How do I find someone to draw up a garden design?

[Frostycake]

I've Googled 'gardeners' and had a few in to quote but they all seem to be men with lawnmowers who just want to come once a fortnight and cut the grass. They don't seem to know what I should plant, when and how it will take in my clay soil, North-facing garden. One simply suggested I put membrane down and gravel it as "that'll take care of the mowing problem."

Do I look for a horticulturist or a landscape gardener / architect? Should I go to my local gardening club (haven't a clue if there even is one).

At the moment, it's just weeds masquerading as lawn with really big trees and hedges. There also seems to be a layer of brick paving everywhere I try to dig (old house). I'm clueless about this type of thing. I also live in the back of beyond in the Midlands so no fancy Companies around here.

Am I doomed?

I think you need a garden designer or garden landscaper. I'd have a google for both and see how you get on. They both should be happy to just do drawings.

Yes, look for garden designer, with recommendations from others in your area if you can. I've done an entry level garden design course, all the things you want covered - plant suggestions, how to lay it out to best advantage etc, we're all taught as part of it. You could also check local adult ed / part time courses, there may be a course near you you could attend or who can suggest someone who can help

or can get student/s to work on plan for your garden as a challenging case study?

That sounds great thanks! I'd be happy to pay someone a couple of hundred quid to come up with a plan/drawing, it's just finding someone. I don't know anyone who's had landscaping done (bar the above mentioned membrane/gravel solution. I don't live in a fancy enough area!

Holy shit. Just had a look at a couple and they are asking for £50 for initial consultation plus between £1,500 and £3,000 for plans ranging from Medium to large gardens.

I might try the colleges!

Getting a garden designer is an expensive business - but they are extremely skilled people, so perhaps it's to be expected.

One alternative is to ask for some rough sketches. Make it clear that you can't afford to pay for the whole design package, but ask if they could give you a couple of hours to come see the garden and just do some preliminary ideas which a builder can then realise. As long as they know they're not getting a £20k commission out of it, some will be happy to do this.

Or you could do it yourself, with a bit of help from Pinterest.

Alternative would be to go to your library and search in the garden section for garden design books - there are loads out there with ideas for planting and drawings for different sized gardens.

We used a landscape gardener. Cost £6k for all visits, designs, work, materials (patio, fake grass, wood, plants) for a small garden. Shouldnt cost 3k just for the designs!!!

Wildfire - yes, I'd expect to pay about £6k for the whole thing too.

I might do as bilbodog suggests and get myself to the Library (if it's still open).

shovetheholly (love the name!) I'm a Pinterest queen but unfortunately, there seem be lots of lovely photos and not many plans bar tiny ones written in Latin.

Thanks all.

I had this exact problem earlier this year - I hated my (relatively small) garden and wanted to give it a drastic overhaul but didn't have a huge budget (wanted to spend approx 6k in total).

Initially I decided to try and do a design myself but it was impossible - I could get so far with a 2-dimensional layout, but my garden slopes and I wanted it levelled and it was impossible to work out what the shift in measurements would be. Also couldn't figure out how many steps to draw in, nor how wide they should be etc. I also had an idea of what sort of style I wanted to achieve, but no idea really what would need to be planted to achieve that!

In the end, I hired a landscape designer for 4 hours, and she visited with her laptop and measuring equipt. I gave her a collage of garden photos showing what I liked (raised beds, sleepers, architectural planting, relaxation areas, subtropical rather than English country garden etc). I also gave her a list of things I didn't like about current garden, plus another list of things I wanted the garden to have, or be able to do. From this, she drew up a proper design, and pointed out things which were going to be too expensive to achieve (eg curved landscaping much costlier than geometric lines)

She also did a planting plan, then I got both the garden design and planting plan printed onto A3 and laminated, then got quotes from contractors to do the work. The design evolved a little bit after that, but not drastically, and by early summer I had the garden of my dreams.

The exact plans were really important for the costing up as the bulk of the costs came from shifting earth (I had a digger in my back garden for 2 days!) and the cost of the timber for the raised beds.

It sounds like a similar approach would work well for you, but I guess it's a case of finding that person working in your neck of the woods!

PS - in case anyone finds this useful, I had my manky, damp woodlice-infested decking removed and replaced with a heat-dried timber as part of the works. Pricier per metre but 1000 times better quality and virtually no maintenance!

I also had about £500 earmarked for custom-made seating in one corner of the garden but ended up making something much better out of pallets for free

Thanks EagleRay that sounds really similar to my garden. About 100 ft long and sloping down and North facing so damp in the decking area and some things struggle to grow.

How much per hour did your designer charge if you don't mind me asking?

If I could find someone to do that, it would be perfect.

My garden is quite small in comparison to yours - about 35 x 18ft! The problem with small spaces is that the design can be quite complex as you need to think more carefully about how to fit things in.

The designer charged approx £50 p/h and it came in at around £200 in total. I can see that some people would need to go for a more comprehensive design service, but I had covered a lot of the ground work already which really speeded things up.

Sounds like some advice about planting would be really useful for you. I had no idea where to start. Have got some lovely plants now and the planting man was able to work miracles with my existing plants too - I've got a 12 year old banana tree in a pot which was looking very small and sad (with about two leaves). Not quite sure what he did to it but it's the same height as me now and looks very happy on the new decking

Frosty if you find anyone good you can send them to me afterwards! I'm in the midlands too - north Worcestershire

have you looked at local nurseries - two near me provide a garden design service and it's a fairly nominal fee. Much less than hiring a designer. And they would probably know local landscapers if you need that sort of work done too which it sounds like you do.
And I guess they are happy to do it for nominal amounts because you'd probably end up buying your plants from them.

Thanks EagleRay that's exactly what I need. About £200 would be fine for someone to come in and measure and then draw up a layout and suggest some plants - I have a solitary apple tree, the rest is six foot mixed hedging plus scrub. Poor banana tree! Yes, I'd be tempted to keep poorly performing plants too. My patio area is full of things I've refused to give up on and now, I manage to keep my tubs looking good all year round mostly

Yes Poocather I'll pass on any worthwhile people/companies I manage to find. The Midlands seems to be very poorly served in this area must be all the industry

Thanks Cooper I hadn't thought of approaching nurseries. I tend to stick to the two or three garden centres around me due to convenience. One is rapidly going downhill but the other is thriving so I'll ask there.

It's such a shame because the years are passing and each autumn, I regret not sorting it out once and for all. It could be so lovely - I just need some help starting off.

See if you have a local college teaching Garden design and make contact with them, ask if current or past students could help.
I have done a design course and what you want is just the kind of thing I like to do (but I am not near you and you need someone to visit).
You could ask at your local nurseries too for suggestions.

Wow ChloeW14 you sure do spend a lot of time on here talking about this company. In fact, every single one of your posts is about the website you're trying to promote

One of the best books I have is 'Making a Garden' by David Stevens. Really recommend it. It is a step-by-step guide to garden design, and tells you everything you need to know, including changes of levels and how to plan what goes where.

Thanks Dodo. I'll have a look at that.