Design process

Step 1: Initial consultation and brief

Every biodiverse garden design project begins with an initial  in person consultation and site visit. These relaxed conversations allow us to get to know each other, discuss your garden's ecological, functional, and aesthetic vision, and collaborate to create an initial meaningful client brief.

 

Step 2: Site/ecological survey and analysis

This is a vital stage in the process. Before anything else , before a single plant is chosen or a line is drawn,  I need to understand your site properly.

The analysis begins with a detailed site visit. For larger spaces, I'll commission a full topographic survey. Alongside this, I'll carry out a preliminary ecological assessment to establish what habitats are currently present and what condition they're in. This matters. What's already there — the plants, the structure, the wildlife using the space, tells us a great deal about what the garden can become, and where we need to tread carefully. Everything gathered at this stage directly informs what comes next: the concept

 

Step 3: Outline garden design plans

Guided by your brief, the ecological survey and  site analysis, we develop a range of design ideas for your garden. These include outline spatial design proposals, presented as a garden plan, a 3D CAD model, and photoshopped visuals to help you envision your new garden.

Step 4: Landscape masterplan

Once a garden concept is selected, we create a final landscape masterplan, detailing the agreed layout and design of your new garden.

Step 5: Detailed design and specification

From here, we move into the detail , the work that makes a design actually function on the ground. This covers both hard and soft landscaping: construction drawings and specifications for the built elements, and planting plans and wildflower seed mixes for everything that grows. I don't work on this in isolation. Depending on the project, I'll bring in ecologists, architects, engineers, and planning consultants , whoever the site demands , to make sure every element of the design holds together properly.

Step 6: Sourcing a landscape contractor

We have a preferred landscaper we typically work with; however, if you'd like us to coordinate the tendering and quotation process on your behalf, we can facilitate this. This may involve a restricted tender process, where three recommended contractors are invited to provide quotes for the garden installation.

Step 7: Garden build and planting

With a professional landscape contractor on-site, we can monitor the garden installation on your behalf, working closely with the contractor to ensure your garden is built and planted to the highest quality standards.

Step 8: Post-completion and after-care

Design and installation are just the beginning. Ongoing maintenance and management are vital to a garden's long-term success , perhaps more so than any other part of the process.

We want to maintain an ongoing relationship with you and your garden. That means working alongside your chosen gardener or gardening team, providing the guidance and support needed to keep everything on track as it establishes and evolves.