Why Do I Need a Garden Designer?

A garden designer will help you to transform your garden into a space that suits your taste, your site and your budget. Their unique set of skills enable them to offer advice not only on the big picture but to also plan for and accommodate the smallest detail.

You might have an idea of what you would like in your garden, the style or the materials that you love. A designer’s job is to listen carefully to all the things that you would like and to make sure that they fit together within your space in the best possible way. A designer will also be able to advise you not only on what will work but also what won’t, so that you avoid making costly mistakes and can advise on materials that will fit your budget.

An experienced landscaper will be able to lay a beautiful terrace or elegant steps but may not be able to plan for the spatial aspects of a design within your garden space or the balance of plants within it. Trained gardeners and horticulturalists are invaluable for knowing what to plant in a space or to keep plants at their best throughout the year, but may not be able to ensure a balance between planting spaces and hard landscaping.

A garden designer is neither a builder nor a gardener but a specialist with unique set of skills that allows them to bring together a range of elements to create a space that is fits you exactly. Their core purpose is to use their expert knowledge of hard and soft landscaping to take responsibility for both the physical and spatial design.

A designer’s job is to consider every aspect of your garden and plan to make sure that your design sits beautifully within the boundaries of your plot. They will be able to advise on material choices to create balance and design planting to meet your needs. It is their job to make sure that your design suits not only our situation but also your budget whilst also having the skills to prepare specifications for contractors to work with.

What will it cost me?

A complete redesign will cost more than you expect. Television programmes where designers and landscapers offer their services for free have given a false impression of the budget and time involved in completely rethinking a space.

There are some simple ways to estimate what you budget might need to be. An approximate cost of between £30-£150 per sqm is a good starting point if you know or can work out the dimensions of your space. If you balance this with a plan to spend between 5 and 15% of the value of your home then that might also give you as reasonable estimate of the costs involved.

This might seem like a lot of money, but if you think about how much you might spend on a new bathroom or kitchen and how this adds to the value of your home and your quality of life then the cost is more comparable. It is likely that your garden is the largest room in your house and by fully utilising its potential you can effectively extend you home and dramatically increase the useable space.

This figure is just a guide or starting point. The more you change your existing space the greater the cost will be. Hard landscaping, earth moving and large plants and trees add to the cost. Careful material choices, repurposing existing elements within a garden and planting smaller plants which will grow over time, can reduce the cost significantly. A large lawn and more planting, can significantly help to keep down costs but ultimately this will depend on exactly what you want to achieve.

Even if you trim costs as much as possible and make the most economical material choices it would be difficult to complete even a small garden with a relatively simple design for less than £10,000. Employing contractors normally amounts to at least half the budget, with material costs, plants and design fees accounting for the rest.

Whatever your budget it doesn’t have to be spent all at once. If you engage a designer to draw up a master plan then the elements within that plan can be delivered on a timescale that suits you and your budget. A master plan and completing the design in stages over several years might be well worth the money if it allows you to work to a design structure that can be followed through over time. Elements could

be delivered in phases, spreading the cost over months or years depending on your requirements.

What should I expect?

Garden Designers are able to offer a range of services from an hourly rate or day’s consultancy to a full design service which can include project management and seeing the whole process through from start to finish.

A full design service will consist of an initial consultation to discuss wants and needs followed by an agreement of the design brief and fees. This would be followed by a site survey and analysis which enable concept plans and sketches to be produced, all with your budget in mind. Concept design will then be presented and discussed so that you have an opportunity to comment and make changes if necessary. Once the concept is approved a scaled masterplan will be drawn up which can also be referred to as the Project Outline.

A designer might then produce scaled construction drawings and planting plans, essential to realising the design on the ground. Other services might include the production of tender documents if multiple quotes for works are needed; project management during the build; and aftercare services such as maintenance schedules and management plans.

Not all projects need every service listed above. Some clients might just require a masterplan to clarify ideas and identify a way forward that will enable them to achieve their ultimate goal over time. For other projects, it might just be the planting that needs attention, particularly if the hard landscaping is something that can be saved or reinvented, then a planting design service which can usually be solved in a shorter amount of time and will obviously costs a lot less in fees.

Some garden designers work on a design-only basis, they will take responsibility for all the design work, specifications and support you in the appointment of contractors. Some might have their own list of preferred, trustworthy contractors that they recommend, or others might offer a complete design and build service, where garden designer and contractor work ‘in house’ together. This can be an attractive option to speed up the whole process, however, projects might need to be large to support this kind of operation and you may still end up paying separate fees for the design and the build work.

You might be able to engage a garden designer as a consultant to help get you off on the right foot. A good designer will be able to advise you on what would actually work best with your budget and the site in mind. You’ll have an expert professional who will look critically at your space, consider your wants and needs and suggest an appropriate style with suitable materials and plants so that you can then take up ownership of the project, knowing that you’re going in the right direction.

Some designers offer a consultancy service for an hour of advice to help you to appreciate the potential of your garden. This might be an option to get you started. A ‘Power Hour’ typically costs between £50 and £100 and could give you the advice you need to move forward.

Whilst a designer may have specialist areas of expertise or a particular style, they should also be able to tailor their service to accommodate your wants and practical needs in an innovative way to make sure that your garden works for you. Elements such as garden storage and access, solving privacy issues, selecting planting that are safe for children and pets or locating where the washing might be hung out are as much a part of good design as the style and location of paving or planting.

A good designer should be able, within reason, to find effective solutions to any requirements that you might have. They should bring creativity and innovation to your project to ensure that is works well and flows, as well as understanding when to say no or to seek the advice of industry specialists. It is vitally important that any necessary contractors, landscapers, specialist fabricators, lighting engineers and water feature specialists have clear details to carry out the work as intended.

How do I find the right designer for me?

An internet search for design studios or practitioners in your area can be an effective way to locate someone suitable. If a garden designer comes through recommendation, has a reputation for beautiful work or a style that you love, equally that might be a way to find someone suitable.

Some designers are part of a professional society such as the SGD, APL or BALI who vet their members to ensure they meet appropriate standards, this can mean their fees are higher. Membership of such associations can take time so many great garden designers and those new to the industry have not yet gone through or have chosen to forgo the adjudication process which is long and arduous so, non-members shouldn’t be overlooked.

In any creative industry designers work in many different ways and have very different styles, garden designers are no different. Some have particular areas of expertise or style; some have certain ways of working or a focus on creating designs that are more sustainable or eco-friendly. A good designer will be able to turn their hand to anything, so you should always choose the designer with whom you feel the most comfortable and who you feel listens to you and understands your wants and needs.

The designer you eventually choose should be able to offer their ideas and suggestions freely so that you can develop a close working relationship and some rapport. The client-designer relationship is a complex two-way process that needs creativity and compromise from both sides.

Katharine