Garden design process

When it comes to designing a garden, you can feel overwhelmed, stuck or lost in choice. This is where a reputable Garden Designer can save you time, money and frustration in creating the garden of your dreams! This guide will take you through the process of using a garden designer or, if you're a new designer yourself, which stages you need to take your clients through.

By following these steps of garden design, you will end up with a well-formed, considered and appropriate design layout and planting plan.

1. Initial Consultation & brainstorming
2. Site survey
3. Concept Design
4. Final drawn-up design
5. Appointing a contractor or landscaper to build it

Step 1 - Initial consultation & idea storming

An initial consultation with you starts the ball rolling for the garden design process.  Ideally, this will be a face-to-face, phone or online consultation. If pictures are provided, it can be undertaken.  

This is usually an hour-long consultation. Using my portfolio and ideas board, I can start to identify exactly what you want from your garden, the functionality you need and, importantly, the design aesthetic!  

A high-level review of the colours and styles of plants will also be discussed in line with the amount of maintenance required. This step is subject to a £250 fee.

A quote will be drawn up at this stage for the full garden design and plans, which will cover the following 3 steps.  Garden Ninja's design prices start at £2000.

Prices increase with complexity and site influences, i.e. steep topography and styling choices. Please get in touch to discuss this.  See my garden design prices here.

Step 2 - Site survey and mood board

After the initial consultation and quote, the site survey will be undertaken, and a mood board will be produced.  This will build on the information presented at the initial consultation, interpreting it into a mood board. The site survey maps out your garden to scale so that a design can be overlaid that fits your garden precisely.

Without a garden survey, any design is just guesswork and will likely end in compromises or wasted costs.

The garden mood board by Garden Ninja will show a mix of style, colour, planting and structures that meet your requirements.  These can be edited, tweaked and changed to accommodate your needs at this stage. The mood board collates all the details discussed in the consultation or first stage and represents them pictorially for your consideration.

Once complete, the concept design stage can take place.

Did you know that you can take my course and learn how to become a Garden Ninja yourself? Click here for details

Step 3 - Concept design

Based on all the information gathered so far, a design will be created using a concept plan.  This is sometimes known as a bubble diagram in Garden Design terms.

This highlights areas that are either functional, such as a seating area, aesthetic, such as where trees, planting or features may be or viewpoints/aspect directions. It may also annotate the flow or journey around the garden. So you can see how you will be able to use your newly designed space and travel around it.

This gives a rough overview of your requirements and where they may feature in the garden scale plan.  At this stage, changes, edits and additions can be made, giving you an overview of the high-level design.  

Bubble diagrams may be the first step to ensuring I have fully understood your brief of how you want the garden to function and flow.

Step 4 - Fully drawn up design to scale in both plan format and planting viewpoints

I prefer to draw up my garden designs by hand as this gives a real connection to the design. My design style is ubiquitous with these hand-drawn and water-coloured designs which my clients love to receive and even frame afterwards!

Designing on a computer can sometimes feel a bit detached. But if that's your preference, I can provide that service as well. (I still always hand-draw them in the background first!)

Hand-drawn methods give more creativity to start with and can demonstrate the artistic skill of a designer; CAD designs can sometimes provide a more concise, rigid view.

Everyone is different and what I would say is that hand-drawn plans can, to some look more conceptual, whereas CAD designs can be easier to interpret straight off but lack flair! It depends on which method you prefer. Garden Ninja can design either by hand or CAD; the choice is yours! It's the same price.

Each garden design features a carefully chosen plant palette to meet the site's theme, aspect and soil conditions. My qualifications in horticulture mean I genuinely understand plant groups and how to make gardens look effortless.

Nothing is more disappointing than a beautiful design that uses the wrong plants that fail to survive or struggle. Horticultural knowledge and design, in my humble opinion, must go hand in hand.

Hand drawn garden plans benefits & drawbacks

• It is more artistic and shows more of the flow of the garden
• It is one of a kind and can show subtle variations
• Take longer to produce
• Significant reworks may require additional costs

CAD garden plans benefits & drawbacks

• Standardised look to garden components
• Easier to amend and tweak where necessary
• Quicker to produce
• Pre-set components, i.e. hard-to-show subtle variations or bespoke items

Step 5 - Creating your newly designed garden

Finding a suitable landscape construction company can be time-consuming, and you need to ensure that you are comfortable with your chosen contractor. Once you have your garden design in hand, it's time to select a really reputable contractor to build it.

Some designers offer hard landscaping as part of their service, and others, like me, focus on design and planting only. Playing to your strengths is key when undertaking a large-scale garden redesign.

I frequently work with builders around Manchester, Liverpool, Southport and Cheshire. Garden Ninja will only make recommendations for those building and landscaping companies that work to a very high standard. Ensuring projects are controlled tightly to time and budget is often the area that makes a project run away with itself.

I don't undertake any of the hard landscaping, only the designs and planting plans, as this is a particular skill which is dependent on the existing plot and foundations. This is something that a builder, contractor, landscaper or equivalent tradesperson should quote for as this is their area of specialisation.

The design plans will help you quickly get comparable quotes from such builders. Garden Ninja is always here to help you during this process, such as suggesting some contractors for your specific plot. Freeindex or checkatrade have excellent work request boards where you can post the details of what you need and let the contractors come to you! Easy!

So there you have it, the entire garden design process laid out. I think most would agree it's a very creative and considered piece of work. Indicative prices and costs can be found here, which reflect the amount of skill and effort.

I take immense care and time with each of my clients, only working with a small limited group each year to ensure they get the detail and attention that a beautiful garden design takes.

Are you yearning for an incredible garden? If so, then please get in touch to discuss a garden design.

I'm now also offering Online Garden Troubleshooting Consultations with video calls. These are priced at £250 for an hour's consultation, where Garden Ninja himself can help you troubleshoot garden design queries, plant choices, layouts or other gardening issues.

Why not Tweet, Facebook or Instagram me with your pictures! You can also follow me on Youtube where I’ve got plenty of garden guide vlogs.

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