Why You Should Start Planning Your Garden Makeover Months in Advance
Don’t wait for spring or summer to start planning your garden makeover. Here’s why you need to give yourself more time.
TV garden makeover shows would have you believe a garden can be designed and built in a very short time. The truth is very different indeed. For one - those gardens are rarely built to the standards demanded of APL members. But that’s a different matter altogether. In this article, we’re looking at the garden design and build process and how taking your time with it will bring you the very best results.
Making The Most of Your Investment
Spending money on a new garden truly is an investment. Don’t anticipate that your project will be cheap. In fact, if your landscaping quote is considerably less than expected, you might want to check that it really does include all the features you require built to the standard you expect and that there are no hidden charges.
Does a garden makeover give you a return on your investment? If it’s been carefully thought out, it almost certainly will. Not only will it add value to your property, but it will also bring a sense of pride, joy, and a whole raft of wellbeing benefits that are simply priceless.
Just as you would if you were buying a new car or investing in a kitchen or bathroom for your home, it’s crucial that you put a lot of thought into planning your garden makeover. What problems need solving? What features would you like? When is the most convenient time for the work to be done? And possibly most importantly, what is your budget and how will you finance the project?
The Garden Design Process
1. Find a garden designer
The garden design process should never be rushed. The first step in planning your garden makeover should be to find and hire a garden designer who you think will translate your ideas and personal style into a buildable plan for a landscaper to work with.
You may want to meet with several designers in order to find the person who ‘gels’ with you the best. Personality clashes at the design stage can easily spoil the garden makeover experience for you. Worse, they may delay the project.
Garden Designer members of the APL have all been carefully vetted for competence. Remember, a garden designer does more than draw pretty pictures. They are akin to an architect in that they need to consider things like planning permissions, drainage, foundations and load bearing capacity. In addition to the technical stuff, a garden designer needs to think about usability and ‘flow’, styling, planting and the overall aesthetic. Inexperienced designers have been known to get in a muddle with some of those aspects.
As well as all that, it’s crucial that your garden designer understands their legal duty under the CDM regulations and is properly insured.
2. Compile a garden design brief
The garden design brief is arguably the most difficult part of planning a garden makeover. When it comes right down to it - what DO you want your new garden to be like?
Don’t panic, good garden designers are expert at helping you to decide. It will help if you can compile an album of gardens, features and colours that appeal to you. A list of the ways you’d like to use your garden will also be invaluable. Equally valuable will be a note of things you don’t like about your garden (e.g lack of privacy, road noise, no shade). Also a note of materials you really don’t want in your outdoor space.
Don’t worry if family members cannot agree - it’s the designer’s job to find those all-important compromises. List everything and then leave the creative part to the professionals.
3. The garden survey
You wouldn’t be able to design a kitchen without first measuring the space and it’s exactly the same for gardens. Except that interior design doesn’t need to consider factors such as slopes, soil type, light and shade, planning regulations, access for machinery and contractor welfare (access to water, electricity, toilets etc)
For a garden that is reasonably level with no obvious drainage problems, the garden designer will likely carry out their own survey. However, where there are any potential concerns, they may well ask you to commission topographical and/or hydrological surveys.
Time taken to conduct the survey varies - which is why it’s so important that you start planning your garden makeover well before you want to use the refurbished space.
4. Appoint a Principal Designer
It’s a very quick job, but one that is essential. As the householder, YOU are responsible for the health and safety of anyone on your property. H&S needs to be considered at the design phase of a garden makeover. Not just so that the finished garden is not hazardous, but also to ensure it can there is minimal risk to the people building it.
By appointing a principal designer IN WRITING, you pass your legal responsibilities for the safety of the build on to your garden designer.
5. Agree a design
The creative part of garden design often takes longer than clients may expect. As you’ve already read, there’s a lot to consider. Plus, the very best garden designers usually have a waiting list of clients and so will be unable to start work immediately.
By planning your garden makeover well in advance, you take the pressure off yourself and your garden designer. Be patient, it will be worth the wait.
When your garden design is presented to you, take your time to consider every element of it. At this stage, it may only be a concept design with no details of colours or materials. Your job at this point is to imagine yourself and your family using the space. How will you travel between features? Do paths etc follow the route you would instinctively take around the garden? Does the patio seem large enough? Will you be able to manage that amount of planting?
Now is the time to request design changes. Your landscaper can only give an accurate costing if they know exactly what is to be built.
As an aside, it’s a good idea to appoint a landscaper before you finalise the design. Collaboration at this stage will mean that the layout and materials can be tweaked in order to suit your build budget.
6. Find a landscaper
Choosing a landscaper is akin to choosing your garden designer. The build team will be working on your property for as long as it takes to create your garden. It’s important that you like and trust them to respect your home and your neighbours. But what’s even more important is that they are competent.
Every year, expert witnesses working in the landscape sector provide reports on too many projects that have failed due to incompetence and ignorance. Choosing an APL accredited landscaper will ensure that A) they are capable of bringing your project to life safely and to a high standard of workmanship and B) there is genuine support via the APL should you be dissatisfied.
Again, you can use the “Find A Landscaping Professional” link on the APL website to contact reputable landscapers working in your area.
Just like garden designers, the best landscapers will have a waiting list and are therefore unlikely to be able to start on your project straight away. Trust us, if you do have to wait a while it will be worth it. Please don’t compromise the quality of your garden makeover by rushing to have it completed by someone who may lack the experience or expertise to do an exceptional job.
7. Getting a quote for the work
A landscaping quote is complicated and time consuming to prepare so don’t expect to get a price on the spot. The landscaper will need to draft a schedule of works in order to calculate quantities of materials and estimate how many man hours the installation will involve. They will also gather prices for all the materials needed as well as for items such as portaloos, digger hire, skips and any specialist trades required. You will probably need to wait for a week or two for your quote to appear.
Once you have received your quote, you may want to tweak your design in order to manage the build budget. Again, this will take time, but it’s important to get these things right before work begins. Any design changes requested after the work has begun will be disruptive and possibly expensive.
How long will my new garden take to build?
Every garden is different in terms of size, complexity, access and delivery times for materials. Your landscaper will be able to give you an approximate time scale once they have had time to plan the project.
For very complex garden builds, you may be looking at several weeks worth of work. Another good reason to plan ahead!
Even though you are itching to get your garden revamped, more haste will mean less speed. Avoid frustration by working methodically through the steps outlined above. And remember - planning your garden makeover months in advance really will pay off in the long run!
Useful Links
- Do I need planning permission for a new garden? https://www.landscaper.org.uk/landscaping-guidance/do-i-need-planning-permission-for-a-new-garden
- What should I expect to pay for landscaping? https://www.landscaper.org.uk/landscaping-guidance/what-can-i-expect-to-pay-for-landscaping
- Find A Landscaping Professional https://www.landscaper.org.uk/find-a-landscaping-professional/landscaper-directory