A well-designed garden is much more than a lively entertaining hub, a play zone for children or a productive patch of nature. But to get there, you need more than just a few plants and a patio.
You need vision, planning and the right team behind you, whether you’re giving a tired space a new lease of life or landscaping alongside a self-build, renovation or extension.
In this guide, experienced garden designer, Lucy Willcox, walks you through how to approach garden design like a pro, taking you from dream to delivery.
Where to start
Before you draw up plans or plant a single seedling, take time to imagine how the garden could serve your life. This is your moment to ‘dream big’ with your garden landscaping ideas – without worrying (yet) about budgets or logistics. Ask yourself:
- Who is the space for? Just you? A young family? Guests?
- What do you want to do in it? Dine, relax, grow vegetables, host parties, work outdoors?
- What features inspire you? Firepits, water features, pergolas, outdoor kitchens?
Create a wishlist based on your lifestyle and preferences. This forms the foundation of a good design brief, just like you would create for an extension or self-build project. A strong brief keeps your project grounded and purposeful, guiding all future decisions.
Your wishlist may include some, or all, of the following:
- Desired zones (dining area, quiet nook, kids’ space)
- Key features (pergola, pond, greenhouse, fire pit)
- Maintenance preferences (low maintenance versus high curation)
- Sustainability goals (water harvesting, native plants, pollinator zones)
Style and inspiration are also very important during the planning stages. Be aware of your personal taste and how it aligns with your property. Is your home modern, traditional, Scandi, rustic or something else?
A minimalist garden pairs well with contemporary architecture, while a wilder, naturalistic planting scheme can soften sharp lines or mirror countryside surroundings. A sleek, modern garden may clash with a period property, while a rustic cottage garden might feel out of place beside minimalist interiors.
The ultimate goal is a seamless transition from inside to out, visually, functionally and emotionally.
Start gathering inspiration for your outdoor space from a variety of places. Pinterest boards, garden shows such as RHS Chelsea, local open gardens, or even historic estates are all excellent sources of ideas. Use these to create a moodboard to explore textures, colours, shapes and atmospheres that you’d like to replicate in your own space.
Understanding the site
Before sketching layout ideas, it’s crucial to understand the land you’re working with. This foundational knowledge will directly influence everything from your plant design and layout to the overall budget.
For example, steep sloped gardens might require terracing or retaining walls, which will increase costs. A site survey will help to determine the following:
- Topography and levels
- Existing features (trees, buildings, paths)
- Boundaries and access points
- Soil quality and pH
- Drainage patterns
- Sunlight/shade at different times of the day
- Micro-climates (warm, sheltered spots or wind tunnels)
You can do a basic DIY version using graph paper or apps, but a professional survey offers detail and accuracy, especially for sloping or awkward plots. This data informs your layout, planting and materials, and helps anticipate potential challenges, saving time and money in the long run.
Choosing a garden design team
The success of your garden transformation often depends on the team you bring on board. There are a number of options, depending on the size and scope of your project and budget. If your budget allows, a good designer will not only bring creative solutions but also understand planning regulations and how to build a garden that matures gracefully over time.
In terms of garden professionals, you have the following options:
- Garden designer: Offers creative layouts, planting plans and visual cohesion. Great for aesthetic and functional design
- Landscape architect: Suited to larger or complex projects involving topography, structures or planning permission
- Design and build company: Provides a one-stop-shop approach, from concept to construction. Useful for those wanting a turnkey solution
Your designer should help you develop your brief and may also recommend a landscaper or contractor. Be sure to establish who will project manage the build as some designers do this themselves, while others collaborate with independent firms. Remember to make your final choice based on the needs of your site and the complexity of your ideas, and always keep in mind your garden design costs.
I would always recommend checking out the work of potential contractors, their references, and whether they are registered with a professional body such as the Association of Professional Landscapers, BALI or Society of Garden and Landscape Designers.
Establishing a timeline
One of the biggest mistakes people make is leaving garden planning until the house build is finished. Gardens are often an afterthought, but they shouldn’t be. If you’re renovating or self building, make sure to involve your garden team early in the process – ideally during architectural planning.
They can coordinate outdoor elements (lighting, doors, drainage) with your architect. Utility lines for electricity, gas and water can be laid more efficiently when part of the overall project, plus garden design can sometimes need planning permission, so don’t let this delay your build.
Involving your garden team early in the architectural design process is a game-changer. If already engaged, collaborating with your architect ensures continuity between your interior and exterior spaces. For example, they can help align patio doors with outdoor sightlines or focal points as well as match floor levels inside and out to create a seamless flow.
If left too late, you may face logistical issues with hard landscaping, to add lighting or even having to retrofit drainage. Early collaboration avoids these issues and can help you phase the project more efficiently, doing the groundwork during the house build and focusing on planting and finishing later once the main house build is complete.
