Professional Garden Design?

[What2donow4]

I'm totally fed up with my garden and don't have the time or physical ability to do anything about it. So we were wondering about getting professionals in. We have a very small (12m x 8m) garden and have quite a few criteria:
design to make it seem bigger not just the rectangle it is now
replace one 12m length of fence with something nicer and dog proof (can't dig under it or jump over it)
reasonable % amount of lawn for dogs to romp on
planting that's easy to manage and not poisonous for pets (who seem to try and eat everything!) or rarely visiting grandchildren (toddler +)
not too many plants - mainly for greenery with baskets / pots for colour
several water butts
small patio areas for dining
smooth paving (current one is a bit of a tripping hazard)
not gravel / slate / bark (one dog tries to eat it!)
small area to grow herbs, lettuce and tomatoes (probably in pots)
a few quirky features (but not water features)

Do you think this is the sort of project a garden designer would want in such as a small area?
The other thing that bothers me is cost! How do they go about designing and quoting? There is no point getting a designer if it is way out of our price range. Some of the websites I have looked at are full of award winning designs in huge gardens so its hard to gauge.

Can anyone with any knowledge give me a ballpark figure for design please? I know the actual work costs will totally depend on what is in the design.

Many thanks

To get someone to draw designs for that size of garden shouldn't be too expensive - we had a designer from the Society of Garden Designers do two areas of garden (which together would have been a similar size - but two separate designs) for us for around £1,500.

Not all designers also do landscaping, so if you want the design implemented for you you need to find someone who does or works with a trusted landscaper. Most of the cost of implementation is in hard landscaping (walls, patios, paths etc.) and statement mature plants - particularly slow growing trees.

Thank you.
Are there particular regulatory bodies or qualifications I should be looking for people with? There seem to be quite a few, but I know from my previous profession some qualifications and links to associations are barely worth the paper they are written on.

Splitting the garden into 2 or 3 squares instead of one big rectangle will make it seem bigger.

Put a pathway somewhere, either going straight through the middle or meandering or use it to join the separate squares.
Hanging baskets on the fence full of tumbling tomatoes, instead of flowers and decorative trees I would have cordon fruit trees and herbs.

I would be careful with a proper designer, largely unregulated industry and likely super expensive.
You could probably design something really beautiful easily yourself..

The Society of Garden Designers does have exams and an in person assessment before people are granted membership - so is as professional as I think garden design gets. They have a website that lists members by the county they do work in.

The way we approached it was to look at designers websites, shortlisted five we liked and sent each of them a brief (a narrative and a couple of Pinterest boards of things we liked - plants / looks / etc.) Three of the five came round for a visit to discuss ideas and look at the site(s). Of those we liked two enough to pay them to draw designs. The one who was a member of SGD produced far more professional design output - much easier to envisage what you would get - and was eventually who we went with. The cost for him to draw up designs was not that much more expensive than the other designer - but the output was in a different league.