WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START A LANDSCAPE PROJECT
A landscape project is a decision most people make once, with limited information, and then live with for years. Homeowners are weighing designers they have never worked with, and property managers are weighing contractors against a budget and a board.
Hollandia Outdoors has worked across West Michigan for nearly six decades as a faith-based, veteran-owned company handling landscape design and build, lawn and landscape maintenance, and commercial snow and ice management. The questions below cover fit, process, timing, and cost, including the ones people usually do not ask until they are already committed.
FIT & SERVICES
-
Hollandia Outdoors runs three connected service lines: landscape design and build, ongoing lawn and landscape maintenance, and commercial snow and ice management. Design and build covers everything from full backyard transformations to paver patios, retaining walls, outdoor living spaces, outdoor kitchens, fire features, plantings, irrigation, drainage, grading, and fencing. Maintenance and snow keep the property cared for after the build is finished. Clients can use any one line on its own, though most eventually use more than one.
-
Hollandia Outdoors serves both, with a commercial division that handles industrial parks, auto suppliers, HOAs, office and retail properties, and other managed sites across West Michigan. Commercial work covers growing-season lawn and landscape maintenance, landscape design and build, and winter snow and ice management under one contractor. Property managers benefit most from combining maintenance and snow, since one relationship covers the full year instead of handing the property to a different company in November. Residential and commercial run as separate crews with separate scheduling.
-
Hollandia Outdoors is not the right fit for small one-off repairs, material-only purchases, or projects awarded strictly on lowest bid. The design process, dedicated designer, and crew structure carry cost that a price-only comparison will not account for, and a homeowner shopping purely on number is usually happier elsewhere. Snow and ice management is built around commercial properties rather than individual driveways. Being clear about that early saves a consultation that was never going to work for either side.
-
Hollandia Outdoors works throughout West Michigan from its Holland base, covering Ottawa, Allegan, and Kent counties. That includes Holland, Zeeland, West Olive, Grand Haven, Hudsonville, Georgetown Township, Jamestown, Port Sheldon, Grandville, East Grand Rapids, Ada, and Cascade, among others. The full list is on the service areas page. Properties at the edge of that range are worth a call, since coverage depends on scope as much as distance.
WHAT EACH SERVICE INCLUDES
-
A Hollandia design and build project starts with a dedicated designer assigned to the property, moves through 3D renderings and detailed plans so the space can be seen before construction, and ends with one team executing the build. Scope commonly includes hardscape, plantings, lighting, irrigation, drainage, grading, and fencing, coordinated so the pieces are planned together rather than added on later. Having design and construction under one roof means the person who drew the plan is accountable for what gets built. Clients receive plans on paper and in PDF, which makes it easier to phase a project over multiple seasons if that fits the budget better.
-
A Hollandia maintenance program combines routine lawn care with landscape bed care across the growing season, including mowing, fertilization, weed control, grub control, pruning and trimming, bed maintenance, and spring and fall cleanup. Programs are built around the property rather than sold as a single package, so a two-acre residential property and a multi-building commercial site are scoped differently. One-time services such as pruning or fall cleanup are available without a full program. The crews handling maintenance are certified and recurring, so the same team learns the property over time.
-
Hollandia's commercial snow and ice management covers plowing, ice control, and site monitoring through the Michigan winter so businesses stay open and accessible during and after a storm. West Michigan lake-effect snow arrives fast and unevenly, which is why response planning matters more than equipment count. Contracts are set before the season rather than arranged storm by storm, since availability tightens once snow starts. Pairing snow with a growing-season maintenance contract gives a property one contractor across all twelve months.
DESIGN & BUILD PROCESS
-
The first step is a conversation about the property, how the space needs to function, and what the budget can realistically support, followed by a site visit. A dedicated designer is assigned from there and develops a concept around the actual conditions on the property. That site visit is where most of the assumptions from a phone call get corrected, which is why Hollandia does not price work without one.
-
Hollandia Outdoors produces 3D renderings and detailed plans as part of the design process so clients can see the layout, materials, and finished space before any work begins. Renderings are the single most useful tool for catching a problem while it is still a drawing rather than a poured footing. Plans are delivered in a format clients can keep and review on their own time. Changes made at the rendering stage cost a conversation, while changes made mid-build cost considerably more.
-
Phasing a landscape project across multiple seasons is common and often the smarter approach when the full scope is beyond a single year's budget. Hollandia designs the complete plan first, then sequences the work so each phase is finished rather than left open, and so later phases do not require tearing out earlier ones. Utilities, grading, drainage, and irrigation typically belong in phase one even when the visible results come later. Planning the whole thing up front is what makes phasing work instead of costing more.
-
Project duration depends on scope, permitting, and material lead times, and the design phase is usually longer than clients expect while construction is often shorter. Weather is a genuine variable in Michigan, where the build season is compressed and a wet spring pushes everything behind it. Hollandia provides a project-specific schedule during design rather than a generic range at the first call. Booking early in the year matters, since the calendar for a given season fills well before the season starts.
