working with us

We want you to enjoy the experience of working with a designer and creating a unique and personal space for you. Every project is unique however here is a guide to the steps involved in a landscape or garden design project:

Brief

We meet with you to identify and interpret your requirements, aspirations for the space and individual style preferences. We document this as a design brief which is provided to you with explanation of how the process will work and what the costs will be.

site survey & analysis

We return to take measurements or a professional site survey may be required depending on the nature, scale and complexity of the site.

Additionally we carry out thorough site analysis and research which combined with a visit to take a photographic survey enables us to produce our outline design response.

Outline design

The proposed outline design is presented to you in an A3 document with supporting rendered plan, perspective images and mood boards which illustrate how the finished garden will look and feel. This may be a combination of computer aided graphics and modelling or hand drawing and rendering.

detailed design

Once the outline design is approved by our client we prepare a package of construction drawings and specifications which would include sections, construction details, setting out drawings and specifications, depending on the nature of the final design. We also specify materials at this stage and prepare a lighting and setting out plan.

This detailed drawing package is provided to landscape contractors for tender or quotation.

construction

Following selection of a landscape contractor and once the landscaping is underway we can oversee the project through to completion and the specified finish. Depending on the nature of the project we would agree the frequency of site visits, establish communication lines for making and documenting design decisions and ensure open dialogue between ourselves, our client and landscape contractor.

Planting

We prepare planting plans which identify the variety, number, size and placement of each plant in the design. This would be accompanied by mood boards which show key plants within the scheme in order to give a feel for how the planting may look. We can select and source all plant materials for a scheme ensuring they are the best possible specimens.

Alternatively, it may be that you already have a structure you are happy with in your garden and would like advise on redesigning or adding to the planting. We can assist you with this by providing planting plans and schedules and liaising with specialist nurseries to select and source plant materials.

Maintenance

Maintenance of your new outside space is important especially in the first couple of years while new planting is establishing. We can provide a personalised maintenance schedule for your new space and assist in finding a professional maintenance team if this is something you require. We can also visit your new garden during the next growing season to ensure the planting is establishing as expected and to discuss future maintenance.