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garden design or make it up as we go?

tiny_gardenertiny_gardener Posts: 14
in Problem solving
So...we moved into a new build last December and spent the lockdown digging two enormous borders that are now actually nice soil rather than leftover scaffolding pipes and broken bricks. The trouble is we have NO CLUE what to do with them! We have plenty of ideas....fruit trees, beautiful flowers, evergreen shrubs, climbers...but they're all a bit amateur and not in any kind of order. We're unsure of whether to employ the services of a garden designer to recommend planting schemes, or whether to just go it alone and see if anything survives.

I was wondering whether anyone in the community had experience with garden designers? Is their fee worth it?
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  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    One point for you to consider: garden designers might well be able to source plants at around half the price you’ll have to pay if you go to garden centres. A rule of thumb is maybe 5 herbaceous plants per square metre and, for argument’s sake, let’s price them at £7 each. 25 square metres of herbaceous planting could easily cost £900. That’s a very big outlay and you won’t want to get it wrong and plant the wrong things.

    If that designer could source the plants for perhaps £500 then the fee for drawing a plan is looking a lot more reasonable.

    Another idea and it is very cheeky. If there is a horticultural college near you they might have students looking to design a border as part of their course. They might do this for a comparatively low fee.
    Rutland, England
  • rachelQrtJHBjbrachelQrtJHBjb Posts: 819
    I have worked as a garden designer and whilst I am not trying to do anyone out of work I think you would get greater satisfaction doing it yourself and learning. However, a good starting point would be to post some photos of your garden e.g. ones from upstairs windows looking down and ones with the main vistas from the house, plus details of soil (type, pH, etc.,), exposed or sheltered, your region, and the kind of style you like. This should generate lots of ideas you could research and, if you wish, implement.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I have never bothered with garden designers. I just buy perennials that I like, depending on planting conditions, whether they like shade, sun, clay etc and I try to vary the shapes of the leaves and flowers. One bed I tried to keep pastel, another with reds, yellows, orange and purple for a bit of zing. When a bed is new and expensive to plant out I fill in gaps by sowing seeds of hardy annuals and buying cheap annual plug plants in spring. You can also take cuttings from friends' plants. My beds evolve as I buy plants when I can afford it or when I see one I like. Over the years I move them if they don't look right and split them to bulk them up. When a bed is backed by a fence I grow clematis and climbing roses, having put up support wires, but check with the neighbour first if it's their fence.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    I thoroughly agree with Busy-Lizzie.  As one of the wrinkly generation I honestly can't see why any self respecting person would ask someone else what their garden should look like.  It's not a garden catwalk after all. Now, by all means, if you think you'd love to look out on to a mixture of Pampas Grass, Lavender and Forget Me Nots, some knowledgeable soul on here could probably tell you whether they'll tolerate each other and what spacing would be needed.  That would be helpful but, if a 'designer' advised a completely different range of plants that you didn't particularly like, where would be the enjoyment in that?  Sit in your arm chair with a catalogue or two, select things you like the look of and go ahead.
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    I would design my own garden, and I think most on this forum would. But t_g admits to having “no clue”. It then becomes a more daunting challenge and, by using a designer, they can make plans come to fruition in a season or two rather than a piecemeal trial and error approach which could take several years eventually to get right.

    I don’t deny there is increased satisfaction from designing your own garden and, even taking account of what I said above, could well be cheaper. But asking for people’s experience of garden designers is a very sensible question to pose. A decent designer will also always work with the client’s brief at the core of the plan and not impose fads on them.  

    I would like to be able to say to the OP I have personal experience of using a designer but all I can contribute is my experience of using landscapers to completely overhaul my plot putting in paths, beds, terraces, a pond etc. When it came to the planting that was very largely down to me. I am also in the incredibly fortunate position of having a friend a few doors down who is a gold medal winning Chelsea designer and very well known gardening journalist.
    Rutland, England
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    Garden design (done by you or done by professionals) may be a good idea if you want a nicely designed garden. Having a well-thought design looks good.
    But the problem is that taste evolves and many designs are not change-friendly. Let's say, two years from now, you realize you want to grow roses or dahlias or have a large vegetable garden. Or you simply fall in love with a bright pink flower while your design scheme is orange and purple.
    Letting the garden grow and evolve with you as a gardener may be a better option. Keeping things open to possibilities until you know better what to do. It is always more fun to grow something because you love it and want to grow it than to grow it because someone recommended it or because it fits into a colour scheme.
    If you have ideas, work on them little bit more, research the plants and if you are not sure about the combinations or their suitability for your conditions, ask here.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    A designer [if they're any good] will take on board al your likes and dislikes, your needs, and most importantly - what will suit the plot , the soil,  aspect, and the climate and conditions.
    You can do that on here, but showing some photos, and a few ideas as to what you require.  :)
    However, it's important to give all the info requested. Many people have a habit of holding back for some reason. That's quite irritating if people have spent an amount of time offering all sorts of suggestions, only for the goal posts to be moved - rendering them useless.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • richhondacrichhondac Posts: 222
    I suppose it depends on your budget and how much you like gardening and how much work you want to do your self.

    Me personally I’d go for the design it my self and do the work myself then you can keep editing the garden without a big bill.

    id also go for the herbaceous plants in larger pots so you can split the plants into 3 or 4 bits. Like Monty dose.  
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    The RHS does a range of books such as Plants for Places and Gardening Month by Month.  They will enable you to check the suitability of plants you like the look of, and an opportunity to have colour all year round.  When you visit Garden Centres look at what is in flower but remember not to fill the entire garden in the space of a month or two.
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