing your landscape: For simple projects (planting, mulching, etc), our “DIY with Help” program can save you thousands of dollars on labor, compared to hiring RLD’s in-house team or another traditional landscaper. — This model is like a paid village barn-raising. You’ll need to be on site; RLD project managers will also be managing the workdays, to make sure everything goes smoothly. We’ll bring professional tools that make the work much more efficient. — Besides planting, we can handle simple earthworks, irrigation, pathways, and rock gardens with this model. — Average costs for RLD-managed “DIY with Help” installs: $5-7/square foot for dense plantings, including planning, labor, deliveries, plants, and other materials. $5-10k is our average for a single yard. —With DIY with Help Projects, you pay the actual costs of labor and materials. We help you budget for this! | Installing your landscape: Option 1) For projects that require skillful attention, you can hire RLD’s in-house install team. This is a traditional landscaper model; we come in and do it all for you, with every worker fully covered by insurance. We do give discounts if you want to work with us! — Besides planting, we can handle more complex earthworks, irrigation, hardscapes, water features, lawns, and rock gardens with this model. We have some awesome subcontractors who partner with us for certain skilled work.— Average costs: $8-15/square foot for dense plantings, including labor, deliveries, plants, and materials. $10-20k is our average for a simple single yard. Option 2) You can also hire (an) outside contractor(s) for the labor. We’ll work with you and any other contractors to help everything go smoothly. This includes making you a budget to help you track and plan for overall costs. |
| Maintaining your landscape: The DIY Guide includes a habitat-friendly maintenance guide, if you’d prefer to DIY this part! RLD does not do maintenance, but we send all our clients a list of independent garden helpers and landscapers in the Denver area who offer ecologically-savvy garden maintenance. RLD offers follow-up site evaluations and access to wholesale plant replacements. | Maintaining your landscape: We will send you a habitat-friendly maintenance guide! RLD does not do maintenance, but we send all our clients a list of independent garden helpers and landscapers in the Denver area who offer ecologically-savvy garden maintenance. RLD offers follow-up site evaluations and access to wholesale plant replacements. | Maintaining your landscape: We will send you a habitat-friendly maintenance guide! RLD does not do maintenance, but we send all our clients a list of independent garden helpers and landscapers in the Denver area who offer ecologically-savvy garden maintenance. RLD offers follow-up site evaluations and access to wholesale plant replacements. |
| Crevice Gardens / Rock Gardens: 5×5 or 10×10 crevice gardens or rock gardens can be built for $1-5k, using our “DIY with Help” program. You’re welcome to participate in the build if you’d like; we can teach you! | Crevice Gardens / Rock Gardens: 5×5 or 10×10 crevice gardens can be built for $4-8k, using our in-house team of experienced crevice gardeners. You’re welcome to participate in the build if you’d like; we can teach you! | Crevice Gardens / Rock Gardens: 5×5 or 10×10 crevice gardens can be built for $4-8k, using our in-house team of experienced crevice gardeners. You’re welcome to participate in the build if you’d like; we can teach you! |
