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Ted Lare Design Build & Garden Center provides landscape design services for homeowners across Waukee. We run as a landscape design build firm, so the same team that draws your plan is the one that installs it.
That structure matters most in a city this new. Most Waukee houses went up after 2000, and plenty of yards still sit on builder-grade sod laid over subsoil the excavators packed down hard. Our designers hold landscape architecture degrees from Iowa State, and they read what that ground is actually doing before a single bed line gets drawn.
The landscaping services Waukee IA homeowners hire us for run from one planting bed to a full backyard build. See our full landscape services range.
Waukee’s newer lots carry one specific problem. Heavy equipment compacts the subsoil during construction, so what looks like flat ground is often dense clay that sheds water. A landscape designer Waukee homeowners trust reads that soil first.
We solve it at the plan stage. Beds and lawn areas get loosened and amended, while the grade carries runoff clear of the foundation. Iowa State University Extension makes the same point about turf around new construction.
Plant choices follow the site. We pick trees and perennials suited to your light and drainage, then space them to fill in without crowding the house.
Every project opens with a site evaluation. Your designer maps sun, elevation, and the low spots where water pools, then turns that into a master plan drawn to scale.
Custom landscape design Waukee homeowners receive covers plant selection, layout, and drainage. We plan in phases when the budget calls for it.
An empty new-build backyard gives us room to design the whole outdoor room at once. Kitchens, fire pits, pergolas, and seating walls get placed together rather than piece by piece.
The outdoor living spaces Waukee families use most sit close to the house. We size the entertaining area around your real guest count. Browse our outdoor living rooms to see examples of our work.
We build paver and natural stone patios, plus the walkways, steps, and seat walls that tie them together. An experienced hardscape contractor Waukee homeowners recommend earns that trust below the surface.
Base depth and compaction decide whether a patio still sits flat in ten years. Our patio installation Waukee crews build to spec. Ask about timing early, since build windows fill by late winter.
Sloped lots are common across newer Waukee subdivisions where builders cut pads into rolling ground. We design retaining walls Waukee properties need for structural work, plus decorative walls that define beds.
Every wall gets a drainage plan behind it. Taller walls get engineered first. Boulder, limestone, and block all stay on the table.
A pool changes the whole backyard plan, so the surround deserves as much attention as the water. Our pool installation Waukee projects cover deck layout, privacy plantings, lighting, and water features.
Luxury landscaping works best when every element of the property is designed as part of one cohesive plan. We start pool projects early, since permitting takes time.
One team stays on your project from the first conversation through the final walkthrough. You get a plan, an estimate, and a chance to revise before anyone breaks ground. That continuity matters most at grading on a new build. The designer who planned the drainage is on site when the crew cuts the grade, meaning the water flows where the plan intended.
See the full steps on our Des Moines landscape design and build process page.
A designed yard performs better than a collected one. Beds get sized for mature growth, that way, you spend less time cutting things back. Hardscape gets a base that holds, and a well-planned front yard lifts curb appeal at resale.
Here is where we push back. Plenty of homeowners ask for the largest patio the yard will hold. A smaller space matched to how you really entertain gets used every week. We would rather build the right size and spend the savings on materials.
A landscape designer reads your property, then draws a plan for layout, plantings, hardscape, and drainage. A trained one catches the grading and drainage problems that sink a yard later, before anyone digs.
Cost tracks how big the yard is and how detailed the plan gets. We quote after seeing the property, and your designer explains the fee up front.
A designer comes out, hears what you want from the yard, and gathers the measurements and site details a plan needs.
Yes. Many Waukee homes now sit fifteen or twenty years past their builder package. We rework the layout around whatever grew in well.
Drawings usually take two to four weeks. A planting refresh installs in a few days. A full backyard build with hardscape and plantings runs anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months, depending on scope and weather.
We do, and that is the core of how this company works. Our design and installation teams work together throughout the project, keeping the process coordinated from planning through construction.
Yes. Paver and natural stone patios, walkways, steps, seat walls, and both wall types.
Yes, and this is one of the strongest reasons to hire a design-build firm. Grading, lighting, and plantings settle on one plan.
Design and construction sit under one roof, so grading, drainage, and installation answer to one plan. Most any other landscaping company Waukee IA homeowners call subcontracts part of the job.
Yes. We cover the western metro, including West Des Moines, Clive, Urbandale, and Johnston. Contact us to check your address.
Every project begins with the way you plan to live outside. From there we build around your property and budget. Patios, outdoor living spaces, retaining walls, pool installations, and luxury landscaping all come from one designer and one crew.
Blank slate or next chapter, schedule a landscape consultation and see what your Waukee property can do.
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