The 10 Step Garden Design Process
To turn your garden into a beautiful climate-conscious space with soul, I have honed a garden design process that has gained the best results for my clients.
This is the service that I offer and shows you step-by-step what I do, and what you need to do, to make your project happen.
Most homeowners only have their garden designed once, so I fully appreciate not everyone will be familiar with how the process works. That’s why I have broken each stage down here. When we work together I will go over this with you in more detail.
Each step in this process takes good time. Do not rush this investment in your asset and home. Timings will vary depending on how many projects are in the studio, the time of year you contact us (winter is for winners!) . Any additional businesses such as landscapers will also have a lead time of 3 months to a year and some projects require planning consent. Finally, some planting is entirely seasonal and most planting should occur outside of the hottest months.
Here are all the steps of my garden design process to make your beautiful climate-conscious garden happen.
1. Contact me for a free phone consultation. Share what you want to achieve, how much you want to spend, and I will share general costs and timeframes and possibilities. If we establish that you want the kind of climate-conscious contemporary garden with soul that I design, we will arrange to meet.
2. In our briefing meeting on Zoom or on site, I will listen to you and take an in-depth brief. I then return this brief to you. Then when the brief is signed off by you this forms the backbone of your quote and your fees and terms are supplied. With sign off, we proceed with the concept stage. The fee at this stage is £150.
3. The property is surveyed and measured. This may include tree surveys and can take several weeks. Payment for surveys is taken prior to commission of surveyor. The surveys are invoiced to you.
4. I create a concept that will work for you. This takes up to 4 weeks. This will include 3D rendered concept graphics. You sit with the concept and feedback to me after some days. At this stage it can be tweaked. When the concept is approved I move on to technical design. This is your first design payment stage.
5. The design stage means taking your concept into technical documents for the landscaper to build from. This takes 6-8 weeks and is presented for your approval, with changes and tweaks as required. This is your second payment stage.
6. When the design is signed off, technical documents for the landscapers are created. These include construction drawings and health and safety risk assessments. Final design files are then supplied for tender by up to 3 contractors. This is your tender payment stage
7. You select the contractor you wish to appoint, with my guidance, and they have a site meeting with me.
8. During the build I oversee construction, checking in to ensure the build is progressing according to the plans you have signed off. This is your project oversight payment stage.
9. Finishing touches such as planting goes in. Your planting procurement payment stage occurs ahead of this to secure the planned plants.
10. Project completion. I inspect with the landscaper and you can sit and enjoy your garden!
This step by step guide is by no means exhaustive, and every project has its own unique considerations. You could add garden art sourcing, multiple properties and phasing your garden build over time with a masterplan to these steps if that’s what the project requires.