Landscape, garden, plantings. Whatever you call those living things in your yard they are not a static part of your property. When you install a new landscape it will change for better or worse. A shrub may get too big while a group of perennials disappears completely. That pink flowering plant that should stay at a foot hits its mark and keeps going.
Keep this in mind. You are not buying a couch, a car, or a shirt when you purchase a plant. They are living things that respond to soil, light, weather and that dog that lifts its leg over it every day. If that isn’t enough each year is different and each season within that year. Insects and diseases are also responding to these varying conditions in their own ways. You cannot predict or control Mother Nature and neither can your landscape designer.
So what to do. If you have a good landscape designer they will work to be as informed as possible about your site and what you need. All of the unknown elements that will come into play over time you have to embrace as part of the natural evolution of your landscape. When nature throws you a curve ball; flex, bend and get creative.
When you start a landscape project begin with the mentality that all is transient and the vision will change over time. Don’t cling too tightly to those drawings (although they are a good start) because in a few years the plants will have their way and you will have to adapt as they do. Even a domesticated Mother Nature has a mind of her own.