Landscape Design for Homes Across Oakland County
A good landscape starts as a plan. Before a single plant goes in or a paver is set, Rohto Landscaping works out how your whole property should look, work and hold up — where water needs to go, how you move from the driveway to the back door, where a patio belongs, and what will grow well in the light and soil you actually have.
We design landscapes for homeowners in Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield and throughout Oakland County who are planning a real change to their property, from a front-yard redesign to a full-property transformation. When the design is done, the same team builds it.
The first conversation is free.
The Scope Of Design
What Landscape Design Covers
Landscape design is the plan for the entire outdoor space — not a planting list, and not a patio sketch on its own. Depending on your property and what you want from it, a Rohto design brings together:
Layout and flow
How the front, sides and back of the property connect, and how people move through them.
Planting
Trees, evergreens, beds and seasonal color, chosen for structure through the year and for local growing conditions.
Hardscape
Patios, walkways, steps, walls and driveways, placed where they work with the house and the slope of the lot.
Grading and drainage
How water moves across the property and where it needs to end up.
Outdoor living
Seating areas, fire features and outdoor kitchens that sit naturally inside the larger landscape.
Pool surroundings
Paving, planting and grading around an existing or planned pool.
Lighting
How the landscape looks and functions after dark.
Not every property needs every one of these. Part of the design work is deciding what belongs on yours, and where, before you pay to build it.
Design First
Why Design Comes Before Installation
Landscapes that grow a little at a time tend to show it. The patio lands where it was easiest to build, the planting doesn’t line up with anything around it, and the water problem that should have been handled first gets addressed only after it has damaged something.
Design puts those decisions in the right order. Grading, drainage and layout are settled while they are still easy to change — on paper, not after the paving is laid. Materials are chosen to work with each other and with the house. And if you would rather build over time, each phase follows the same plan, so the finished property reads as one landscape instead of a series of separate projects.
Your Site, Your Plan
Planning Around the Property You Have
Every design starts with the site itself. We walk the property with you and look at the things that decide what will work: how water moves across the lot after a heavy rain, where sun and shade fall through the day, how the ground slopes, which existing trees and plantings are worth keeping, and how the house, the drive and the yard relate to one another.
We also want to understand how you plan to use the space — a place to entertain, somewhere quiet to sit, room for children to play, less lawn to look after. A good plan balances those goals with your budget and with the architecture of your home.
Soil and water get particular attention. Much of this area sits on clay-heavy soil that holds water and shifts as it freezes and thaws, so we assess grading and drainage at the start of every project. If you want the background, we have written about how local soil affects plants and hardscape and about fixing standing water in clay soil yards.
One Design, Every Piece
One Plan for Planting, Hardscape and Outdoor Living
The real value of design is that every part of the landscape is worked out together. Here is how the main pieces fit into one plan.
Planting design
Trees and evergreens give a property a shape that holds up in February as well as in June. Seasonal plantings add color on top of that structure, and along driveways and walks we favor plants that can tolerate winter road salt. Beds are laid out to relate to the home’s entrances, windows and paths, so the planting feels connected to the house rather than placed around it. For garden-focused projects, see our garden landscaping work.
Patios, walkways and driveways
Hardscape is where layout matters most, because it is the hardest part of a landscape to change once it’s built. The design sets the size and position of patios, the route and width of walkways and steps, and how the driveway meets the rest of the front yard — along with the materials, so paving, walls and planting work as a set. How these pieces are built is covered on our hardscape design and installation page, including brick paver patios and walkways and paver driveways.
Outdoor living and fire features
Seating areas, fire pits, fireplaces and outdoor kitchens work best when they are planned as part of the landscape instead of added to a finished yard. The design decides where they sit in relation to the house and the views, how people get to them, and how planting and lighting frame them.
Around the pool
A pool raises its own design questions: which surfaces stay comfortable underfoot, where privacy planting is needed, how the pool area looks from inside the house, and how the surrounding ground is graded so water moves away from it. We plan poolside landscaping as part of the same design as the rest of the yard.
