Summer is here! Time to dust off the garden furniture, grab a good book and relax in your beautiful, well maintained garden. Not quite? OK, so it might be in need of a bit (or a lot) of TLC first…

Now the question is, what do you want from your garden? Not an easy question, particularly if it’s a bit of a blank canvass! Consider using a garden designer? “that’s too expensive!” I hear you say? However, they may not cost as much as you think. More importantly they can actually save you a lot of money in the long run by helping you spend your budget in the best way possible, and maximising the value of your home at the same time!

Set a budget you are comfortable with

Your garden designer can either work to a strict maximum budget or could offer you ideas according to different budget options. It is also common to work on a garden in stages as the garden matures. As long as you have a solid overall set of designs/plans to work towards, you could split the budget into smaller affordable amounts over a few years.

Estimate according to the value of your property

It is commonly accepted that an harmonious and thoughtful garden adds between 5 and 15% to the value to your property and even more after some years. The more matured your garden, the more value it will give to your home. Designing a new garden is then a worthwhile investment in monetary terms, in addition to the pleasure it brings. So setting a budget which is equal to or below 5 to 10% of the value of your home is then a sensible starting point

OR Estimate by square meter 

Designer’s fees not included.

You can also roughly estimate your budget by square meter. The general rule is very minimum of £100 per square meter for a landscaped garden. If you’d rather only focus on planting, the cost can drop to around £30 per square meter.

Other budget considerations

A lot of factors can influence your budget. The more landscaping work and structures (e.g. fences or fountains) involved, the more costs will creep up. It also depends on the overall quality, including the choice of the materials and workmanship/skill of the contractor. Also consider the condition of the site (a wet garden will cost on average 50% more) and its access (which might prevent builders using particular time saving machinery).

Garden Designer Cost

Rough estimate

So how much does a garden designer cost? Now that you have a rough idea of your budget range for the whole project, we can define an estimate of your designer’s fees in relation to this.

For small projects, up to £12,000, the cost of hiring a garden designer can represent around 20% of your budget whereas for medium projects (up to £60,000) it can be estimated for 15%. This will likely drop to 10% for larger projects. Remember: designers fees should be offset against the cost savings they can provide, and the additional value added to your home!

By the hour

Some garden designers charge by the hour. Their rates can vary between £60 to £200 depending on where you are in the country. The designer can undertake the design and drawing work, planning and surveys, planting and managing construction as required.

What’s the difference between a garden designer and a landscape designer?

You could define garden design as a specialisation of landscape design. The title is often inter-changeable, but landscape designers typically deal with larger scale projects and will also advice on the optimisation of the ground in relation to building work. Garden design focuses on creating and maintaining a smaller aesthetic area, specialising on the long term well being of plants. There is indeed an overlap between the two practices since most landscape designers will know about soft landscaping and vice versa.

I hope that was helpful. Any questions? Just ask!

by Anne,  Design for Me

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