COMMUNICATION & ACCOUNTABILITY
-
Each Hollandia client works with a dedicated designer who stays with the project rather than handing it off after the plan is sold. That person coordinates internally with the construction crews and is the one to call when a question or change comes up. For maintenance and commercial accounts, an account contact fills the same role across the season. One name on the project is the difference between a change getting handled and a change getting lost between departments.
-
Mid-project changes are handled through the designer, who prices the change and confirms the schedule impact before anything moves. Some changes are simple, and some ripple through grading, drainage, or material orders in ways that are not obvious from the outside. Getting that in writing before the crew proceeds protects both sides. Hollandia would rather have the awkward conversation about cost up front than deliver a surprise at final invoicing.
-
Hollandia's commercial accounts are built around full-service packages tailored per client, with a consistent point of contact so property managers are not re-explaining the site every visit. For managers reporting to owners or a board, having one contractor across maintenance, landscape improvements, and winter service means one set of records instead of three. Requests during the season route through the account contact directly.
MICHIGAN CONDITIONS & MAINTENANCE
-
Plant selection in West Michigan has to account for lake-effect winters, variable snow cover, clay and sandy soils depending on the site, and deer pressure, which is significant across much of Ottawa and Allegan counties. Hollandia designs with deer-resistant and perennial varieties where pressure is heavy, and matches species to the actual light, drainage, and soil on the property rather than to a catalog. Native plantings are used where they fit, since they establish faster and need less intervention. A plan that ignores deer or drainage looks fine on paper and fails in year two.
-
Drainage and grading determine whether the rest of a landscape survives, because water that has nowhere to go undermines patios, kills plantings, and finds foundations. Properly sloped ground moves rainwater away from structures, and Hollandia evaluates grade during the site visit rather than treating it as an upgrade. Freeze and thaw cycles make this worse in Michigan than in milder climates, since trapped water expands under hardscape through the winter. Fixing grade during construction is far cheaper than correcting it after a patio has already shifted.
-
Winter and early spring are the best time to start the design conversation, even though construction happens later, because the design phase takes time and the build calendar fills before the season opens. Planting work has two strong windows in spring and fall. Hardscape can run later into the year than planting, weather permitting. Clients who call in June for the same season are often scheduling into the following one.
-
New plantings, lawns, and beds need consistent care through at least the first two seasons to establish properly, which is when most of the risk sits. Hollandia offers maintenance programs so the same company that built the landscape is the one keeping it healthy, and so problems get caught by people who know how the site was built. Hardscape needs far less attention but benefits from periodic cleaning and joint maintenance. Clients who handle their own maintenance can still call for one-time services like pruning or cleanup.
PRICING & GETTING STARTED
-
Pricing tracks scope, site conditions, and material selection, which is why two projects of similar square footage can differ substantially. Hardscape area, grading and drainage work, retaining walls, structures, and material grade are the largest drivers, and access to the back of the property matters more than most people expect. The design phase is where the budget conversation actually gets settled, since that is when scope becomes specific. Hollandia works through the budget openly during design rather than presenting a number at the end.
-
Maintenance pricing is built from the property itself: maintained square footage, bed area, service frequency, site complexity, and which services are included in the program. Commercial contracts are scoped per property rather than by a rate card, since a retail lot and an industrial campus have different requirements. Snow and ice management is priced separately and set before the season. Every number comes from a walked site.
-
Having a budget range in mind makes the first conversation considerably more productive, even if the number is rough. Design decisions on materials, hardscape area, and phasing all move with budget, and a designer working without that information is guessing. Clients who are unsure what a project should cost can say so directly, and Hollandia can give a sense of range for the scope being discussed. Nobody is expected to arrive with a spreadsheet.
-
Getting started means reaching out through the contact page or calling (616) 399-3334 to schedule a site visit. Useful things to have ready are photos of the space, a rough sense of how you want to use it, your timeline, and a budget range. For commercial properties, knowing the contract cycle and when the current agreement ends matters most. From there a designer is assigned and the process begins.
CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS
“Yvon, Juan and Daniel did an amazing job updating our back yard! They are very pleasant and professional to work with. Many thanks to all at Hollandia for keeping the project timely as planned with quality work and plantings. I would highly recommend Hollandia Outdoors to anyone needing professional landscaping services!”
— LINDA H. VIA GOOGLE
LANDSCAPE DESIGN, MAINTENANCE, AND SNOW SERVICES IN HOLLAND, MI
Hollandia Outdoors is a faith-based, veteran-owned landscape company in Holland, MI, providing landscape design and build, paver patios and hardscapes, outdoor living spaces, outdoor lighting, plantings, irrigation and drainage, grading, fencing, lawn and landscape maintenance, and commercial snow and ice management. The team serves residential and commercial properties across Ottawa, Allegan, and Kent counties, including Holland, Zeeland, West Olive, Grand Haven, Hudsonville, Georgetown Township, East Grand Rapids, Ada, and Cascade. With nearly six decades in West Michigan, Hollandia designs, builds, and maintains outdoor spaces under one team.