Lighting
Lighting changes both how a landscape looks at night and how usable it is — along paths and steps, at entries, and on the trees and plantings worth showing. It is far simpler to plan during design than to add once beds and paving are finished.
The Deliverables
What You Receive From the Design
A design gives you something concrete to make decisions with before installation begins:
Design drawings
Showing the layout of the property — planting areas, hardscape, outdoor living spaces and how they connect.
Renderings
That help you picture the finished landscape.
Material and plant choices, explained
So you understand what is being proposed and why.
We go through the plan with you and answer your questions, so you can decide with confidence how you want to move forward.
The Process
How Landscape Design Works With Rohto
A free first conversation
Call us or send your details, and we will talk about your property, what you would like to change and the budget you have in mind. There is no charge for this conversation.
Seeing the property
We meet you on site to walk the property, see the conditions for ourselves and talk through your goals in person.
Design, renderings and a formal estimate — where your project needs them
- Design and renderings start at $2,000+.
- Formal estimates for full-property transformations cost $250, credited toward the total project price if you hire Rohto.
We will talk through which of these your project calls for during the first conversation.
Installation by the same team
The people who plan your landscape are the people who build it, so the thinking behind the design carries through to the finished work. You can install the whole design at once or in stages, and each stage follows the same plan.
Want to give us the full picture up front? The Landscape Design Questionnaire lets you share your property and your plans in more detail than a phone call allows.
Straight Answers
Landscape Design Pricing
Straight answers about cost, before you commit to anything:
| Step | Cost |
|---|---|
| First conversation | Free |
| Design and renderings | Starting at $2,000+ |
| Formal estimate for full-property transformations | $250, credited toward the total project price if you hire Rohto |
| Financing | Options available |
We will talk through what your project would involve during the first conversation. If you would like to spread the cost of the work, ask us about financing options when we speak.
Design To Build
From Design to Installation
A design is only as good as the way it is built. Because Rohto both designs and installs, the intent behind the drawings is not handed off to someone who never saw the property. Planting and garden work are carried out through our residential landscaping service, and patios, walkways, walls and driveways through our hardscape work — all as one project, following one plan.
Where We Work
Landscape Design in Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield and Oakland County
Rohto Landscaping is based in West Bloomfield, and our work happens at our clients’ properties in Bloomfield Hills and throughout Oakland County and Metro Detroit. If your home is in Bloomfield Hills, we have written about what high-end properties there need from design, materials and site planning.
FAQ
Landscape Design Questions
What does a landscape design from Rohto include?
A design lays out the whole property as one plan — planting, hardscape, outdoor living areas, grading and drainage. You receive design drawings and renderings, with material and plant choices explained, so you can make decisions before installation begins.
How much does landscape design cost?
Design and renderings start at $2,000+. The first conversation is free, and we will talk through what your project involves before any design work begins.
What is the $250 formal estimate?
Formal estimates for full-property transformations cost $250. If you hire Rohto for the project, the $250 is credited toward the total project price.
Do you plan for drainage and grading?
Yes. We assess grading and drainage at the start of every project. With clay-heavy soil and repeated freezing and thawing, managing water well is what keeps plantings healthy and paving stable over time.
Can I build the design in phases?
Yes. You can install the whole design at once or in stages, and each stage follows the same plan so the property still comes together as one landscape.
Do you offer financing?
Yes, financing options are available. Ask about them during your first conversation.
Should I fill out the Design Questionnaire or call?
If you are planning a design or a larger change to your property and want to give us the full picture, start with the Design Questionnaire. If you have a quick question, a smaller project, or are not sure yet what you need, call us at 248-205-8723 or send a short message through our contact page.
Get Started
Start Planning Your Landscape
Tell us about your property and what you would like it to become. The first conversation is free.
Prefer a short message? Contact us.