What is Yardzen? . . .

Yardzen is reinventing landscape design. Our delightful, all-online design process and web app help homeowners reimagine their outdoor spaces, including plants, hardscaping, functional spaces (kitchens, pergolas, playspaces), and the exterior of their home, including paint, siding, windows, doors, and roofing.

Yardzen’s talented team of designers and horticulturists use your photos and videos, combined with technology, data, and plant science, to design your outdoor spaces without ever stepping foot on your property. After completing the design portion of the process, we help connect you with a local, vetted contractor who can install your design.

Yardzen is how outdoor renovation projects get done, starting with design.

Who is Yardzen for?. . .

Yardzen is for anyone who has a yard an outdoor space and wants to improve it.

How is Yardzen different than traditional landscape design? . . .

Yardzen’s process and scope of work set us apart from traditional landscape design.

We created Yardzen as an alternative to the time and cost-intensive process of traditional landscape design. Through our online design studio, we empower homeowners and designers with technology, connecting clients with the best design talent, working on your timeline (no mid-day site visits), and keeping costs low.

In refining the process of landscape design, we’ve also realized the limitations of traditional landscaping’s scope of work. We design outdoor spaces that help our clients live better, more beautiful, and sustainable lives outside. We are a one-stop-shop for everything from plantings and hardscape to functional alfresco rooms and exterior design, including paint, windows and doors, and roofing.

What are Yardzen's sustainability practices?. . .

Our favorite topic! Our core ethos is that anyone who has ownership over a patch of Earth has the responsibility to effect positive change. We're a team of landscape designers & LEED-certified architects, environmental consultants, conservationists, even beekeepers. We're here to empower people to make sustainable decisions about your outdoor spaces. As a general rule, every Yardzen design includes climate-adapted and pollinator-supporting plants. We believe that if we all do a little we can do a lot.

What do Yardzen designs not include?. . .

Aside from the hefty bill we mentioned, they don't include a few things you might be expecting and we like to be upfront about those.

At this time we don't include drainage or irrigation plans or permitting into our designs. However, we can connect you with a local, vetted contractor who can properly implement drainage and irrigation when it is time to start breaking ground on your project.

Our designers have knowledge around many basic codes, like setbacks, easements, and fence heights, but when it comes to city-specific codes, that is something that the homeowner needs to report to us in our thorough onboarding process.

Your designs do not include construction details for elements like pergolas, decks, pools, ADUs, gas-lines, electrical lines, and other structures. If your design includes some of these elements, you may need to engage with a structural engineer or an architect as a part of your build process.

How does Yardzen work? . . .

After purchasing a Yardzen design package, we'll take you to our Yard Builder™, where you’ll share photos and videos, inspiration images, answer a couple of questions about your preferences and how you want to use your outdoor space, and take a style quiz!

After you submit your pre-design materials, we'll get to work on creating a 3D model of your home and property, which will serve as the canvas on which we create your design. You’ll receive your House Model about a week after submitting your materials.

Three to four weeks following the House Model, you'll receive the first draft of your photorealistic renders. One reason we love using renders throughout the design process is this allows our clients to envision their future outdoor space and provide detailed feedback in our Feedback Studio. This part of the journey is interactive and iterative. We'll respond to all of your questions and feedback and get to work implementing your changes.

At the end of the design process, you'll receive your final design, which includes photorealistic renders, CAD plans, and a thorough plant and furniture list. If you signed up for an exterior design package, you’ll also receive a detailed list of materials, including paint colors.

Once we've finalized your designs, we shift toward bringing your new outdoor space to life. We'll connect you to a vetted contractor in your area to get your design installed. If we don't yet have a vetted pro in your area, we'll work to research, vet and identify a contractor we expect to be a good fit for your project.

Do you only design in certain styles? How about mine?. . .

Yardzen works with hundreds of highly skilled designers who practice in the full spectrum of landscape and exterior styles. We guarantee that we have a designer who specializes in your specific aesthetic. Check out our Portfolio to see more.

How do you know my style? . . .

At the beginning of the Yardzen design process, you'll take a thorough style quiz, answer a number of questions about your yard's form and function, and share inspiration photos. From all of this information, we'll have a good sense of exactly what you're imagining for your outdoor space.

What can you tell me about Yardzen designers?. . .

Yardzen designers are industry stars, with bachelor's and master's degrees in design and landscape architecture. We've created a unique platform for talented professionals to work on projects like yours. Think of Yardzen as an opportunity to have exceptional talent work on your outdoor space in a way that's also incredibly efficient for you.

Will I be able to talk to my designer during my design? . . .

As a Yardzen client, you'll have a talented team of professionals working behind the scenes on your design, including a designer or architect, a horticulturist, a build expert, and our fantastic Customer Support team. Our CS team is at the ready to answer any questions and relay any pertinent information to your design team. After completing tens of thousands of landscape designs and experimenting with many approaches, we've settled on this process as the most delightful and efficient experience for all involved.

How do you know the right plants for my (unique) property?. . .

We've built a world-class database of plants, trees, and groundcovers that match up to planting zones, sun, shade, and water requirements, styles, and special features, like "deer-proof," "non-toxic for pets,'' and "year-round blooms."

After you purchase a package, you’ll have the opportunity to take a plant-preferences quiz during your onboarding. Additionally, we use satellite imagery, coupled with detailed photos and videos of your property, to assess sun and shade patterns throughout the day. We have a horticulturist who makes the final calls when choosing your design's plant palette.

