Garden Design and Landscaping advice for Self-build projects

Garden Design and Landscaping advice for Self-build projects

Use a professional for advice

Whilst you may be using smaller subcontractors or even attempting the build yourself it does pay dividends to see the assistance of a professional Garden Designer. You may find someone suitable in the Association of Professional Landscapers.

Get your garden designed before you start the Landscaping

This can save a fortune and reduce the impact of tradespeople working for prolong periods of time. Knowing where everything is going to be will aid the main contractor and prevent the same part of the project from being done twice to achieve the same aim.

Terracing, decking, correct soil, drainage, planting, lawns, irrigation, lighting and garden features are essential to making your project look beautiful… you can build it yourself but only if it’s been professionally designed.

Plan your garden well in advance

It is essential to rationalise all heavy plant machinery at the same time as your build, this means you can excavate the garden into the right shape and elevation at the same time as the main excavation of the house. It is essential that your site Engineer marks out, builders often work to different tolerances compared to Landscapers. Getting this wrong is always costly.

Reuse the spoil for landscaping

When you excavate your foundations, you may find it doesn’t have to be disposed of off-site. If you are having changes in elevation to satisfy the garden design then you may do just as well to use this spoil instead of paying to remove it and then buying a new product to infill.

Choosing the right materials

Your Garden Designer will be able to advise on what may work best, usually, if they have the interior design scheme they may be able to assist in the overall specification whereby you can achieve the inside/outside look. It is a massive value add when having the same threshold from inside to outside and something that HAS to be planned well in advance as the main build will have to be constructed differently to accommodate this feature.

What about drainage

Water plays an important role in all gardens. You may want a centrally drained point into an underground water storage to be pumped back into the planting areas via an irrigation system. You may just decide on a simple soak away, there are regulations for soakaways so do take the right advice.

Consider decking for awkward elevation changes

These days there are many products to compensate terraces over difficult terrain, aluminium or steel frames wrapped in porcelain… or you could simply stay with decking… careful, any elevation additions over 300mm needs planning permission.

Dining in your garden

If you have a favourite spot to dine in the garden, you could consider creating a covered area for all year use. This area is best in a simple oak or pine frame with a green roof. Then of course Fit patio heaters and you have an all year round space to use in your garden.

Use mature plants to create an established look

Plants grow so don’t buy the big ones, could be a consideration but your garden designer will offer solutions to get the large structural plants in during the excavation stage if possible and then you can add the smaller planting later… don’t forget your irrigation.

Subtle lighting that works inside and out

Lighting should be considered at the same time as the interior, having already provisioned switches to control the exterior whilst building the main project will make for a simpler system outside. Colours and types of lighting can be considered but I would recommend the power supply and lighting control be more important at the planning stage. You can then add whatever lights you want later… warm white works best in your garden.

Don’t be your own garden designer

I design gardens so I don’t diagnose medical illnesses or repair cars very well… leave the garden design to the professionals, it’s what they do for a living and can offer some brilliant ideas that you never thought existed.

Garden storage

Often forgotten and usually, an afterthought… under the deck or a custom-made storage item can add to the usability of the garden… it doesn’t have to be a boring… It should be part of the garden design.