client experience
“This is the second garden Ian has designed for us. His professionalism is second to none. His design ideas and planting schemes are carefully thought out, taking the clients’ wishes and budget into consideration. We would not hesitate to recommend to anyone wishing to transform their outside space into something special.”
The couple later sold this home and shared that the garden played a key role in attracting buyers and helping the property sell within weeks. I have since been asked to design the garden for their new home.
This was a garden that could easily have been overlooked; a sloping, shaded space with little to offer on first glance. But through subtle shaping, layered planting and a confident layout, it became one of the key selling points of the home, and a space the clients loved enough to recreate again.
Prefer to take your time?
If you’re not quite ready to reach out, but want to stay in the loop, I send occasional insights, insights from the design process, and a look at what’s growing in gardens and on the drawing board, that might just help you move forward.
No spam, no filler, just thoughtful updates when there’s something worth sharing.
project portfolio
A thoughtful layout brings ease and informality to
a new-build plot
This project was part of a new development in Ordsall. The house itself had potential, but the garden had been left as a blank, sloping patch of soil with a few mature trees and a basic patio. Like many new-build gardens, it needed direction.
The brief was to create something informal and inviting, a space for entertaining, growing, and relaxing, with clear zones but no rigid edges. The design needed to make use of the slope, retain the existing trees, and feel settled and flowing from day one.
BEFORE...
what we did...
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Used interlocking circular terraces to create a large sun-catching entertaining space
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Reshaped the slope with sleeper walls to create interest and structure without formality
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Designed a stepped path that led from the house through a herb garden down to a summer house
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Used shade-tolerant planting to complement the existing trees
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Created soft, informal pathways to lead visitors through the space naturally
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Designed a bespoke shed that blended seamlessly into the garden , functional, but discreet
