Garden design advice

On-site consultations

I work throughout the East Midlands, Yorkshire & East Anglia.

With over 15 years experience of designing gardens, and a deep understanding of the principles that underpin good design, I am able to quickly assess a space, appreciate its potential and develop ideas to provide the basis for a garden scheme that is both creative and practical. It is through these short advise sessions that I am currently best able to help people see their gardens potential in a quick and cost effective way. Often a single session is all that is needed to get you underway, but follow-up sessions are also possible, to review progress and develop new ideas.

You may already have many ideas for your garden, or none at all. Either way you can find yourself at an impasse and not quite know where to start. These design chats are intended to help clarify your own ideas, reveal new possibilities and provide advice about how to take things forward.

At the end of the session you will have a greater insight into the potential of your garden, an understanding of both some general design principles and practical considerations to keep in mind, and lots of specific ideas that relate directly to your space.

Some situations an onsite consultation might help with include:-

• Existing planting in a garden - can be a real asset but may need some improving or adjusting to your needs. Understanding what you have and it’s potential is an important first step in developing a new garden. During a session we would identify the plants you have and discuss a strategy for incorporating them into a scheme and managing them into the future.

• Taking on a new garden - is one of life’s joys. Living with it for a while is always a good idea but professional advice will also quickly give you a fuller appreciation of a garden’s potential, and bring to mind both creative solutions and practical ideas you might not have considered.

• Updating an old garden - it can be difficult to imagine a new scheme for a garden you have already lived with for a while. The possibilities can seem a bit overwhelming and change difficult to imagine. An outside perspective will give you an unbiased appreciation of your outdoor space, and help you to focus.

• On-site consultation can also cover helpful areas such as materials and plant choices, and where to source them.

Onsite consultations take place in your garden and last up to two hours, and there are 3 options depending on your preference:-

Option 1 (Standard) - During the session you are free to take notes of our discussion as we go along, or at the end of the session we can review our chat together and make some notes - Cost - £175 plus travel expenses*.

Option 2 (Plus) - Following the on-site consultation, I will prepare a summary of our discussion and email these to you, together with a list of useful design considerations to bear in mind - Cost - £250 plus travel expenses* (please note that these are notes from the meeting, not drawings or plans).

Option 3 (Mentor) - For anyone who would like ongoing guidance as they develop their garden over time, with onsite consultations scheduled at 3, 4 or 6 month intervals. - Cost - 10% discount on a block booking & advance payment for 3 or more consultations (consultations to be undertaken within one year).

*travel expenses - these are based on a combination of time & distance. For Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire & other East Midlands locations they are calculated from Fulbeck in Lincolnshire. For Suffolk, Norfolk & Essex they are calculated from Woodbridge in Suffolk. For locations in and around Sheffield they are calculated from Sheffield Botanical Gardens.