Garden Design Process & Services

We’ll help you to transform your outdoor space into an extra room that will not only give you year round enjoyment but will also help increase the value of your property.

We offer the following services:

• Project consultancy
• Garden design plans
• Construction drawings
• Planting plans
• Plant maintenance schedules
• Project management & support
• Garden build

The First Meeting (Initial consultation)

The first meeting will take place on site with an informal talk through of the design process,
design brief and a rough idea of your budget and timeframe.

We’ll visit at a time that’s convenient to you.

The Survey

The garden survey takes in measurements and site conditions. It highlights any existing
views and features that may need to be enhanced or hidden.

The Plan

After the design brief and survey have taken place, you’ll be sent a summary proposal, together with details of the fees and services. If you’d like to proceed then an initial outline plan for the garden can be drawn up. This will show the proposed layout of the garden and its features as well as indicating which materials are to be used. Included will be any sketches, drawings and concept boards needed to help you visualise the finished design.

The Presentation

Another visit will be arranged where you’ll be presented with the proposed design for your garden. This is usually 3-4 weeks after the initial visit (depending on schedules). This is an opportunity for you to look at the proposed designs in detail and ask any questions. Of course, you’re more than welcome to hold onto copies of the designs for a few weeks to live with the ideas before we have a final discussion.

Making Changes

We’re more than happy to make minor changes to the proposed designs. However, if you’ve had a serious change of mind and the designs have to be re-started, then we’d have to charge extra for these.

Final Design and Planting Plan

A few weeks after the presentation, you’ll be sent the final design plans, including any changes you may have asked for. These plans will be fully detailed and ready for implementation by contractors.

Although the master plan will indicate the general style of planting envisaged, it’s vital that a detailed planting plan showing the exact locations, sizes and quantities is drawn up. This planting plan will be quoted for separately as its cost is dependent on the planting area, style and impact required.

Building the garden

We’re now ready to get to the exciting part of transforming your space. There are several approaches to this and we can work in whichever way suits you.

Most people are keen to have their garden built for them and we can take away the potential headache of this by finding competitive and reliable contractors to install the design.

This, of course, all depends on the simplicity of the design and any building structures or materials. As part of the process, contractors will be asked to meet on site to go through the proposals.

You may, of course , decide that you’d like to manage the installation process yourself, and, if that’s the case, then you can simply purchase the design and planting plan if required.

How much will it cost?

We’re often asked that, and it all depends on what’s required so it’s not always possible to give a quotation over the phone. We’d need to come along and view the garden and have a discussion of your needs before a quotation could be provided.

Initial Consultation

Once an enquiry has been received, an initial site visit will be arranged to view your garden and discuss your requirements. A ‘client brief’ will be written with advice given on your garden’s potential.  The consultation usually takes about 2 hours and there is a fee of £100 to cover the time and expenses.  This fee is refunded if you agree to commission a full set of plans. Depending upon the size and complexity of your garden, an indication of the design costs can usually be given at this stage.

Site Survey and Analysis

The garden is surveyed to locate all the existing features, plantings and levels within the site.  This is undertaken by us, or in the case of larger or more complex site, a land surveyor.  Other elements such as soil type, drainage, prevailing winds, frost pockets, orientation and good/bad views etc are all gathered at this stage.  This information is used to prepare a survey drawing, which is required for the subsequent preparation of the garden design.

Design

We’ll always provide you with a written estimate and breakdown of costs so you know what to expect. If you commission a design, then charges are made for producing a fully detailed and to scale Outline Plan at £50.00 per hour. As a rough guide, a typical suburban back garden may take up 14 hours to arrive at a final plan and design costs could vary from £450-£700 depending on the complexity of the design.

Planting Plan & Schedule

Most people request a detailed Planting Plan which shows the exact numbers and locations of all the plants in the design, as well as the final spread. This Planting Plan will always be quoted for separately as it depends on the planting area, impact and style required. Along with this, you’ll also receive a planting schedule listing all the plants by type, variety and size. So you have the correct information for nurseries and contractors.

* Fees are payable on immediate receipt of the Planting Plan and Plant Schedule

Project Management

As well as developing and finalising your garden plan, we’re also happy to get involved in the project management of the installation if required. Many people prefer us to get involved in this and an estimated price will be given for this service so you know what to expect.

Sundry costs

Printing of plans and other documents, and the processing of reference photographs, are charged at cost.

Tips before commissioning a garden design

• To get the most from your garden design you may want to spend a little time thinking about exactly what you’d like from your garden and who’s going to use it. Maybe a play area is needed as well as an area for entertaining and eating?
• Take a look through some lifestyle magazines to see if some styles jump out at you - cut these out to show us on our visit. When you start thinking about your garden, you’re likely to get lots of ideas and images, so try to write these down or keep pictures if possible.
• As well as this, have a think about your personal likes and dislikes. What colours are you drawn to? Do you prefer contemporary or traditional styles? Are there any specific plants that you would like incorporated? You’ll really benefit from the design of the garden if you can provide us with as much information as possible at the site visit.
• There are often drainpipes, cables and inspection covers in the garden. Taking a note of these and pointing them out to the garden designer can be really helpful to factor into the design and disguise them if necessary.
• If you have any old plans of the site, it’s really useful to have sight of these. Sometimes foundations or historical underground buildings such as air-raid shelters, may be present and may affect designs.
• The cost of the garden will vary depending on the size, style, proportion of hard landscaping to soft landscaping, as well as the complexity of the site, but a sum equivalent to 3%-10% of the value of the property may be a good figure to work as a basis for a complete garden re-design.
• One way of looking at the cost of creating a garden is to view it as an asset, an outdoor room, much like you would by adding an extension to the house, or perhaps a new kitchen.