Master plans, planting plans, stamped drawings.
A registered landscape architect designs every Cairn & Cedar project — from first conversation to construction documents to walking the site the morning the build crew arrives. No handoff. No telephone game.
— Why most landscape designs disappoint
A beautiful rendering is not a buildable plan.
Most landscape “designs” are mood boards in disguise. They look great in PDF and unravel the moment a contractor tries to build from them.
The plan has no construction details.
Wall sections missing. Drainage afterthought. Footing depth unspecified. The contractor guesses, the slope fails, the homeowner pays twice.
The planting plan ignores zone 4b.
Cultivars chosen from a Pinterest board, not from a Vermont nursery list. Half are zone 5b or warmer. Spring two arrives, third of the bed gone.
The designer never visits during construction.
Once the file is delivered, the designer’s job is done. The crew makes 200 small decisions that shape the final result — none of them with the designer in the room.
The drawings aren’t stamped.
Without a registered landscape architect’s seal, plans don’t pass municipal review for grading or stormwater. Permits stall. Build season slips by a month.
— Design, by the numbers
— What you get
Seven drawings. One coherent vision.
A full Cairn & Cedar design package is everything the build crew (ours or yours) needs to construct the project to specification. No verbal handoffs. No “we’ll figure it out on site.”
Master site plan
Property-wide plan to scale, showing every garden room, hardscape element, structure, lighting position, and circulation path.
Planting plan
Every plant labeled by Latin name and cultivar, with size at install, source nursery, and a phasing schedule for spring vs. fall planting.
Hardscape design + sections
Material specs (stone source, gauge, joint type), wall sections to scale, footing detail, drainage plan. Built so a journeyman mason can read it.
Grading + drainage plan
Existing vs. proposed contours, swales, French drains, downspout extensions, freeze-thaw considerations specific to your site’s soil.
Lighting plan
Path lighting, accent lighting, low-voltage transformer locations, conduit runs, dark-sky compliant fixture schedule.
3D site studies
For complex sites, hand-rendered or SketchUp views from key vantage points — what you’ll see from the kitchen window in October.
Stamped construction drawings
The complete, sealed package for permitting and construction. Accepted by every Chittenden County municipality and the State of Vermont.
— The Cairn & Cedar design process
From first walk to stamped drawings.
Eight to fourteen weeks for a full residential design package. Faster for hardscape-only or single-element work.
Site walk + survey
Two-hour walk with the architect. We measure light, slope, soil, drainage, microclimate. Photo-document existing conditions. Sketch first ideas in pencil.
Schematic on tracing paper
Hand-drawn schematic showing major garden rooms, circulation, and hardscape position. Reviewed at your kitchen table. Free revision pass built in.
Construction documents
Full plan set drawn to scale: site plan, planting plan, hardscape sections, grading, lighting, plant schedule, material schedule. Six to ten weeks.
Stamp + handoff
The architect seals the drawings. We hand the complete package to our build crew (or yours). Then we walk the site at every major construction milestone.
— Recent design work
Three recent design packages.
Lakefront master plan, 2½ acres.
Three terraced rooms stepping down to Lake Champlain. 240 ft of dry-laid stone wall, cedar pavilion, native pollinator beds.
Read project →
Seven-terrace hilltop garden.
Re-grading a north-facing slope into seven dry-stone-walled terraces of perennials, fruit trees, and a 60-foot meditation walk.
Read project →
1,400 sq ft contemporary courtyard.
Bluestone paving, cedar slat screening, a small reflecting pool, and three Japanese maples for autumn color.
Read project →Plans + drawings, you bring your own builder
$8K–$28Ktypical residential
Complete drawing package, two design reviews, four optional construction site visits at $250 each. Permitting support included for Chittenden County municipalities.
Full Cairn & Cedar treatment
$80K–$400K+project total
Design fee credited against build cost. Architect on site for every milestone. Fixed scope, fixed price. Most clients land in the $120K–$220K range.
— Frequently asked
Questions we hear in nearly every consult.
Do you do design only, or just design + build?
Both. Many of our clients hire us to design and bring their own preferred contractor (or one we recommend) for the build. About 60% of our clients use us for both. Either way, the architect remains involved through construction — the design fee includes four site visits during the build.
How long does a residential design package take?
Eight to fourteen weeks for a complete package, depending on site complexity and how quickly we can complete a survey. Hardscape-only or single-element designs are faster — typically four to six weeks. We schedule design work three to six months ahead of intended construction.
Can we use our own contractor for the build?
Absolutely. The drawings are designed to be built from by any competent landscape contractor. We provide a list of three to five Chittenden County contractors we’ve worked with successfully — but the choice is yours. We’ll meet with your contractor at the start to walk the drawings.
Do you stamp the drawings for permitting?
Yes. Our principal is a Vermont-registered landscape architect, and every construction document set we produce carries her seal. This is required for grading, stormwater, or wetland-buffer review in Chittenden County and most of the surrounding jurisdictions.
Do you visit during construction?
Always. Four scheduled site visits are included in every design fee — typically at footings, hardscape rough-in, planting day, and punch-list. Additional visits are billed at $250 each. The architect is reachable by text or phone throughout the build for crew questions.
What does a design package actually cost?
Most residential design packages land between $8K and $28K, depending on property size, slope complexity, and number of disciplines (planting only vs. full design with structures and water features). The site visit and a written scope-of-work proposal are free. We don’t move into design until you sign off on the proposal.