Garden design in Harrogate
I'm Sally Tierney, a Yorkshire garden designer with Gold medals from the Harrogate Flower Show, and I design private gardens in Harrogate and the villages around it.
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Garden design in Harrogate starts with the ground you have
Before I draw a single line of a design for a Harrogate garden, I want to know what the soil is doing, where the sun falls through the day, and how many hours a week you actually want to spend out there (which is rarely the number people give me first).
Much of Harrogate and Nidderdale sits on sandstone and gritstone, which gives a free-draining, slightly acidic soil that warms up quickly in spring and dries out just as quickly in summer. It suits a wide range of planting, but it does mean that choosing plants which can cope with a dry spell, and mulching to hold the moisture in, matters more here than it does on the heavy clay a few miles east in the Vale of York.
Many Harrogate gardens also come with mature trees, old walls and a structure that somebody else put in place a long time ago. You do not have to start again from scratch with a garden like that, and usually you should not, because the real job of a garden designer is to work out what is already earning its place and what is holding the rest of the garden back. There is more on why the ground matters so much on my soil health page.
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How a garden consultation works in Harrogate
Every project starts with a garden consultation, which is a two-hour visit to your garden. We walk round it together, you tell me what bothers you about it and what you would like from it, and I give you honest, practical advice about the layout, the soil, the light and the drainage.
After the visit you will receive a written summary, which is yours to keep whether or not you go any further. The consultation is £300 + VAT, and that covers gardens across Yorkshire, so a Harrogate garden costs the same as one in York. If you would like to know what a full design might cost before you pick up the phone, I have written a page about what a garden designer costs.
From there, you choose how much help you want: a Bronze layout design, a Silver design with a full planting plan, or Gold, where I also source the plants and oversee the planting. All of them are explained on my services page.
A few of the gardens I've designed in Yorkshire
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Garden design in the villages around Harrogate
- Pannal
- Beckwithshaw
- Killinghall
- Hampsthwaite
- Birstwith
- Darley
- Dacre Banks
- Summerbridge
- Pateley Bridge
- Ripley
- Burnt Yates
- Bishop Monkton
- Burton Leonard
- Ripon
- Boroughbridge
If you are not sure whether I cover your area, please just ask.
Reviews from Google
5 from 31 Google reviews
Independent reviews from people whose gardens I have designed.
Competent, conscientious and creative! An RHS employee advised us to use a member of the Society of Garden Designers…because anyone can call themselves a garden designer! Sally has a robust combination of qualifications, experience…and medals, which underpin delivery of a professional yet personal garden design service. Sally has written a book called The Garden Equation, which really resonated with me. Three foundation steps are needed to balance the equation! 1. Experience of the garden - what you want to have, or do, in your garden. 2. Physical conditions - work with nature! 3. Maintenance - tailor the plan to your timeframe! Working through these steps helped us work through our priorities and communicate our preferences. Sally’s objectivity provided us with invaluable insight and a new perspective. Sally’s knowledge and skills have enabled us to transform our space. The gardens were a space we worked in and walked through. Now our two front gardens feel connected, even though they are separated by a road. We feel that our home extends into two beautiful garden rooms, where design underpins purpose and effort is rewarded with enjoyment.
Sally's work was recommended to me initially by a 2 new neighbours, but then we also saw a totally different garden she has designed and really loved the blend of plant knowledge with varied hard landscaping and creativity. Each garden with which she was involved was unique. Our patch was a real challenge for any gardener, having poor drainage, heavy clay, two mature trees just over our fence, and nothing but rough grass. Sally was encouraging, enthusiastic and also realistic. She showed flexibility in her approach, amended the planting as necessary and always communicating clearly and in a timely way. She listens carefully to her clients' needs, hopes and fantasies, and is pragmatic in her approach. She makes clear the various options available, right at the start, so you can commit financially to the level of her input you want with confidence. She's incredibly hardworking when actually creating the garden physically, preparing beds, laying turf sourcing, planting, and she's also very generous with her time and effort. We are thrilled with the transformation achieved in a relatively short time, and cannot recommend her highly enough.
Excellent garden transformation - highly recommend! We're absolutely delighted with the work Sally has done for us. After extending our house, we lost part of our garden and wanted to make the most of the remaining space, but lacked both the time and knowledge to do it ourselves. Sally was recommended to us and she's been wonderful from start to finish. She presented us with thoughtful ideas and options, then took care of arranging all the work, making the whole process stress-free. The result is fantastic - the garden looks beautiful even now in winter, and we're excitedly looking forward to seeing it come alive in spring and summer. We couldn't be happier and would highly recommend Sally to anyone looking for a skilled and reliable garden designer.
Questions about garden design in Harrogate
Do you design gardens in Harrogate?
Yes. Harrogate, Knaresborough and the Nidderdale villages are all within the area I cover from my studio in York. The town has been part of my working life for a long time, too, because it's where I won my Gold medals at the Harrogate Flower Show.
What's the soil like in Harrogate gardens?
Much of Harrogate and Nidderdale sits on free-draining sandstone and gritstone. It tends to be slightly acidic and warms quickly in spring, which suits a wide range of planting, though it dries out in summer. Soils can change within a short distance, so I always look at your own garden before recommending a single plant. There is more on my soil health page.
How much does a garden designer cost in Harrogate?
The same as anywhere else I work. A 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, depending on the size of the garden. My page on what a garden designer costs explains what pushes the price up or down.
Which areas around Harrogate do you cover?
I work across Harrogate and the villages around it, including Knaresborough, Pannal, Beckwithshaw and the Nidderdale villages. If you are nearby and not sure whether you are in range, just ask.
Book a garden consultation in Harrogate
If you would like to talk about what is possible in your Harrogate garden, the place to start is a two-hour visit to the garden itself. It costs £300 + VAT, and you are under no obligation to go any further.
Book a garden consultation