The garden design process

Initial Visit
All initial visits from Abbitt Garden Design are free of charge. At this visit, we will talk about your dreams for the garden and discuss some ideas. If you like what you hear, the next stage is to agree a cost for the design. You will be asked to sign a letter agreeing the estimated cost, at which point the design process can start.

Site survey
This may be done as part of the initial visit, but more often it is completed later. The survey establishes all we need to know about a garden (including existing planting and hard landscaping, soil type and aspect). In the case of a large garden, or one with complex levels, we may recommend that you have a survey done by a specialist company, which would involve an additional cost.

Ideas Presentation
Early in the design stage I will come to see you with some initial ideas and drawings. This is your opportunity to be part of the process. Once you are happy with these ideas, I will produce the final drawings. Note that if you ask for changes to the design after these final drawings are produced, such changes will incur an additional charge.

Final Drawings & Visuals
There are usually two drawings produced for a garden. One is a layout plan, detailing all of the hard landscaping and all structural planting such as trees. The second drawing is a planting plan, detailing all the plants. Plans are important, but they are not the best communication tools, so I may also produce visuals so that you can get an idea of how the garden will look. I will present the plans and visuals to you at your convenience. The final design invoice will also be presented at this stage.

Getting the garden built
I don’t do the actual build of the garden, but I will help you to find a local, qualified contractor to work with – or indeed, you may have someone in mind already who can do this for you. I can manage the whole process for you, ensuring that the garden is built to a high standard – or you may prefer to do this yourself. I always advise clients to get two or three estimates for the build – everything the contractor needs to know about how to construct the garden is on the layout plan.

Plants and planting 
I can supply and plant everything I specify, using plants from professional nurseries with excellent reputations. A cost estimate for the plants can be included with the planting plan.

On-going advice
If you are concerned about anything in your new garden, you can always contact me. I can also help if you need to ‘dress’ the garden with special plants for an occasion such as a summer party – just ask.