A lifelong gardener branches out into landscape design

Unique challenges

French says operating out of Newfoundland gives rise to some interesting obstacles.

“In Newfoundland, the availability of products is quite different than anywhere else, because we’re an island,” she says. “Shipping makes things more expensive and selection is more difficult, especially when people want something that’s unique and not like what their neighbours have.”

French’s experience in Ontario, while valuable, also set her up for some frustrations when she returned to Newfoundland.

“In Ontario, there’s so much readily available. You didn’t have to wait weeks and weeks for things to come in. Here, if I design with a particular type of stone, by the time the contractor can get to that project it could be sold out.”

In any landscaping business, success is often influenced by the seasons. This is even more challenging for French and her colleagues in Canada’s easternmost province.

“Our season is so short,” she says. “You can’t really break ground until May.” French says that once the season is over, she typically works with four to six clients, designing over the winter to ensure work can start right away when spring hits.

She also notes that scheduling can be next to impossible, given the island province’s climate.

“If a contractor does three big jobs in a season and the weather slows them down, a three-week project might end up taking six weeks because it rained for three weeks,” she says. “You have to really plan your material and we have to consider the weather in our scheduling. It can be very frustrating to me and to the client, so keeping communication lines open all the time is imperative.”

Continuing to grow

French says one of the industry’s most dominant trends is toward eco-friendly options—native plants, local rocks and the like. She says her clients are also looking for low-maintenance options and gravitating towards structures, such as garden rooms.

“People are trying to build pergolas, gazebos, screened-in porches or things that suit our climate, and making modifications on the garden room,” she says.

She adds that many homeowners who want landscaping done do not even realize they can hire an independent designer to run through their ideas before hiring a contractor. Since most people begin doing research on the Internet these days, French makes it a point to keep her site up to date and functional to ensure customers can easily locate Daisy Design online.

French is also an advocate of association membership, noting the contacts and connections she has gained as a member of Landscape Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Knowing your colleagues and making different relationships and referrals—that is very important to me.”