Here's 3 key pointers for folks considering a new garden. This is based our experiences and how to make sure you get a great garden on-budget and on-time. You can always talk to us too of course!

1. Don't wait 'till April to get a garden for the summer! We've had folks contact us in April and May desiring a new garden for the summer, no doubt the amazing spring gardens on Gardeners World have prompted action here!

We liken a new garden to other significant home improvement projects such as a new kitchen side-return or loft conversion. There's a lot of moving parts such as the design, the build and planting as well as possible planning and contractor time. Therefore we'd suggest 9 months from first meeting the designer to completion. Take the time to do right first time!

2. Know what you want (and not just the pretty flowers)! The most important part of the design stage is to work out what is wanted, by who and why. Often there's a difference of opinion by stake-holders or an over-focus on the pretty floral aspects versus the less-sexy functional elements such as storage, safety or security.

   
   

   Our 'Your New Garden' template aims to prompt & capture these points BUT we always suggest an on-site visit too. The designers job is to help clarify your ideas & suggest practical solutions not to just to draw-up snazzy 3D designs.

3. Garden as an investment not an after-thought! Quite often after the house renovations have been done folks minds turn to the garden. More then once, the house renovations have gone over-budget thus little left for the garden! Its worth considering that a well done garden can add to both the overall value of your property & also kerb appeal. The opposite is also possible too!

   
   

   Moreover, gardens these days are valued as much for there ability to provide a green sanctuary for busy lives. An investment in your well-being. There's a number of ways to price gardens (often per square metre) but perhaps consider how much you spend on holidays per year versus what you're prepared to invest in your 5/10/20+ year garden!

   
   

   Every client and garden are different thus very difficult to generalise, a variety of things such as access, paving type, feature plants, services etc etc etc all vary project to project and hence costs. While solutions not problems are a designers job there's a limit to whats really possible for any given budget thus working this through up front is important to manage expectations. We have worked on small (£5-10K) to med-large (£50K+) projects thus quite a good ideas of whats realistic.