As a designer I am frequently invited to people’s homes to discuss their requirements in the garden. Many, who have contacted me with landscaping projects in mind, simply want A patio, or A deck or A driveway and it must be THIS shape and must go HERE, THERE and THERE: but if we look at the garden in it’s entirety as part of our property; then it becomes another room – albeit an outdoor room. I wonder; would people upgrade their old and worn out bathroom by simply replacing the bath alone? It might be a whopping great shiny bath but would it not outshine the rest of the bathroom fittings and therefore actually make the room far LESS attractive – surely the opposite from the desired effect?

These days (and especially during our current economic climate) it is essential to procure the most possible function and usability of the space we find in our properties, and with the increase in lifestyle advertisement as a result of years of generated affluence we are now readily inclined to look beyond bricks and mortar to see how our gardens can be utilised.

There are of course many standard practical functions to the garden: offroad parking; children’s play; vegetable cultivation; pet’s habitat etc; but now in a fully immersed sociable and lifestyle-orientated society there are new and exciting functions which can be procured from a garden: patios and decking big enough for entertaining the whole extended family and cooking a BBQ, the extension of informal seating that can be derived from this through raised flower beds and retaining walls; a kitchen garden to feed the family or to educate the kids; a soft rubber play surface for children’s play equipment; an outdoor audio system playing relaxing music; fencing and planting for privacy while we relax on our evening patio in the twighlight with a glass of wine, gently illuminated by the garden lights and lulled softly by the bubbling of a water feature. Sound good?

Well all of these ideas are concepts that aren’t really new to anybody at all but their implementation should be approached with some sense of cohesion within the space and sympathy with surroundings.

Interior design is a much celebrated discipline which not everybody can get right without some advice and we have all seen rooms where curtains and sofas and cushions and carpets make for a confused and uncomfortable experience. In the same way your garden – or exterior – design should allow for materials, shapes and textures and structures to sypathise with one another to create an harmonious space which will truly let you relax, truly allow you to show off to friends and family, and truly add value to your lifestyle AND your property.

That’s where we can help!

My job as a designer is to ensure that the space delivered to you is suitable to your requirements as an individual and as a household. I can give you all of these different elements set-out into a fully functional, very useable and extremely attractive garden, with planting to suit your ambitions and everything you need from your property space. I don’t doubt there are plenty of able bodied folk out there who are capable of laying some slabs or building a wall but perhaps seeking a little design advice would make all these efforts FAR more worthwhile. For those niether design nor DIY inclined – we can provide all the services required.