In the same way that you measure the living room if you are getting a new settee, then you measure the garden if you are getting a new patio! Use sticks and string to mark it out. Doesn't need to be too accurate but it will give you an idea of dimensions on the ground!
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
Beware of the websites that suggest trades people. Great idea in theory, but I used one to find a decorator. He came with loads of recommendations - he must have written them himself, or got mates to. He was terrible. He 'forgot' to decorate behind my sofa and also thought that we 'wanted' paint along the edges of the carpet to give a shabby chic look in a very modern sleek room.
Since then, I've taken to asking for references from 1 of the last 3 jobs the tradesperson has undertaken. If they can't accommodate this for whatever reason I steer clear.
Thanks all for the great advice. Yes, I will definitely stay open to ideas. They may suggest some changes that I haven't even thought of, or perhaps a small change in the design can save a lot of cost.
I have used checkatrade in the past for work, and so far have not had a bad experience (unlike you Tootles!). But from speaking to my plumber I know they charge the tradesmen a fortune, so for simple cheaper work I have used my local facebook group to ask for suggestions.
Hogweed - great to hear it worked well for you. I will follow the same approach.
Is it better to buy the materials myself or let them do it. I don't want them to save money by buying sub-standard materials. Am I being too cautious?
Rather than being cautious I think it's about whether or not you trust who you hire and know what they are actually able to do and where there professional expertise lies. Whether you're confident they will understand what you want and do it with the materials and at a price that meets your expectations.
You should be shown samples of materials though and given different costings dependent on what you decide to use.
Be aware that when it comes to Landscape Gardeners that they don't all necessarily operate as you're requiring. Some operate a business model whereby it's always "time and materials" and others don't even do the actual physical work. Rather they design and manage others (sometimes sub-contractors) who do the actual construction and heaving around to lay patios and demolish old stuff and put up new fencing etc.
In a lot of ways that is absolutely sensible. When I first moved here I hired a "proper" Landscape gardener who employed both labourers who did things like cutting lawns and hedge trimming and weeding and builders who did hard landscaping and also a couple of young gardeners who worked on advising customers about planting and sourcing plants etc. As he himself said I didn't want to pay for the higher level professionals rates at the point when all I needed was 2 acres of weeds strimming a fallen tree removed and a load of stone shifting. He did take some finding though I oh boy did I see some numpties!
Now my garden is more or less tamed, planned and organised and planted I still have a gardener who comes for 6 hours a week. He came through recommendation. He's qualified and has worked as a green keeper and then as a gardener for a big country estate where he worked his way up through lawns, roses, flowers, green houses, vegetables and then he was a head gardener at another big country shooting lodge. He says he isn't a landscape gardener but frankly he's as good as many and better than most and he's not averse to hard work, really knows plants and when he weeds, you know you've been weeded! He knows what I like and likes the same style of garden and so that means I really value his input and ideas and also I'm 100% confident that when I describe what I'm wanting that he'll be able to do it for me and ordinarily make it better than I envisioned.
This year we've changed an area that had a load of laurels and conifers planted and that were past their best. I just told him what I wanted as an end point and trusted him to tell me which trees needed to come out. He persuaded me to remove more than I initially intended and now it's done, he was absolutely right. He and my partner then got on with serious removal with chainsaw and tractor. My gardener then levelled and grass seeded it and gave me a list of suggested shrubs of varying heights and which did something every month of the year and to add to the list I'd already been talking about and for me to go look up and decide which ones suited me.
The reason why I said in my previous posting that I thought you might not need a landscaper was because you seemed to know what you wanted and even in terms of the quality of materials. In my head a "Landscape gardener" is someone who undertakes the design activity as well as the "gardening". They'd be responsible for producing plans or drawings and ensuring it came in on budget and on time and that would most likely include ordering the materials as well as constructing and planting etc.
Just be aware that there are a lot of people who say they're "landscape gardeners" or even "just" gardeners and
NorthernLass - Many thanks. Great advice. It sounds like you have a fantastic gardener there whose advice you trust.
I can't afford to hire a regular gardener at the moment, and I know very little about plants (this is the first time I've had a garden) so I am learning quickly. This forum is my bible.
Generally I'm prepared to take a few more risks and do more work myself by arranging individual contractors rather than relying on a firm that does it all. I like to know what I'm getting before it starts - so I always break down the work or at least ask them exactly how they will do it so I can assess if it is what i want.
At the moment I just want to get the main garden structure sorted out. Patio, path, retaining wall, firepit (). Then I will think more about the specific planting.
I do want to get a couple of fruit trees in this autumn though so they can start to establish themselves, which means settling on an overall design very soon.
Go to the library and get Alan Titchmarsh's How to Garden - Garden Design - or get it from Amazon or other booksellers - it's less than a tenner and so very helpful
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I usually search for gardeners in Google. There are lots of companies that offer services and you can call as many as you want until you get the best offer (I don't mean cheapest). However, in my experience the cheapest offers are usually unprofessional and quite messy, so you'd better stay away.
I'm now drawing up my ideas in Sketchup. Hopefully it will allow me to decide what work to do and make sure it looks good from the house. Once I've done the model I can also use it to show the landscaper what I want done.
