Landscape Design

We believe that starting with the best information will result in easier to maintain landscapes that save you time and energy. You’ll be able to spend more time doing the things you love! This is why we have three highly skilled designers to help you with your project:

Paul Kiekhaefer is our senior designer. A native of Falls City, NE, Paul graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Landscape Design. Soon after, he traveled nationally and globally to build golf courses for 9 years before moving back to his hometown in 2014. He can be reached at our main office: (785) 459-2586

Jocelyn Lambert is our newest addition to our team of designers. Jocelyn recently graduated from the Horticulture and Turfgrass program at Southeast Community College in Beatrice, Nebraska. She brings fresh ideas and creativity to our team. She can be reached at our main office: (785) 459-2586

DeAnn Michel manages our Nebraska City location and does landscape design for the surrounding area. After a successful career as a Dental Assistant, DeAnn decided to follow her passion for plants and join Grimm’s Gardens full-time in 2021. She can be reached at our Nebraska City store: (402) 874-9340.

You can find out more about our designers on Our Staff Page.

Our designs are CAD based (see example below). An image(s) of your future landscape can be done as well. We take a picture of your house and add the new plants on top to give you a good visual of the design. The first round of edits and changes within reason after the initial design are free. In fact, we welcome changes so that you have a design that matches your dreams.

Plan for house below; scroll to see before and after

Design Process and Fees

The Process:

Contact
The first step to your new and improved landscape is to give our office a call. We will collect your information and send it to our team of designers. Once a designer has been assigned to your project, they will call you to schedule a consultation. In the meantime, collect pictures and ideas of what you like or want to incorporate into your landscape! If you are not sure where to start, no worries, we can discuss your ideas during the consultation.

Consult
Next, the designer who will be working with you will meet you at your home. They will spend quality time walking the property with you and discussing any ideas or wants you may have. The designer will take all necessary measurements and photos needed for them to create a design.

Design
It normally takes us two weeks to get a design and proposal completed. The completed plan is emailed to you. Once you approve of your finalized design, we highly suggest meeting with your designer at our garden center to view plants and materials that are included in your plan. At this time, you can discuss any questions or concerns you may have and make some changes to the design.

Installation
And finally comes installation! Your designer will coordinate with our Landscape Manager and Installation Crew to make your vision come to life. Your designer will also follow-up the next year to see how the plants are doing, and take care of any replacements if needed. If you choose Grimm’s Gardens to do your installation for you, a required deposit of 1/3 of the estimate is required to secure your spot on or installation calendar.

Credit:
Those who have us install part or all of their plan will receive their design fee as a refund off their final bill. Those who choose to install themselves will receive 10% off for any materials purchased at Grimm’s Gardens up to that same portion of the design fee. (i.e. If you pay $100 for your design fee, you will receive a 10% discount off any plants or materials included in your landscape design until your total savings reach $100.) This expires in a year.

Full Landscape Plan

To have a landscape without all the sweat that goes into it, consider a full plan and have Grimm’s Gardens take care of the installation. This is also an option for the Do-It-Yourselfers who want a more concrete plan to work off of as well as time with a professional designer.

Consultation Fee: $100
CAD Based Design Fee: Starting at $100
Image Fee: Starting at $50/image

What you will get:

Quality Time with a design professional at your house or business. You reap the benefit of the knowledge and experience that our designers have and will have the opportunity to show them your dreams for your landscape.
Comprehensive Landscape Plan. This is a CAD based design, which is a scaled design, showing where each plant is to be planted as well as the size of each area.
Images of the proposed landscape. Our designers will take pictures of your landscape and use our software to add plants and other features to an image of your house. This will help you visualize the final plan. Images start at $50 each.
Complete Estimate. This breaks down every plant and material that we will use as well as the labor to complete the project. If desired, your project may be able to be broken up into phases so that it is easy to start with one phase now and continue the project at a later date. If you choose to install yourself, this estimate will act as your ‘grocery list’ with all the materials you will need.
Free Changes. The first round of changes after the initial design are free. Additional design fees might apply to project that require adjustment beyond the first round of changes.

Small Landscape Plan

This is a great option for those wanting to transform a smaller area of their landscape, like a single garden bed that is 150 square feet or less. This does not work well for larger projects.

Consultation Fee: $50 per Image or Sketch
Design Fee: Starting at $50

What you will get:

Quality Time with a design professional at your house or business. You reap the benefit of the knowledge and experience that our designers have and will have the opportunity to show them your dreams for your landscape.
Comprehensive Landscape Plan. This is a CAD plan that shows where each plant is to be planted as well as the size of each area.
Image of the Proposed Landscape. Our designers will take pictures of your landscape and use our software to add plants and other features to an image of your house. This will help you visualize the final plan. Images start at $50 each.
Complete Estimate. This breaks down every plant and material that we will use as well as the labor to complete the project.
Free Changes. The first round of changes after the initial design are free. Additional design fees might apply to project that require adjustment beyond the first round of changes.

Landscape Suggestions

For DIY’ers looking for suggestions, our garden center staff and landscape designers can help you pick out plants for the area you are looking to improve. Just stop by either of our locations and ask for some plant ideas! Be sure you are knowledgeable with approximate measurements of your area, estimated number of hours of sunlight it receives, and soil and water conditions. This information will help us narrow down the types of plants that can be used.