1. Garden Design Consultation

Booking a garden design consultation is a great way to get started, whether you’re considering a full garden makeover or just thinking about options.

If you know that you want a stand-alone garden consultation, please visit this page for more information. If you are interested in commissioning a garden design, please read on.

We will listen carefully to your ideas and hear about what you love about your garden – and what you’d like to change. We’ll walk around your garden and assess it from a design perspective, looking at the possibilities and limitations of the site, considering aspect, levels, soil structure and access. We’ll talk about how you use the garden, and the particular style or feel you would like to create. If it’s a family garden, we’ll involve everyone: it’s vital that the garden has the scope to engage everyone, and to grow with changing needs. If you have any images of gardens or planting styles that you would like to include in the design process, this is the perfect time to share them.

Following the meeting, we will draw up a brief for the design of the garden based on our discussions, along with a quote for the design services required.

2. Survey and Site Analysis

A site survey and analysis is necessary to record all of the relevant information to consider in the design, and to produce a scale plan of your garden.

The survey and site analysis involve measuring and photographing the  site, and noting its characteristics: these include setting, levels, soil type, drainage, aspect, light and shade, views and existing plants. The wider environment  – including local building styles, habitats and native plants – is also assessed. This survey provides an accurate basis for the design stages.

A large or complicated site may require a chartered surveyor. 

3. Outline Plan

The outline plan is the design proposal, based on the brief. It shows the overall layout of the garden, and the relationship between hard landscape and planted areas. It also includes indications of materials and planting styles, and a moodboard is supplied. We will discuss this plan, and come to decisions on construction details such as paving and other materials which will be included in the next phase. Once the outline plan is approved, detailed design work will start.

4. Presentation Plan

The presentation plan is a scale drawing of the layout for your garden, showing areas of hard landscaping, planting and features.

The design will combine the aesthetic and practical
considerations outlined in the brief to make the most of your outside space. To help you visualise your new garden, views from different angles can be created. 

5. Planting

We design planting scheme to suit the particular growing conditions of your garden, to complement the design, provide year-round interest and create the atmosphere you desire.

We can also source all the required plants and plant them for you. The physical planting phase is really important – it’s good to know that the plants are in the right places and planted properly for the best possible start in life.

6. Choosing your landscaper

We collaborate regularly with several firms of select landscape contractors who build our designs to a high specification. We are also happy to work with other landscapers and contractors. Once the hard landscaping is complete, we offer a plant supply and installation service to bring your garden to life.

7. Project Monitoring

Once you have chosen your contractor and the build gets underway, you can opt for us to make regular site visits to ensure that your garden is delivered as planned. Project Monitoring involves us conducting site visits during the build, as agreed with you, to ensure that the design is adhered to.