A new garden, planned slowly

A young couple’s blank canvas, mapped out over four seasonal visits before the first plant went in.

Most new homeowners want their garden finished by the weekend. This couple were different. They had just bought a 1930s semi with a long, narrow, north-east-facing garden — mostly lawn, a few self-sown buddleias, and a collapsing fence — and they wanted to get it right rather than get it fast.

We proposed a consultation-only engagement: four visits across four seasons, each one resulting in a written report and a planting list. The idea was to observe the garden through a full year before committing to any permanent planting — to see where the sun falls in December as well as June, to find out which soil conditions dominate which corners, and to let the couple discover their own preferences by living in the space first.

By the fourth visit, we had a comprehensive planting plan, a phased installation timeline, and a client who understood their garden better than most homeowners ever do. The first planting went in the following autumn — exactly where it needed to be, with no guesswork and no expensive mistakes.