Garden design questions, honestly answered

A garden designer's cost depends on the size of your garden and how much you want done. My garden consultation is £300 + VAT. Design packages start from £2,000 + VAT, and a full design with a planting plan usually falls between £3,000 and £6,000 + VAT. Every package is a fixed price, so there are no surprises. You can see all the options on my services page.

Yes, small gardens are some of my favourite work. A smaller space asks for more care, not less, because every decision shows. With good structure, planting at the right scale, and a clear focal point or two, a small garden can feel calm and generous rather than cramped. Most of the gardens I design are small to medium private gardens, and you can see some on my portfolio.

Start with how much time you really want to spend in the garden, then choose plants that suit your soil and look after themselves. A wildlife-friendly garden still needs clear structure: paths, edges, and a focal point or two. The wildlife lives within that structure, so the garden stays calm rather than messy. I cover this in more detail on my low-maintenance and wildlife-friendly pages.

The best low-maintenance plants are the ones that suit your soil and light, so they settle in and look after themselves. In much of Yorkshire that means tough, long-lived perennials and ornamental grasses, things like hardy geraniums, salvias, sedum, and grasses such as Stipa and Calamagrostis. The real trick is matching plants to your conditions, which I explain on my soil health and low-maintenance gardens pages.

You need a planting plan if you want to know exactly which plants go where, and why. It tells you what to buy, where to put it, and how to look after it through the year. If you're happy choosing your own plants, the structural Bronze design may be enough. If you'd rather have it sorted properly, the Silver package includes a full planting plan.

Most of my designs take between six and ten weeks, from the first visit to finished drawings. It depends on the size of your garden and how quickly we work through changes together. I'll give you a realistic timeline at the start, and I keep to it.

I look at your garden's soil, light, and drainage, and I listen to how you use the space and how much time you have. Then I draw a set of plans covering the layout, levels, materials, and planting. I draw every design by hand, so it's made for your garden alone. You can build from those plans yourself, or hand them to a contractor.

Bronze gives you the structure of the garden: layout, levels, surfaces, and materials. Silver adds a detailed planting plan chosen for your soil and your life. Gold includes everything, plus sourcing the plants and being on site while they go in. You can compare all three on my services page.

Yes, and this is most of what I do. A garden can support bees, birds, and hedgehogs while still feeling calm and cared for. The trick is good structure and the right plants, not letting everything run wild. My wildlife-friendly gardens page explains how I balance the two.

Single, open flowers are the key, because pollinators can actually reach the pollen. Lavender, salvia, echinacea, verbena, and scabious are reliable for bees and butterflies, and berrying shrubs and seed heads left standing through winter feed the birds. I weave these into the planting so the garden supports wildlife and still looks designed rather than wild. There's more on my wildlife-friendly gardens page.

Most garden problems start underground. If the soil is right, plants settle in and need far less help from you. Yorkshire has several different soil types, and choosing plants that suit yours makes everything easier. I've written about this on my soil health page.

I work across Yorkshire, including York, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Wetherby, Leeds, and the villages around them. If you're nearby and not sure whether you're in range, just ask. You can see the areas I cover on my Yorkshire page.

We meet at your garden and walk through it together. You tell me what's bothering you and what you'd like, and I give you honest, practical advice on the spot. It's £300 + VAT, and it counts towards your project if you decide to carry on. There's no pressure to go further.

I'm a garden designer rather than a landscaper, so I create the design and the planting plan, and a landscaper builds it. I can recommend trusted local contractors, and with my build supervision add-on I'll visit during the build to make sure the design is carried out as intended. Gold package clients get on-site planting supervision included.

The first step is always a garden consultation: a relaxed two-hour visit where we walk the garden, talk through your ideas, and I give honest, practical advice. It's £300 + VAT with no obligation to go further. You can get in touch to arrange one whenever you're ready.