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Excellent job done would recommend
Robert
James was responsive to our request for a quote, for felling a large ash tree we suspected had died. He replied to messages quickly, turned up when he said he would, and was correct that our tree had in fact died. James was professional the whole time and we would have no hesitation in hiring and recommending him to others in the future.
Joanne
Excellent service. Hard working, polite, professional team. Lovely job. Would recommend.
Anne
Below you’ll find information to help you understand the different elements of garden design and the key things to be aware of before you start transforming your outside space. Find some initial ideas to talk through with a garden designer, including making the most of a small garden.
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Garden Design Services
What does garden design involve?
Garden design is about more than mowing a lawn and putting a couple of plants in the ground. A good design takes into account a few key elements:
- How you want to use the space.
- The amount of light the garden receives, and at what times of the day.
- The quality of your soil.
For example, you won’t want to put a shed in the best spot for catching a bit of sun, or have a patio that’s entirely in the shade.
A garden designer will help you make the most of the available space, no matter how big or small. They’ll also establish how keen a gardener you are to make sure the finished garden is either easy to maintain, or gives you something to get your teeth into – if you’re the green-fingered type.
Cost of garden design work
The cost of the work will depend on what you’re having done and the size of your garden, but prices tend to start at around £200. A good garden designer will discuss what you want to get out of your garden and ask you about your budget before coming up with ideas.
Low maintenance garden ideas
- You can stop a garden from looking untidy by dividing it into small sections. Plants, hedges, low walls and raised beds give a sense of order. Paths made from wood chips, slabs or bark help prevent weeds.
- Growing plants at different heights can give the illusion of there being more than there are, so you get the look of a fuller garden, with fewer plants to keep healthy. Shrubs, herbs and verbena are low maintenance plant options for adding colour.
- Rockeries and water features don’t need much looking after. Avoid shallow water features to save needing to top them up when they dry out. If you’d like a pond, avoid getting fish as the pH balance of the water settles naturally without them, giving you fewer algae problems so less cleaning time.
- To save cutting the lawn, artificial turf could be your best friend but if you want the real thing and don’t mind doing a little cutting every now and again, slow growing or drought resistant turf could be better options.
Ideas for small gardens
- To create more space, choose similar flooring to the inside of your home when picking the outside tiling.
- Divide a garden into different sections and add diagonal or winding paths. Extending the time it takes to get from one side of the garden to the other will make it feel bigger.
- Laying pavers at an angle to the property instead of parallel will draw the eye across the garden and extend the space.
- Attaching foliaged climbers to wires across areas of your garden will give it an extra dimension.
- Think about growing upwards rather than outwards with a trellis attached to your fence, or a vertical wall made up of climbers, grasses and ferns. A green wall can also help you lower your energy bills through providing more insulation and reducing the amount of heat that’s lost through the wall of your home. When it comes to choosing other plants, pick types that grow upwards like sweet peas and black-eyed susans so they take up less room.
Planning permission for garden design jobs
Planning permission only comes into play when you’re building or installing decking, fences, walls and gates. You’ll need to apply for planning permission if:
- The decking would be higher than 30cm above the ground.
- The decking or other raised platforms would cover more than half of the total area of the garden.
- A fence, gate or wall would be over 2 metres high, or over 1 metre high near a highway that’s used by vehicles (or a footpath next to the highway).
- The fence, gate or wall would form a boundary with a listed building or land.
If you live in a listed building or you have a front garden that you want to pave over, you should check with your Local Planning Authority as different rules may apply.
Insurance for garden design work
While it’s not a legal requirement, it’s a good idea for all garden designers to have public liability insurance so they’re covered for personal injuries or accidental damage to a property.
Questions you should ask your garden designer
- How long have they been working as a garden designer for?
- Can they show you examples of work they’ve carried out?
- Can they give you a scaled design of what the finished garden will look like?
- Do they have public liability insurance and what does this cover?
- Will they give a guarantee for the work and how long does this last? Are there separate guarantees for different plants?
- Does the quote for the work include waste disposal? If not, check with your local council how you would go about getting it taken away.
Smith & jones contractors. We are reliable,friendly,trustworthy & professional. We take pride in our work. Our reviews will show that our customers are always 100% happy. we have 15 years experience, so call the best & flush the rest!
Needed a new shower plumbing in as we have no bath & only a shower so we had to keep our water turned off at the water mains , so we rang these guys & they immediately came out & fixed the problem right away within minutes , i would DEFO use these again in the future , there amazing & thankyou , frank LL22
Williams landscapes is family run landscape gardening company based in bristol. We also provide a garden maintenance service and we specialise in fencing, tree work and turfing. We cater for gardens of all shapes, styles and for all budgets.
Brillaint job. Made the garden look perfect and cleaned my patio for no extra cost. Thank you
Over 20 years' experience High standards of workmanship Fully qualified team of builders and joiners Associated with the Apprenticeship scheme of the Construction Industry Training Board Competitive pricing Free, no obligation quotation
Work done to ery high standard by skilled tradesman Delighted with the result
Offering a wealth of property maintenance knowledge ranging from roofing to silicone installation. Fully trained in bricklaying/painting & decorating/project management among other things. All certification and insurance documents available if requested. I’m a fully established builder with a methodical attention to detail. I have a good imagination when it comes to designing landscapes or renovating inside of a property. I am literate in reading and running builds from architects drawings and can lay any type of drainage from engineers instructions.
A trustworthy and reliable gentleman, and a highly experienced builder who has also helped me with house repairs
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Full property renovations, extensions, loft conversions, outbuildings & more.
Andre and team did a great job with the shed /summerhouse construction, and were very accommodating with the request to build it at short notice ( (within 5 days) and alter the layout of the building to meet our requirements. Also were very friendly and professional. Reasonably priced too. Would recommend.
