DESIGN PROCESS

The Design Process

If you have never had a garden designed for you before, you are probably wondering how the process works and, of course, how much it will cost.

Whist all projects are different, the typical stages of the design process are:

Initial Site Visit and Client Brief
Outline Design
Detailed drawings required for Contractors
- Hard Landscaping Detailing, Setting Out and Construction Detail
- Planting Plans
Tender documentation for contractors
Project Monitoring if required

If you feel the full design package is not for you we also offer a Consultation Service and/or Planting Design service, tailored to your specific needs, such as advising on problem areas or restoring “lost” planting beds.

Whatever your requirements, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us to sound us out. We pride ourselves on our approachability and sympathetic style and aim to make designing your garden an enjoyable process for all concerned.

In the meantime, to get you thinking about how you might wish to proceed, here is some more information on the design stages suggested above:

Initial Visit & Design Brief

This is free of charge within a radius of about 20 miles of Heathfield. For greater distances we reserve the right to charge a contribution to travel expenses, but this would be confirmed prior to the visit.

The purpose of this visit (usually about 2 hours) is:

To meet you and your family, to discuss how you wish to use your garden and what you want it to do for you, your tastes, likes and dislikes, preferred colours, styles, materials etc;

To get a feel for the site, its location, geographical and historical context, orientation and climate, and its relationship to the home. We usually take photographs and rough measurements and any plans or drawings of the garden you might have would be very useful at this stage;

To ascertain any site constraints, such as planning, conservation and access arrangements;

To discuss ongoing maintenance, irrigation and other requirements;

To discuss the level of design involvement you would like (see below), the anticipated budget available and desired time frames.

From this no obligation visit, if you wish to proceed, we are then able to go away and prepare the Design Brief for you, which will confirm our understanding of your requirements, and our Fee Proposal for the next agreed stage, e.g. the Outline Design.

Outline Design

Fees for an Outline Design will vary according to the size and complexity of the site, but would start from £900. Once the Design Brief and initial Fee Proposal are agreed, we are then able to begin the exciting stuff and work on producing an Outline Design for you.

This stage will include:

a further site visit and client discussion if required;
a basic survey of measurements and levels if we are able to do this ourselves; *
our work on design ideas; we work with a mix of drawing board, CAD, 3d models, sketches etc, as appropriate;
production of an Outline Plan, Moodboard and Sketches, to enable you to visualise our design, together with suggestions for Planting and Materials to present and discuss with you.

* For large or complex sites a full survey may be required, which we can arrange for you (this will be billed separately by the surveyors).

For some clients, the Outline Design is all they require, as they prefer to work from this to create their garden in their own time.

If required, we can provide a range of ongoing services as outlined below. For each stage, as with the Outline Design, we would prepare a Fee Proposal for you, to be agreed in advance.

Detailed drawings for Contractors

If required, we can produce detailed drawings for parts or the whole of the agreed design, from which contractors would then be able to tender.
These might include more detailed masterplans and/or construction detailing, setting out plans etc.
We can also arrange for specialist input such as lighting designers or water experts according to the complexity of the design.

Planting Plans

We can design detailed scale planting plans for parts or the whole of the agreed design, or for areas of your existing garden. Also, if required, we can source the plants from trusted and reputable nurseries for you (including those grown in peat-free compost if this is important to you).
If you will not be engaging a contractor, we can also help arrange for the planting (generally this is best done in autumn or spring).

Preparation of Tender Documentation for Contractors

If required, we can put together a pack of drawings and specifications to be submitted to reputable contractors and help you compare the resulting quotes.

Project Monitoring

Once you have appointed a contractor, although they would be working directly for you, we can assist with monitoring the project to ensure our design is implemented as intended and everything is kept on track.

Maintenance Plans

The enduring success of your completed garden design then rests with the ongoing maintenance and care it is given. If you are unsure, we can provide you and/or your gardener with a comprehensive maintenance schedule to keep it looking tip top and we can make return visits on a regular basis to advise as the garden matures.

Although one cannot always avoid unexpected “surprises” once work commences, we aim to keep our own fees transparent and will always discuss with you any issues arising which may impact the cost or the time frame of the project at the earliest possible opportunity.

For further guidance on what to expect from the process and our code of conduct, please visit www.sgd.org.uk.

Little Badgers, Possingworth Park, Cross-in-Hand, East Sussex, TN21 0TN
T: 01435 863311 Francesca Mob: 07846 671008 Emma Mob: 07837 948382
E: info@natureredesigned.co.uk