Using zones in your garden design
Instead of thinking of your garden as a single space, it’s a good idea to think of it in zones, with each one tailored to a different function. The number of zones you opt for will depend on your needs and the space you have available, but some common ones you should consider including are:
- Entertaining area for dining, barbecues and evening gatherings
- A quiet zone, such as a hammock under a tree, a garden bench for reading or a perfect morning coffee spot
- Play area for children or pets, with soft surfaces or lawn
- Productive zone with raised beds, a greenhouse, composting
- Work zone with space for a garden room or outdoor office
I always design for movement and flow, and I believe your garden should encourage wandering, discovery and comfort and not feel like a disjointed series of islands. Think about how people move through the space and use a variety of methods to define the different areas without closing things off completely.
Screens, hedges or planting are effective garden screening ideas to shield areas from view, while stepping stones, pathways or pergolas can define one zone from the next. It’s also important to consider the functionality of your zones; for example, kitchens are best placed near dining areas, while a composting zone makes sense being next to a vegetable patch.
Practical infrastructure requirements
In today’s multifunctional gardens, power and plumbing are no longer optional. If you’re including an outdoor kitchen, will you need gas or electric connections for grills and ovens and a water supply for an outdoor sink or bar?
For water features, running water or filtration systems will need a supply and a waste plan, while irrigation systems will save a lot of time and keep plants healthy, especially in dry spells.
For lighting and heating, you’ll need to plan cabling routes in advance, and garden offices or outdoor sound systems may need connecting to your Wi-Fi so you’ll need to look at how you can extend it from the house.
Including these essentials early on in the design process helps avoid costly rework and ensures your garden lives up to its potential.
Choosing the right materials
Materials shape the personality of your garden and they also impact its longevity and how much maintenance it will need. I advise creating a palette of hard landscaping materials for everything from your paving and decking to walls and fences early in the design process to ensure harmony across all zones.
When considering what materials to use, think about how they match with your home and whether or not they will clash with neighbouring materials. For a cohesive look, it works well to complement materials you’ve used inside your home, for example porcelain tiles inside and natural stone outside.
Mixing different materials such as stone, wood and gravel can also help to introduce texture and interest throughout your space, but try to use consistent tones across different surfaces for visual harmony. By blending textures, such as rough stone with smooth decking, or matt planters with soft planting, you can add further interest.
Long-term durability and ongoing maintenance should form part of your decision-making process, too. Choose weather-resistant, frost-proof options and think about how hands-on you want to be to keep your chosen materials looking good.
If you’re not keen on yearly staining or treatments, maybe skip that untreated timber deck and opt for porcelain tiles instead. Finally, it’s important to think about where you source your materials from. Local options reduce environmental impact and often cost less.
"A pared-down selection of hardscaping materials is key if you’re landscaping on a budget, says Sarah Wilson, garden writer. "Stick to the formula of using just one or two carefully chosen hardscaping materials, maybe softening the look here and there with pockets of grass. Composite decking may seem more expensive than timber but it’s a better investment due to its greater durability and longevity, plus it needs less maintenance," she adds.
Creating a planting plan
Planting should be more than a finishing touch, it’s the soul of the garden. A thoughtful planting plan brings seasonal interest, texture, scent and even sound to your garden space.
Consider the following to create a varied and visually enticing scheme:
- Structure – Use shrubs and evergreens to create year-round ‘bones’
- Seasonality – Choose flowers that bloom at different times for continuous interest
- Scent – Add lavender, jasmine or roses near seating areas
- Pollinators – Include wildlife-friendly plants to support biodiversity
- Texture – Include a mixture of foliage shapes – spiky, round, airy, bold – for contrast
- Layering – Combine tall perennials at the back of borders, medium in the middle and ground cover in front to maximise visual impact
- Biodiversity – Wildflower strips, bee-friendly herbs and trees such as hawthorn or crab apple can all encourage birds, pollinating insects and other wildlife into your garden
If you’re not confident, work with a garden designer or a horticulturist who will be able to create a planting plan tailored to your garden’s soil type, light and climate. There are also some great off-the-shelf planting plans you can buy online, too. I have one on my own site, or Crocus also has some great schemes to choose from.
And, if you're upgrading your current garden, don't just assume you need to start from scratch, says landscape designer, Paul Hervey-Brookes.
"Existing gardens usually come with at least a few mature plants. If you have engaged a designer they will be able to tell you which of these are in good health and work to incorporate them into the new design," he notes. "But, if you are designing your own garden, resist the temptation to remove everything right away. Give the plants at least one growing season to see if they have good blossom, berries in the autumn or other desirable features."
Don't underestimate the importance of lighting
Lighting is often overlooked, but it helps to transform your garden from day to night, making your space magical after dark. Key garden lighting zones include paths and steps for safety as well as dining and seating areas for functionality.
As designers, we are now avoiding uplighting trees or sculptures as it's one of the key garden lighting mistakes that can disrupt the natural nocturnal rhythms of wildlife, so instead consider more of a mood lighting approach that covers three key areas:
- Functional downlights along garden paths, step lights and guide lighting for driveways
- Feature lighting such as downlighting for trees, backlighting sculptures and accent lighting for water features
- Ambient string lights, lanterns or bollard lights in seating areas
I find smart lighting systems are great as they allow for timers, dimmers and app-controlled zones so you can create moods at the tap of a button. Low-voltage LED lighting is now standard as it’s energy efficient, long-lasting and available in a variety of colours and intensities. Always work with an electrician to use waterproof fittings and ensure the correct safety standards. Don’t forget, you’ll also need power points.