Taylor Made Gardens is a family run, friendly company. All jobs taylor made to suit at reasonable prices. free no obligation quotes. fast and Efficient. all work guaranteed. Fully Insured
So very pleased with the 35 metre feather board fence installed by Taylor Made Gardens. Will certainly use them again. Roger was easy to get along with and worked steadily with total attention to quality. The new fence looks great. Thanks.
I am a small family run business. My business was established in 2014. I would describe myself as friendly, reliable and reasonably priced. most of my work comes through recommendations.
IMD&G is a growing company that we started in the U.K.. We offer amazing gardening services, with professionals, all our staff are competent and trained. We can offer our services for anything you require, gardening wise. If you would like to use our services please feel free to exept the quotes and leave it on me
Great communication. After photos show hard work. Great results. Would recommend.
We provide all types of Construction work: New Build Houses Property Renovation Garage, Loft and Barn Conversions All work is done to the highest standard
Dave and Keith did a fantastic job on our extension and garage conversion. All work was completed at the agreed costs and to a high standard. Nice guys to work with, highly recommended.
we are a company offering all building works, extensions, lofts, bespoke bathrooms and kitchens to suite your taste. We use only the highest quality products and materials for your job. Only the best design, materials and price will always be provided.
John Makkar and his incredible team have made the experience of renovating our whole 5 bedroomed house an absolute pleasure ! The enthusiasm and professionalism is outstanding as well as the quality of work and his excellent communication. I can’t rate John and the team highly enough! His ideas are brilliant and creative- always a problem solver and he deeply cares. Thank you so much John and the team!
A small scale Landscaping and Paving company that will tackle the largest of jobs. Over 10 years experience in the Landscaping and Paving industry. Knowledge of Horticultural maintenance. CP Landscaping and Paving aim to provide all of our customers a hassle free, cost effective outdoor rejuvenation. Wether that is Slabbing and artificial Turf in the back garden, Block Paving a Driveway out the front of the house, installing a Raised Decking area or just a simple Garden tidy up and cut back. We can cater to all of our clients needs so just give us a call.
Very pleased with their work, kept me informed and supplied numerous photographs. A neglected garden is now back to being an actual garden!
We are a family run business experienced in all garden projects and garden design.
Very pleased with the work carried out by Lewis. He was helpful and reasonably priced. Would use again
My name is Simon and I possess over 12 years experience within landscaping. As such, I take pride in all the work i carry out, to ensure my work, maintains a meticulous high standard of quality
We have had an excellent experience with Simon and his colleagues, whom we can recommend without reservation. From initial communication, design conception, undertaking the work to completion and tidying up, he and his team exceeded all of our expectations.
Here at Garden And Property Services, we specialise in complete garden transformations. We provide a wide range of services, accompanied with years of knowledge and passion. Please contact me for a free competitive quote at your convenience.
Very helpful, friendly and easy to get on with. Did everything they could to keep my costs down.
Well established family run building company based in London,we have built a strong relationships with well known building societies across the London due to our quality and trustworthy service High quality levels of work in major building projects,we specialise in planning and design,project management and general building services
5 star
Tree surgery and gardening as been in my family for over 50 year we will provide a safe and officiant way of maintaining your garden in doing what's best for customer and garden
Jack was great, turned up on time, did what he said he’d do, took away all the mess and was paid the pre-arranged amount. Couldn’t have gone any better.
we undertake all aspects of landscaping and give free no obligation quotations. We specialise in natural stone paving and porcelain paving, and are approved installers for Natural Paving Co. Please feel free to review our ratings listed below
Adrian has done an absolutely fantastic job transforming our garden! From start to finish, his dedication, skill, and attention to detail have been truly exceptional. He worked incredibly hard to bring our vision to life, and the results are beyond what we could have imagined. Not only is Adrian highly professional and knowledgeable, but he is also friendly, reliable, and passionate about what he does. His expertise and creativity have completely revitalized our outdoor space.
Hi we provide services Jet wash Weed control Maintenance and repairs Edging Grass cutting Hedge cutting Tree surgery Garden clearance Fencing All garden work
FIRST CLASS TREE CARE LTD First class tree care is a family run business based in winsford with over 20 years of experience in the tree surgery industry. We provide the highest quality tree service for the lowest possible price within the domestic and commercial market. We Cover the Manchester and Cheshire areas, Our qualified team of tree surgeons are able to carry out all aspects of tree surgery from your small hedge trimming jobs to large removals. Don’t hesitate contact us today for your free quote or inspection. • As a limited business we provide friendly & reliable members of staff who has qualifications and many years of experience. • We cover all areas of Cheshire & Manchester if your just looking for a free no obligation quote don’t hesitate to give us a call we provide the lowest possible price for our customers and try beat any like for like quote. • We carry out all aspects of tree work from your small jobs to the biggest jobs of tree surgery. Garden clearance Crown lifting Crown thinning Crown cleaning Dead wooding Topping felling Pollarding Hedge trimming Stump grinding Root removal Chipper & operator hire etc; We are proud members of: • Rated People • Thomson Local • Trust A Trader • Quotatis • Yellow Pages • Bark • My builder
We are a reliable, friendly company specialising in home improvements and property maintenance. Fully insured, we are committed to providing an excellent service to our customers. Our services include; General property maintenance Roofing Kitchen/bathroom installation Joinery Driveways Fencing Landscaping Mowing and Hedge cutting services And more.. We look forward to hearing from you to discuss your requirements. Contact us today for a free, no obligation quote!
Luke was very friendly with his communication and did the job in good time. Will likely use for other jobs as well
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