Garden Design

In today’s hectic and stressful world more and more people are taking pleasure from their gardens. It is an escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Whether you have a large, or small, plot you will probably feel that you want to make the most of your garden. You may have many (or not) ideas as to what you would like, but do not know how to apply them.

Derwen Goppa can offer a full Garden Design Service from the initial concept drawings through to the finished design.

What is a Garden Designer?

A Garden Designer is a person who is not just imaginative with their designs but should also be qualified in Garden Design, Horticulture (to know their plants) as well as have a firm understanding of building requirements.

Design Process

The design process can generally be narrowed down to five areas.

1. Interview

The interview is obviously the starting point for any garden, to find out the customers requirements. To help the Designer you may have pictures or have seen something on television that fits your wants and needs, or you can just narrow it down by stating you want a patio, lawn, water feature and play-area for the children. If you have decided to employ a Designer you will have some shape or form of wants and needs otherwise you would not have contacted them in the first place. Your wants could be as vague as, design a contemporary garden, but still the Designer will have a starting point.

The second important requirement your Designer will need to know is your budget for landscaping the garden. I have been called out to many gardens where they have employed a Garden Designer and after looking at the design the costing of the project runs into thousands of pounds which they had not anticipated. More often than not I then have to renew the design to bring the project into budget. The obvious question that then arises is why employ a Garden Designer in the first place? Unfortunately as with businesses the world over, you get people who advertise they can do the job but at the end of the contract you find out their promises and claims were nothing of the sort.

2. Site Analysis

A Garden Designer will take quite a few hours to measure the site. There are a number of considerations to be taken into account.

• Services. Electricity, Telephone, Sewers, Waste etc.
• Levels. Not every garden is on a flat surface. The difference in levels should also be noted on the design. If the Designer is really worth their salt they will bring a level and staff to make a real in depth measurement of all the levels.
• Aspect. Rainfall, Wind, Sun, Frost pocket.
• Soil. pH, Soil Texture, Soil Structure, Nutrients.
• Visual Analysis. Plants already there.
• Drainage.
• Site Access. Roads, Pedestrians, Animals.  Primarily this is for the landscapers needs, if you have poor access obviously this should be taken into account with the labour costs.
• Climate. In the West of the UK the climate is wetter than in the East, obviously this will affect choice of plants or your irrigation needs.
• Views in and out.

3. Concept Drawings

Concept drawings are the first stage of actually putting all the measurements of your garden and ‘very rough’ ideas down on paper. At this stage they are not meant to be beautifully drawn designs they are intended as getting a feel for some form of layout that the customer prefers.

4. First Draft

The First Draft incorporates the wants and needs of the interview and the chosen concept drawing. The customer may require a second, third etc. draft dependant on the contract.

5. Final Draft

The Final Draft alters any concerns the customer may have had on the First (second etc.) Draft and the customer is then presented with their finished design.

When you receive the finished design this is the stage that you will be able to tell whether the designer has an understanding of building requirements. If you have ever had an extension on your house the architect will specify the size of the lintels, windows, footings, it is the same with you garden. The difference in levels should be clearly marked, height of walls, drainage requirements, depth, width perhaps mix for footings, the list goes on. If you just receive a pretty picture with not even one of the above perhaps you should ask some questions before handing over your money. If it is not listed by the designer then it will be down to the landscaper to work the details out and at the end of the day why should they when you have paid a considerable amount for a design that should have had all the requirements listed in the beginning.

Drawing

Dependant on the designer they may draw your garden with CAD, Computer Aided Design software or the more personalised hand drawn design.

Prices

You must bear in mind that if a Garden Designer makes their living just from designing then they are well within their rights to charge a fair rate for their work. As regards prices each garden is individual. Some designers quote on price per square metre, others will give a set fee, others may charge by the hour.

Some designers charge a call-out fee whether you want a design drawn or not, I’m treading on very thin ice when I comment upon this fee. Some people might say it is justifiable to implement this charge as you are taking up their time to visit your garden with no real certainty of receiving a contract from the visit, others will say if you want the work you have to go looking for it and this visit is part of that process. Some designers may charge a call-out fee and take the amount off the final price. At the end of the day it all depends how the designer runs their pricing structure.

How do I choose a Garden Designer?

Word of mouth is a strong favourite but if you are not in a position to receive this sort of advice the following will hopefully give you some pointers in the right direction.

• Are they qualified in Garden Design?
• Are they qualified in Horticulture, if you require a planting plan?
• How long have they been trading?
• Examples of work, not just drawings but photos as well.
• References?

All common sense questions but it is surprising how many people do not bother to ask them.

Planting Plans

The most important part of any garden is the plants. No matter how dedicated a gardener, or how much money is spent on the plants for a garden, if the wrong colours, foliage or specimens etc., are chosen the garden will never look right. Some of your hard earned money may just die if planted in the wrong place.

As well as having a garden design drawn for you, you will probably require a planting plan. Some designers will include this with the garden design others will draw each border separately. Again each garden is individual and some gardens are larger than others. It will be at this stage you will be able to tell whether the designer has any Horticultural training. 

On my travels I have encountered many designs where the actual concept of the design is fine but the planting listed is appalling. One design had an Oak, Eucalyptus, Rowan and Birch to be planted next to each other in a space of 3-4 linear metres!!! Plus two metres from the Oak a Cedrus Atlantica Glauca, Blue Cedar tree, was to be planted!!!

What is a Planting Plan?

As with a Garden Design a Planting Plan is drawn to scale with each chosen plant fully labelled with its designated position shown in the border.

In addition to this the customer can also specify whether they would like a full detailed write up about each plant, listing the characteristics of each plant, when it flowers, what time of the year to prune etc. My advice here would be to purchase the RHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Plants, which would be more concise and far cheaper.

A Planting Plan is usually drawn at the same time as the Garden Design.

Soft Landscaping

Soft Landscaping is the planting up of a garden.

Before planting can commence preparation of your borders is essential. Whether the border needs clearing, weeding or just more compost/manure added to enrich the quality and structure of the soil, the more thoroughly you prepare the border the greater chance your plants have.

Working from a Planting Plan Derwen Goppa Services can transform your garden from looking drab, tired and run down to whatever your taste in plants requires.