Sketchup is a great tool, and it's free. Does anyone here use it?
Posts
Beware of the websites that suggest trades people. Great idea in theory, but I used one to find a decorator. He came with loads of recommendations - he must have written them himself, or got mates to. He was terrible. He 'forgot' to decorate behind my sofa and also thought that we 'wanted' paint along the edges of the carpet to give a shabby chic look in a very modern sleek room.
Since then, I've taken to asking for references from 1 of the last 3 jobs the tradesperson has undertaken. If they can't accommodate this for whatever reason I steer clear.
Thanks all for the great advice. Yes, I will definitely stay open to ideas. They may suggest some changes that I haven't even thought of, or perhaps a small change in the design can save a lot of cost.
I have used checkatrade in the past for work, and so far have not had a bad experience (unlike you Tootles!). But from speaking to my plumber I know they charge the tradesmen a fortune, so for simple cheaper work I have used my local facebook group to ask for suggestions.
Hogweed - great to hear it worked well for you. I will follow the same approach.
Is it better to buy the materials myself or let them do it. I don't want them to save money by buying sub-standard materials. Am I being too cautious?
Rather than being cautious I think it's about whether or not you trust who you hire and know what they are actually able to do and where there professional expertise lies. Whether you're confident they will understand what you want and do it with the materials and at a price that meets your expectations.
You should be shown samples of materials though and given different costings dependent on what you decide to use.
Be aware that when it comes to Landscape Gardeners that they don't all necessarily operate as you're requiring. Some operate a business model whereby it's always "time and materials" and others don't even do the actual physical work. Rather they design and manage others (sometimes sub-contractors) who do the actual construction and heaving around to lay patios and demolish old stuff and put up new fencing etc.
In a lot of ways that is absolutely sensible. When I first moved here I hired a "proper" Landscape gardener who employed both labourers who did things like cutting lawns and hedge trimming and weeding and builders who did hard landscaping and also a couple of young gardeners who worked on advising customers about planting and sourcing plants etc. As he himself said I didn't want to pay for the higher level professionals rates at the point when all I needed was 2 acres of weeds strimming a fallen tree removed and a load of stone shifting. He did take some finding though I oh boy did I see some numpties!
Now my garden is more or less tamed, planned and organised and planted I still have a gardener who comes for 6 hours a week. He came through recommendation. He's qualified and has worked as a green keeper and then as a gardener for a big country estate where he worked his way up through lawns, roses, flowers, green houses, vegetables and then he was a head gardener at another big country shooting lodge. He says he isn't a landscape gardener but frankly he's as good as many and better than most and he's not averse to hard work, really knows plants and when he weeds, you know you've been weeded! He knows what I like and likes the same style of garden and so that means I really value his input and ideas and also I'm 100% confident that when I describe what I'm wanting that he'll be able to do it for me and ordinarily make it better than I envisioned.
This year we've changed an area that had a load of laurels and conifers planted and that were past their best. I just told him what I wanted as an end point and trusted him to tell me which trees needed to come out. He persuaded me to remove more than I initially intended and now it's done, he was absolutely right. He and my partner then got on with serious removal with chainsaw and tractor. My gardener then levelled and grass seeded it and gave me a list of suggested shrubs of varying heights and which did something every month of the year and to add to the list I'd already been talking about and for me to go look up and decide which ones suited me.
The reason why I said in my previous posting that I thought you might not need a landscaper was because you seemed to know what you wanted and even in terms of the quality of materials. In my head a "Landscape gardener" is someone who undertakes the design activity as well as the "gardening". They'd be responsible for producing plans or drawings and ensuring it came in on budget and on time and that would most likely include ordering the materials as well as constructing and planting etc.
Just be aware that there are a lot of people who say they're "landscape gardeners" or even "just" gardeners and
NorthernLass - Many thanks. Great advice. It sounds like you have a fantastic gardener there whose advice you trust.
I can't afford to hire a regular gardener at the moment, and I know very little about plants (this is the first time I've had a garden) so I am learning quickly. This forum is my bible.
Generally I'm prepared to take a few more risks and do more work myself by arranging individual contractors rather than relying on a firm that does it all. I like to know what I'm getting before it starts - so I always break down the work or at least ask them exactly how they will do it so I can assess if it is what i want.
At the moment I just want to get the main garden structure sorted out. Patio, path, retaining wall, firepit (
). Then I will think more about the specific planting.
I do want to get a couple of fruit trees in this autumn though so they can start to establish themselves, which means settling on an overall design very soon.
Go to the library and get Alan Titchmarsh's How to Garden - Garden Design - or get it from Amazon or other booksellers - it's less than a tenner and so very helpful
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I usually search for gardeners in Google. There are lots of companies that offer services and you can call as many as you want until you get the best offer (I don't mean cheapest). However, in my experience the cheapest offers are usually unprofessional and quite messy, so you'd better stay away.
I'm now drawing up my ideas in Sketchup. Hopefully it will allow me to decide what work to do and make sure it looks good from the house. Once I've done the model I can also use it to show the landscaper what I want done.
Sketchup is a great tool, and it's free. Does anyone here use it?