How it works
Every project is different. But the way we work is consistent — careful, unhurried, and always led by the people who will live in the garden.
The brief conversation is the most important part of any project. Before a single line is drawn, we spend time understanding how you actually inhabit your life — not just what you think you want, but what the space needs to do for you day to day, season to season, year to year.
Everything that follows — the spatial layout, the materials, the planting — is an answer to that conversation. Which is why we work the way we do.
We begin with a site visit and an unhurried conversation — about how you use the garden now, how you want to use it, who it needs to work for and what it should feel like. We ask questions that go beyond the obvious, because the real brief is usually found a little beneath the stated one.
We then carry out a thorough site analysis — reading the light, the levels, the relationship between house and garden, what exists and what it's asking to become. This forms the foundation everything else is built on.
Initial consultation · Site analysis · Brief capture · Feasibility
The design phase begins with the spatial structure — proportion, geometry, the relationship of each space to the next. Once the bones are right, we develop the material palette and planting direction, then bring everything together in a private digital presentation unique to your project.
From there we move to the detail — setting out plans, material schedules, drainage and irrigation coordination, specification and tender support. Everything a contractor needs to build the garden as it was designed to be built.
Moodboards · Concept plan · Perspective renders · Setting out plans · Material schedule · Specification · Tender support
Good gardens are not just designed — they are built carefully and looked after well. We offer project support during construction on a project basis, including site visits, contractor liaison and quality review, so that what gets built reflects what was designed.
After handover, we offer an annual maintenance package — four seasonal schedules delivered digitally each year, with advice on what to cut back, what to feed, what to divide and what to watch for. Gardens mature and change; the best ones are guided through that process. This service is available as part of the original commission or added at any point.
Project support · Site visits · Contractor liaison · Seasonal maintenance schedules · Annual maintenance package
The first conversation costs nothing. If it feels like a good fit, the next step is a paid site visit — a fixed fee of £150, which is deducted from your fee if you go on to commission the concept stage. It's a small, deliberate step that lets both of us find out whether the project is right before either of us commits further.
As a rule of thumb, a garden is worth investing around 10% of your home's value into, to see a real return — both in how the space works for you and in what it adds to the property. A design fee is a small part of that investment, but it's what shapes where the rest of it goes — the right materials for the budget, a contractor briefed properly, a design that holds together in ways that are hard to see without the experience to spot them. Design work suits gardens with real complexity — significant level changes, multiple zones, a pool, a considered material palette. If the brief is simpler, that fee is often better spent on materials and working directly with a good landscaper.
Full design fees vary by garden size and complexity, and are set as staged payments rather than an hourly rate. As a guide, full service — from initial brief, through to full technical drawings, planting plans, and contractor selection and oversight — starts from £9,000. Not every project needs to go the whole way. Many clients commission the concept stage on its own, then take the project forward from there — with a contractor, or by themselves. We're happy to talk through what makes sense for your project before anything is agreed. We'll always give you a clear figure in writing before any stage begins.
We offer planting design as a standalone service — for clients who have an existing garden with good bones but planting that isn't working, or who want to refresh without a full redesign. A planting plan, species list, quantities and supplier references, all developed with the same care and specificity as a full commission.
This service pairs naturally with the annual maintenance package — giving you not just the plan but the ongoing guidance to see it properly established.