What We Do
Garden Design & Implementation
Our professional garden design service takes you from first ideas to the completion of your new garden.
Brief – We talk with you about how the garden will fit with your lifestyle and aspirations as the basis for our subsequent design.
Survey – The measurements of your garden are an essential starting point for your design. We can often do the survey ourselves but on larger and more complex sites we’ll call in a professional surveyor to take all the measurements.
Outline – We present you initial ideas. Using a combination of both hand drawing and computer aided design we can show you a scale plan and illustrations for a first impression of your new garden. If there is anything you would like to change we can take this into account and make the necessary amendments until we have a design that you are happy with.
Detailing – Building on the outline, we prepare all the documentation that is needed to take your new garden from paper to reality. This will include a master plan with full annotation; a setting out plan showing all the important measurements; planting plans showing type, number and location of all the plants; and where necessary construction drawings, cross-sections and elevations.
Engaging a contractor – We help you find a contractor with the expertise and skills to construct your garden to a high standard. Preparing tender documentation including a written specification, we will obtain quotes for you to choose the right professional to build your new garden.
Monitoring progress – While your new garden is being built we can monitor progress to ensure that all is going to plan.
Consultancy
Sometimes you just need some advice.
Our consultancy service provides you with expert advice for any issues relating to your garden. You pay by the hour and we give you the information you need to resolve anything that you are unhappy with (in your garden!).
How Much Does it Cost?
Remodelling your garden makes a huge difference to your enjoyment of your outdoor space. Surveys have shown that it can also add up to 10% to the value to your property . It’s probably not a project that you will undertake very often so you may not know how much you should expect to spend to achieve what you want.
It is often said that you should think about the cost of remodelling your garden in terms of how much you would pay for a new kitchen, bathroom or remodelling of your interior.
Design Fees
We pride ourselves on our creativity and the professionalism of the service that we provide. Phil is a Registered Member of the Society of Garden Designers, the UK’s only professional body exclusively for practising Garden Designers. Registered Member status signifies that Phil’s work has been rigorously assessed across all aspects of the design process and professional practice to ensure that it meets the required high standard. Phil is closely involved with all the projects that we undertake. To see what designing a garden typically involves take a look at the ‘Garden Design & Implementation’ section at the top of this page.
The design fees for each project are calculated individually depending on the work involved, but usually range from between 8% and 15% of the total project cost, depending on the amount of work involved.
Landscaping Costs
Every garden that we design is different so there are no hard and fast rules about overall costs for the landscaping. There are many factors affecting the eventual cost including the amount of hard landscaping, choice of materials, changes required to levels, accessibility of the site and how much waste needs to be disposed of.
The landscaping costs are, not surprisingly, the most significant cost that you will be faced with in your garden remodel. There are a lot of elements to constructing a garden which you don’t necessarily see but which are needed to make it practical and durable. These include footings for paving, foundations for walls, drainage, wiring for lighting, and properly prepared planting beds.
We only work with reputable landscapers and suppliers. We can obtain detailed quotes for you for carrying out the landscaping and any other work required. Typical costs for the gardens that we design start at around £20k for a small space. Some of the gardens shown on our website cost much more than this.