It was a delight working with Ben and creating the garden at my cottage. He was so patient and thorough discussing the sort of garden I wanted; the shapes, the colours, the ambience. As soon as I saw the drawings I knew we were on the same page. It was exciting watching the structure fall into place and I could not believe how quickly and efficiently the planting was done. And by summer I had a lovely new garden to enjoy. Of course, my job was the maintenance and Ben was so helpful coming in to check on everything and helping to get things up to scratch. Now I am excited to find a new project for me and another garden for [Ben and Ali's practice].

When l moved into my newly built house [Ben and Ali] drew up a comprehensive garden plan for me with a patio, lawn and borders. They supervised the building work and planted out the borders. I have been extremely pleased with the result.

After nearly 10 years of letting out my lovely terrace house in Oxford, the garden was in need not just of some TLC but a complete re-shaping and redesign. It took me a long time to pluck up the courage to commission someone, because I knew that living 300 miles away I couldn’t be there to supervise the design and choice of plants, and I could not afford mistakes. I need not have worried: Ali consulted me at every stage, drew up plans, suggested plants and a planting scheme and even recommended contractors for building and clearing work, and met them on site. She took lots of photographs, sent drawings, discussed colour and shape, explained everything in detail - and was scrupulous about helping me stick to my limited budget. There were no nasty surprises at the end: everything was perfect. I cannot recommend [Ben and Ali's practice] highly enough. A truly personal service, tailored exactly to my needs.