Garden Studio Service Agreement

1. Garden Studio services

The exact project area and scope will be confirmed before work begins.

2. Before scheduling a session

Garden Studio consultations require preparation before the meeting. Before an appointment can be booked, you will be asked to provide the project information reasonably necessary for me to understand the space. This may include:

• photographs of the garden area and its surroundings;
• approximate dimensions and your location;
• information about sun, shade, moisture, existing plants, and known site conditions;
• your goals, preferences, and maintenance expectations; and
• other information reasonably needed for the project.

I may ask for additional photographs or information if the original materials are not sufficient. Once I confirm that the required project materials have been received, you may select an available appointment and complete payment. Appointments will normally be scheduled at least three business days after the project information is confirmed, giving me time to review and prepare. Payment confirms the appointment.

3. Client responsibility for project information

Recommendations are based on the information available to me. You are responsible for providing information that is reasonably complete and accurate. Conditions that are not visible in photographs or that are not disclosed may affect the suitability of a recommendation.

A virtual consultation is not an in-person site inspection. I cannot independently verify all soil, drainage, root, utility, property-boundary, structural, environmental, or other site conditions.

4. Payment

Garden Studio payments are processed through Stripe. I do not receive or store your full payment-card number.

The Garden Direction Session fee is $125 and payment is required to confirm the appointment.

If you proceed with a One-Bed Planting Plan within 30 days after your consultation, the $125 consultation payment is credited toward the $375 total plan price, leaving a balance of $250. The balance must be paid before plan work begins.

Applicable taxes, if legally required, may be added. There are no recurring Garden Studio charges or subscriptions.

5. Rescheduling and cancellation

You may reschedule a Garden Direction Session once at no additional charge with at least 48 hours' notice. The replacement appointment should take place within 60 days of the original appointment.

Because project review and preparation begin before the meeting, the $125 session fee is generally non-refundable after the appointment has been booked. A request made with less than 48 hours' notice may be treated as a late cancellation.

I understand that genuine emergencies happen. In the case of illness, emergency, or another exceptional circumstance, I may offer a courtesy reschedule at my discretion.

6. No-shows and late arrivals

If you have not joined the meeting within 15 minutes of the scheduled start time and have not contacted me, the appointment may be considered a no-show. A no-show normally forfeits the session fee, and booking another consultation requires a new payment.

If you arrive late, the session may still end at the originally scheduled time. A genuine emergency may be handled as a courtesy exception at my discretion.

7. If I need to reschedule or cancel

If I need to reschedule your appointment, you may choose another available appointment at no additional charge. If I cancel the service and we cannot agree on a suitable replacement time, you will receive a full refund of the amount paid for the affected service.

8. Refunds and complimentary clarification

Garden Studio fees compensate for project review, preparation time, consultation time, and personalized recommendations. A completed Garden Direction Session is not refundable solely because you decide not to use, implement, or agree with a recommendation.

If an important question within the agreed scope remains unclear, contact me within 7 calendar days after receiving your Garden Direction Summary. I will provide one complimentary clarification, which may include written clarification or a follow-up conversation of up to 20 minutes.

This clarification is intended to explain or resolve recommendations already within the agreed scope. It does not include:

• a completely different design concept or new garden area;
• major changes to your original goals or preferences;
• additional research unrelated to the original scope; or
• a separate planting plan.

Changes of that kind may require additional paid work.

9. One-Bed Planting Plan

When you purchase a One-Bed Planting Plan, I will prepare a planting direction for the agreed garden area based on the site information, goals, and preferences established for the project.

Depending on the project, the plan may include recommended plants, approximate quantities, planting arrangement, spacing guidance, structural and seasonal considerations, notes regarding existing plants, and a shopping or implementation list.

Delivery

Your One-Bed Planting Plan will normally be delivered within 7-10 business days after payment and after I confirm that all photographs, measurements, preferences, and other information needed to begin the plan have been received.

The delivery period does not begin while required project information remains outstanding. If an unexpected circumstance materially delays delivery, I will notify you.

10. One consolidated revision

A One-Bed Planting Plan includes one consolidated revision round. Revision requests should be submitted within 7 calendar days after delivery of the initial plan.

A revision may include reasonable changes within the original project area, goals, style, and agreed scope, such as plant substitutions or reasonable spacing and layout adjustments.

A revision does not include:

• a different garden area or substantially changed project boundaries;
• an entirely different design concept, style, or set of project goals;
• a second alternative planting plan;
• redesign caused by materially inaccurate site information; or
• services outside the original scope.

Work beyond the included revision may require a separate fee and written agreement.