Shop for garden lighting
Drape these festoon lights across outdoor dining spaces to create atmosphere at night
Line paths or driveways with these low voltage bollard lights
Dot these on patio or seating areas for flexible lighting
Budgeting for garden design costs
When it comes to cost, bear in mind that landscaping your garden can be a major investment – and one that many homeowners often underestimate. The final cost can vary greatly depending on site access, the size of your garden, materials used, planting and labour.
Don’t fall for the trap of the prices quoted on some TV garden makeover shows because they can give very unrealistic estimations for design and build costs. Guide rates differ across the country and will vary from project to project but as a general guide these are the prices we tend to work to: Soft landscaping from £120 to £170/sqm, and hard landscaping from £250 to £450/sqm.
Garden designer fees may be charged separately, and can start from £4,000+ depending on complexity, and most landscaping companies require staged payments.
In one of his recent Instagram posts, garden designer Andy Stedman offered these starting costs when working with a landscaping company:
- Small (50-100sq m): £35,000 to £60,000
- Medium (100-250sq m): £60,000 to £130,000
- Large (250-500sq m): £130,000 to £200,000+
- Extra large (500+sq m): £200,000+, but varies with scale and complexity
No matter the size of your project, however, I would always suggest you include a 10-15% contingency in your budget for unexpected costs such as hidden drainage issues or material shortages.
FAQs
Can I design my own garden?
While you can create your own scheme, you'll need to think about who implements it. If you prefer to engage a contractor directly to implement your own design, then you’ll need to be well prepared with a clear layout drawn to scale and a good idea of the volume of materials needed.
Remember that a landscaper on the other hand will implement your design, but they won’t generally offer a design. If asked to give advice, bear in mind they may offer the most direct or easy build option, as they normally have a lot of projects lined up to be completed in a tight timeframe.
Will my garden design need planning permission?
Implementing a new garden scheme largely doesn't require planning permission, however, there are some elements that are potentially subject to planning consent.
This includes increasing boundary heights, whether that's fences or walls, adding retaining walls to create terraces in certain circumstances, installing decking platforms over 30cm from the ground and garden buildings over certain sizes.
Before cutting any large trees be sure to check there are no relevant tree protection orders (TPOs), as you will be fined for carrying out any work to trees with TPOs without the approval of a tree officer from your local council.
A word of caution: if you are submitting a largescale planning application, don’t be tempted to use the architect of the building to design the proposed layout of the garden – that takes a completely different skill set.
Also avoid submitting too much detail regarding the landscape in early submissions of this type. Exterior details can be limited to simple drives, terraces and structures such as garages or garden offices.
What do I need to consider if I want a water feature?
Including water in your garden isn't something to overlook. Not only does water provide habitat and a drinking supply for local wildlife, making your garden more eco-friendly, it's also an important part of your garden's soundscape.
Including bubbling or splashing water features or waterfalls creates a pleasant, tranquil sound that blocks out periphery noise from neighbours and road traffic. Be sure to specify a quiet pump, and ensure that the water feature is designed with the resulting sound in mind. A high drop may make for an impressive look, but it could be too loud when trying to use your outdoor space.
Water features are good to plan in early in the design process, as you'll likely need to run an electricity source to power them. Under Building Regulations, water pumps should be fitted with a residual current device (RCD) which will automatically cut off if a fault is detected. There are other regulations that apply to electrical sources in gardens, which we'll cover in more detail.
As well as small water features, you can introduce water into your garden through ponds and pools. To keep a large body of water safe for animals, always ensure you design in a route in and out for them to use, such as a small platform of rocks.
What can I use to create garden boundaries?
Once you’ve settled on a design route, it’s important to consider the following key components when designing your new garden, such as establishing boundaries.
Suitable boundaries for urban environments include brick, stone and rendered block. Supplementing these with carefully planted trees can obscure low level surrounding buildings and other unattractive views, while creating natural frames to capture interesting architectural details outside of the garden.
This strategic use of a garden’s surroundings can make them feel like a part of your own space and lend a sense of size and freedom.
For gardens outside town centres, native mixed hedging is always a good choice. It reduces both wind and noise, offers a habitat for small birds and will provide a good mixture of flowers, fruit and autumn colour. It’s also an economical option starting from as little at £1 per plant.
Designing your dream garden is a journey and it is one that deserves just as much care and attention as when you’re building your home. With a strong brief, a great team and a flexible plan, your outdoor space can become a true extension of your lifestyle.
By investing time up front to clarify your needs, assess your site, and coordinate with your home renovation, you’ll create a garden that doesn’t just look beautiful but feels like home. So go ahead, dream big, plan smart and let your garden become your new favourite room.
For extra design inspiration, find out the garden trends that are currently inspiring homeowners and if costs are a concern, these budget small garden ideas are perfect for creating impact for less.