Where does Yardzen currently design?. . .

Yardzen designs in all states across the United States! We have experts in every microclimate and style who can design and build a sustainable yard in your unique space.

What is exterior design?

At Yardzen, “exterior design” refers to exterior-of-home design choices, like paint, siding, windows, doors, roofing, lighting, and decor, that when combined with landscape design creates your dream outdoor space. Learn more about Yardzen’s exterior design offerings!

Why exterior design?

Over the last two years, we’ve realized how closely coupled a home’s exterior is with its landscaping. Paint, siding, windows, and doors are the backdrop for a yard’s plants, hardscape, functional spaces, and furniture.

Which packages include exterior design?

Yardzen’s Curb Appeal package, for your home’s front facade, and Outdoor Transformation package, for your entire home, include both custom landscape design and exterior design.

What is included in the Curb Appeal package?

The Curb Appeal package bundles our custom landscape design services with our exterior design offerings to help homeowners envision the full potential of their home’s front facade. Includes:

• Exterior paint selection
• Exterior doors and windows
• Wood and stone accents
• Garage doors
• Shutters
• Siding or exterior resurfacing
• Exterior-of-home lighting
• Roofing
• House numbers
• Mailboxes

What is included in the Outdoor Transformation package?

The Outdoor Transformation bundles our custom landscape design services with our exterior design offerings for the entirety of your home, helping homeowners envision the full potential of their home’s outdoor spaces. Includes:

• Exterior paint selection
• Exterior doors and windows
• Wood and stone accents
• Garage doors
• Shutters
• Siding or exterior resurfacing
• Exterior-of-home lighting
• Roofing
• House numbers
• Mailboxes

Does Yardzen make specific recommendations for exterior materials?

Yardzen works with several fantastic partners, including Benjamin Moore, Marvin, and William Sonoma’s Rejuvenation to make specific materials recommendations, including paint colors.

Do you have contractors who install the exterior design?

We don’t currently offer contractor matching for our exterior design service, but we are actively building our network and hope to be able to serve our clients soon!

Do Yardzen designs usually get installed exactly as scoped?. . .

That's up to you! But rarely does any design — landscape, interior, or whole home — get built exactly as scoped. We encourage you to think of your conceptual designs as a communication tool to convey a vision to your licensed contractor. Your final designs will include CAD plans with approximate dimensions, planting layout, specific plant names, and basic materials callouts, but many last-mile design decisions will be made in the field with the assistance of your contractor.

I have a set budget. How do you keep my design inside of it? . . .

At the beginning of the Yardzen design process, you'll go through our propriety Yard Builder™ exercise to help you understand what configuration of hardscape, softscape, and exterior elements will work in your outdoor space, and at what budget. With that knowledge, you'll share your all-in budget with your design team. (For people who plan to phase their build out, as many of our clients do, this is the budget for all phases.) Your designer will then create your design with that number in mind. However, there are always variables — like the materials and plant sizes you ultimately choose — that can bring down costs. When we match you with a contractor, budget is usually where that conversation starts. We believe budget needs to be a central part of the process for us to deliver a design you can implement. Please note we recommend a minimum budget of $15,000 to take advantage of our contractor matching services.

If I make a small change, will you re-render my design? . . .

Every design package comes with one revision, which happens after receiving the first draft of your photorealistic render. We do offer additional revisions for a fee. We find that most clients bypass an extra round of paid revisions by collaborating directly with their contractor on last-mile design decisions. Since it is common to make final design decisions in the field, we will happily make revisions to your CAD plans without charge. We call those “red lines” in the construction world.

How do you find and vet contractors? . . .

We partner only with the best, most responsive and diligent contractors for our clients' projects. We are very intentional about who we bring into our network. Here are some of the following criteria that we make sure our contractors have before bringing them on:

• Licensing as required by each individual state
• Professional, personality and exceptional customer service
• Top notch online reviews
• Impressive and comprehensive portfolio
• Worker’s Compensation and Employers’ Liability Insurance
• Commercial General Liability
• Automobile Liability Insurance
• Professional Liability Insurance

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Do I have to use a Yardzen contractor to install my design?. . .

There is no obligation to use one of our in network contractors, however, we find great value in providing you with one trusted, dedicated, and vetted professional. We aim to connect you deliberately to one contractor who is well versed in your project, location, and budget so that you feel supported and prepared throughout your entire installation.

What if Yardzen does not have contractors in my area?. . .

The Yardzen Pro Network is growing every day, but there are cases where we don't yet have a Pro who meets our high bar in certain areas. This is most common in rural areas with a low overall supply of contractors, or in areas where we're newly offering our designs services. In these cases we'll put forth a best effort to find and vet a landscape contractor who can bring your design to life.

What are Yardzen's sustainability practices? . . .

Our favorite topic! Our core ethos is that anyone who controls a patch of Earth has the potential to affect positive change. We're a team of landscape designers & LEED-certified architects, environmental consultants, conservationists, even bee keepers. We're here to empower people to make good decisions, which is why we'll lead you toward a low-water yard and educate you about rain catchment systems and why there are better choices than traditional sod. As a general rule, every Yardzen design includes low-water plants and a few attractors that lay the groundwork for wildlife corridors. We believe that if we all do a little we can do a lot.