Introduction
The advantage of this friendly and personal garden design service is that you can choose from short, information-packed advisory sessions to a complete reworking of your plot. I have years of experience helping home-owners overcome all kinds of challenges, working to transform small urban spaces into functional but beautiful outdoor rooms, as well as giving larger rural gardens a strong sense of identity and cohesion. My fees are very fair and by applying good design and planting principles I frequently help clients achieve a stylish look on a modest budget. Enquiries are welcome from garden owners in the North West, North Wales or the West Midlands. I also have expertise in Mediterranean gardening and fees for working abroad are negotiable.
Advice
Although you can glean a lot from gardening books and TV programmes, you may feel that you have come as far as you can with your own garden and that it’s time to bring in a more experienced eye. You might have lived with the same plot for years and are looking for a change or an easier way to manage beds and borders, or you could have recently built an extension or conservatory which has thrown the garden out of balance. New gardeners may find the prospect of planning and creating a garden from scratch intimidating and taking over an established garden full of ‘mystery’ plants might also throw up a lot of questions and concerns. I can help work out what to tackle first, outline simple design ideas and solutions to problems, and show you how to prune, reshape and improve the health and performance of existing plants.
Planning and Project Management
Garden plans are only drawn up after thorough discussion with the client to discover likes and dislikes. This ensures that the design properly reflects the owner’s personality as well as their practical requirements. Inspiration is drawn from the plot itself, from the building and its surroundings as well as interior features. Flowers and foliage dress the garden and are the icing on the cake but I believe it’s vital that the underlying footprint is strong and properly proportioned if the space is to work. The following services are available as required:-
- Drawing up of detailed scale plans
- Sourcing hard landscaping materials
- Specifying soil improvement and border preparation
- Selecting and laying out plants for beds and borders as well as green architecture (hedges, structural and screening plants)
- Briefing and supervising builders, landscapers and gardeners
Expert Touches
Distinctive Look. You can give your garden a distinctive look by incorporating carefully selected decorative elements, stylish containers or clipped and trained plants. I can help source special pieces (contemporary or traditional) or bring in artists and craftspeople to create bespoke items such as pebble mosaics and wall murals. I’m often asked to plant up striking, colour-coordinated troughs, pots and planters as focal points and given suitable subjects can clip instant ‘green sculptures’.
Pruning and Topiary. In established gardens shrubs and trees may have been allowed to grow beyond their allotted space. They might have become lopsided or become congested with old, unproductive wood. I can offer hands-on pruning tuition or undertake pruning and training myself. Topiary is a speciality and large shrubs can often be shaped to reduce their overall size and at the same time create an attractive feature.