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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.
We are a small company that takes pride in our work. We cover a wide range of trades and work with a reliable team. Get in touch to find out more.
Brilliant painter, tidy, cleared up. Lovely to have round the house.
KP Solutions, from imagination to reality. We are a small family run business with over 20 years experience & pride ourself in giving 100% on all our work. Specialising from grounds work, garden renovation, drive ways, soffits facias, guttering, drainage, repointing and much more.
Job well done very nice and polite guys who came to do the job would book them again if I need them
Hi everyone my name is Daniel... I have been working in the field for 10 years... when you do what you like, there's no way you won't do well, I've never left a customer unsatisfied... many thanks...
Excellent work by Daniel and his team. Kept me up to date throughout the work and made sure it was being completed in the way I wanted.
RGM Roofing is a family run roofing service providing our customers with protection from the elements. For the last 25 years we have dealt with hundreds of satisfied customers with great ratings from them all . Also all types of ground work and landscaping undertaken
Michael and team came on time and finished the job with utmost professionalism. Was very happy and would recommend again.
With over 30 years’ experience in the construction industry, we know how to deliver work that looks good and lasts. We work on properties of all shapes and sizes, commercial and domestic, turning your dreams into a reality.
What an amazing guy!, another 2 weeks and he would have become a member of our family!. You can set your clock with George, he was at our door an 8am on the dot every morning. He gave us so many different ideas which really helped us. His workmanship i, totally flawless. We know what quality looks like now. George is a loyal, honest and hardworking individual who will always be our first choice when getting work done.
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Over 20 years experience. From patios to decking to driveways.
John came over to have a look at the job and gave me a quote for the artificial grass patch. He was very accommodating and the finish was superb. I am very happy with it. Thank you John
Hello, We are a multi-trade team, with a 10 year experience in the UK and previous in Italy and Germany. We are new to this platform, hence the revews :) We pride ourselves in providing fair quotes and being professional and efficient Our skills range from cleaning roofs, gutters cleaning, pavement, building fences, gardening and landscaping, annex or conservatory building, house demolition or clearance, rubbish collection and disposal, to any type of interior jobs, such as: fitting, carpentry (first fix and second fix), dry lining, flooring, painting, studwork (metal or wood), tiling, bathroom and kitchen fitting and so on. There’s no job too big or too small!
Plum Building Services Ltd is a building company based in London. We work for both landlords and private home owners on new builds, extensions, refurbishments, repair and maintenance. No job is too big or too small. Quality is our guarantee.
Demolition We can demolish anything from a non loadbearing wall to 2-3 story houses and beyond, give us a call today to discuss more about your project. Man & Machine Hire We can provide man & machine hire on a wide range of machinery, From 0.8T to 35T excavators, 1T - 6T dumpers and much more. we can provide diggers at late notice, depending on availability of our operators. Excavations Need a contractor to come in and dig your foundations, drainage channels or even sea defence. Give us a call with your project today to discuss further. Surfacing We provide many surfacing options weather your a domestic client looking for a new driveway or a commercial client looking for a fast turn around. Fencing & Landscaping Weather you need a re-truf or whole garden make over, we're be there to complete the job taking your ideas and making them a reality. Aggregates Most of our aggregates are recycled from demolition sites or supplied from local quarries, all offered at competitive prices. Need to hire something more than a digger? Give us a call and we'll try our best to accommodate you, we have the following available to us Rollers, Excavators, Dumpers and Mini Cranes. All of these will require one of our operators which will be charged per day.
I hired Lorring Group Ltd to install an aluminum garden gate and paid a 50% deposit upfront as per their invoice . Unfortunately, the work was never carried out, and despite numerous attempts to contact them, I have received no resolution or refund for the deposit. The lack of communication and failure to honor their commitment has been incredibly disappointing. As a customer, I trusted them to deliver the service agreed upon, but instead, I have been left out of pocket. I cannot recommend this company.
Family running business based in Gravesend. Our priority is excelent service and satisfide customer. Top quality work is our trademark. Specialised in all type of build work with very expirienced team. Plenty of references form our previous satisfied clients. In need of top quality builders? call for more informations.
An excellent service, completed on time. Would recommend
Hansons Drives & Patios
Garden Design
Hansons drives and patios is a family run business with 10+ years of experience with our friendly team we make you dreams a reality We specialise in Driveways Patios Block paving Resin bond Porcelain Fencing Artificial Grass Garden landscaping Turfed lawns
TCL Building and Landscapes, friendly professional service.
Quick response and turn around
With experience from Italy and from U.K in painting and decorating. Wi try to doo our best for the client, to give quality , responasability,advice if its necesary in our jobs. We belive your home should reflect your personal taste and style.
Had bathroom window sill and window repaired, excellent service, highly recommend. Came out and gave us a quote and then came to do the job within a week to high quality, well-priced and very efficient. Thank you!!
We are a new and uprising company, which has very experienced workers of 10+ years in everything to do with Gardening. From cutting weeds, grass, branches and hedges to floral designing, moulding hedges and using the hard earned skills to make your garden look the best way possible. For our clients we don’t just tidy the garden we transform the garden. We can also give an artistic approach. We also have specialists in building, with cement, concrete, bricks, wood such as fencing, decks, path ways made from any material wanted, etc. We can do everything there is to do about gardening, and Some more! Such as waste removal. Like furniture or anything else. We’ll asses it, give you a quote and help you out.
Great service and excellent work. Took pride in their work and were very diligent.
We are at your disposal to help you with Leo pop construction property maintenance Ltd We arrange tiling works, gardens, paving and other interior paint?ing and exterior jobs .
We are a fast growing Driveway patio and roofing company based in oxfordshire. We are committed to providing a professional and efficient service at all times whilst maintaning the highest standards of our work. Our extensive experience in the industry make us the go to company for driveways patios landscaping gardening and roofing work throughout oxfordshire and the surrounding areas.
We are a small company with big passion for gardening & beyond. We are a professional, honest and happy team with high standards, fully equipped with quality tools for the job. In 2021 we completed over 250 different projects from general garden maintenance to huge hard landscapings. We are registered, fully insured and happy to provide you with relevant references. Currently the Your Olive Branch team looking after 25+ regular gardens of all sizes, however we are ready to grow now. Thank you for reading our profile, We looking forward to hear from you. Many Thanks The Your Olive Branch Team.
Job not completely done yet, but owner Miklos is nice and communicates well.
Our team has the skills, experience, qualifications, and desire to ensure we deliver a high standard of workmanship and complete customer satisfaction. cescoating_co_uk
We offer no obligation free Quotes a very high standard work from start to finish very friendly service or work will be carried out and completed to customers satisfaction
We used D & V to replace our garden fence which was damaged in a storm. They came and quoted the job within a day and started the very next day. The job was completed in 2 days and the fence looks great and should last for years. We would recommend for any work of this type.
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