11. Existing and previously purchased plants

I am happy to consider plants you already own or have purchased, but inclusion is not guaranteed. If an existing plant does not appear suited to the project's light, moisture, space, root competition, design goals, or other conditions, I may recommend relocating it, using it elsewhere, replacing it, or not incorporating it.

You remain responsible for purchases made before or after receiving my recommendations.

12. Plant availability and substitutions

Plant availability varies by nursery, season, region, weather, and supplier inventory. A recommendation does not guarantee that a particular plant, cultivar, size, or quantity will be available when you purchase it.

If a recommended plant is unavailable, I may suggest an appropriate substitute when that assistance falls within the agreed service or included revision.

13. Gardening involves uncertainty

Plants are living organisms, and garden performance depends on conditions that neither I nor the Client can fully control. These include weather, irrigation, soil, drainage, tree-root competition, pests, disease, wildlife, nursery stock quality, planting technique, maintenance, environmental changes, availability, and undisclosed or changing site conditions.

Recommendations represent my judgment based on the information available at the time. I do not guarantee plant survival, flowering, growth rate, mature size, pest resistance, availability, or any particular aesthetic or horticultural outcome.

14. Services outside Garden Studio's scope

Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, Garden Studio does not provide:

• landscape architecture, engineering, or structural design;
• grading, drainage engineering, or irrigation-system design;
• tree-risk assessment or arborist services;
• pesticide recommendations requiring professional licensing;
• surveying, boundary determination, or utility locating;
• construction documents, permitting, or HOA approval;
• contractor supervision or installation; or
• ongoing garden maintenance.

If a project requires expertise outside this scope, I may recommend that you consult an appropriately qualified professional.

15. Implementation and site safety

You are responsible for deciding whether and how to implement my recommendations. You are also responsible for:

• verifying property boundaries and obtaining required permits or HOA approval;
• identifying underground or overhead utilities before digging;
• determining whether qualified contractors or other professionals are needed;
• selecting and supervising contractors;
• purchasing plants and materials;
• following appropriate planting and maintenance practices; and
• maintaining safe conditions during implementation.

I am not responsible for the work, acts, omissions, pricing, scheduling, or performance of nurseries, installers, contractors, or other third parties.

16. Use of Garden Studio deliverables

Garden Direction Summaries and custom Planting Plans are prepared for your personal use for the project for which they were created.

You may use the materials to implement your garden, print or store copies for personal use, and share them with a nursery, gardener, installer, or contractor when reasonably necessary to implement the project.

Unless I give written permission, you may not sell or resell the materials, publish them as your own work, distribute them as templates or plans for other properties, use them to create products for resale, or commercially reproduce substantial portions of them.

I retain ownership of my original layouts, templates, illustrations, methodologies, and other intellectual property used to create the deliverable.

17. Client privacy and project photographs

Garden Studio project information is private by default.

Photographs, measurements, project descriptions, plans, consultation information, and other client materials will not be intentionally published on the BloomMap website, social media, marketing materials, articles, or portfolio solely because you purchased a Garden Studio service.

If I would like to feature your project publicly, I will request separate permission. Permission is optional and is not a condition of receiving Garden Studio services. Additional information is provided in the BloomMap Privacy Policy.

18. Portfolio and testimonial permission

Any permission to use your garden or property photographs, before-and-after photographs, project excerpts, testimonial, name, or location for a case study, portfolio, social media, website content, or marketing will be requested separately.

Unless that separate permission expressly says otherwise, purchasing Garden Studio services alone does not grant me this permission.

19. Communications

Garden Studio services are primarily provided electronically. By purchasing a service, you agree to receive communications reasonably necessary to prepare for the project, schedule the consultation, process payment, request information, provide the service, deliver project materials, and address reasonable service questions.

Service communications are separate from optional marketing emails.

20. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, I will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, punitive, or similar damages arising from the use or implementation of Garden Studio recommendations.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, my total liability arising from a particular Garden Studio service will not exceed the amount you actually paid me for the service giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in this Agreement excludes or limits any liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.

21. Events outside reasonable control

I will not be considered in breach of this Agreement for reasonable delays caused by circumstances outside my control, including serious illness, severe weather, power or internet outages, emergencies, or failures of third-party technology.

If such a circumstance materially affects a scheduled consultation or deliverable, I will communicate with you and make reasonable efforts to reschedule or provide the service.

22. Governing law and disputes

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina, except where applicable consumer law requires otherwise.

Before filing a legal claim relating to the service, both parties agree to make a reasonable good-faith effort to resolve the issue directly.

23. Entire agreement and project-specific terms

This Agreement, together with the confirmed project scope and any additional written terms agreed for a particular project, constitutes the agreement governing the Garden Studio service.

If a project-specific written term directly conflicts with this Agreement, the specifically agreed project term controls for that project. If one provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply to the extent permitted by law.