well I'll give you my 2 cents worth, but you might find me too bold.
I understand that meeting with a landscaper means you are shelling out money for this advice. And that is just what it is-advice. An opinion. If you don't like it, move on. I assume at this point that you are only in planning stages and have not paid anything or not much? Have not signed a contract? You have 2 options now. 1. Make it clear to the landscaper what you want to include in your plan. (in this case the semps. 2. Find another landscaper if the two of you are not able to work together. At this point the project has not even broken ground yet and you are already not happy.
The first thing you need to do is decide what your goal is for your area. 1. Are you wanting to impress people who drive by (high traffic area).
2. Do you want to make the neighbors jealous? 3. Are you landscaping to put your home up for sale? 4. Do you want something easy to maintain or do you have time/desire to work to keep something more elaborate? 5. Do you want a water feature? 6. Do you have power available? 7. Do you have a walkway or path that needs lighting? 8. Do you have water easily available to the area? this will determine what kind of plants you choose. 9. do you want winter interest? 10. budget? 11. Long term of the plan-what will it look like 10-15 years from now? 12. do you have any favorite elements that you want included?-favorite color (must match with the house) favorite planter, statue or kind of stone, ect. 13. What kind of weather-sun, wind, rain, ect does your spot get? this will determine what plants you can use there. 14. Are you wanting a small tree/shrub to shade a window or a parking space?
ect ect ect.
You should make sure the area you landscape looks like something YOU want and will enjoy and like. Something that makes YOU feel happy when you see it. What ANYONE else thinks does not matter. YOU are paying for it. You are paying for a service, and if the landscaper thinks what you want is stupid, boring, ugly or downright non-sense---who cares! He should do you a quality job and get paid for his work even if he doesn't like what you chose to pay for!
