Deep borders of salvia, hardy geranium and yellow anthemis beside a gravel path

Planting Design

Planting-led design
that puts life first

The plants come first in every garden we design. Layout, materials and structures all exist to serve one thing: planting that brings your garden to life in every season.

Why planting-led?

Many garden designs start with hard landscaping and treat planting as decoration. We work the other way round. Our design emphasis is on planting and how soft landscaping can provide instant impact, because it's the plants that change with the seasons, feed the bees, catch the light and make a garden somewhere you actually want to be.

Every planting plan we produce is tailored to your soil, aspect and lifestyle. Sandy or clay, sun-baked or shady, plantsperson or too-busy-to-garden, the right plants in the right place will always outperform the wrong ones, however lovely the paving.

What a planting plan includes

A full site assessment covering soil, aspect, drainage and existing planting worth keeping
A layered scheme: structural shrubs and trees, perennials, grasses and bulbs
A plant-by-plant plan showing exactly what goes where, and in what quantity
Plant sourcing at fair prices, set out ready to plant, or planted for you
Aftercare notes so you know what to do (and what not to do) in year one

A hand-drawn and hand-coloured planting plan showing a lawn, paving circle, brick pool, pergola and annotated borders

Drawn by Hand

Every plan is drawn
and coloured by hand

No CAD, no clip art. Every plan is drawn and painted by hand, which means you get a picture of your garden rather than a technical diagram, and you can see what it will feel like before a single plant goes in.

They are working documents as well as lovely ones. Levels, materials, dimensions and every individual plant are marked up, so a landscaper can build straight from the drawing and you know exactly what you are getting.

The Year in Colour