Planting Design Packages - What's Included?
When your garden lacks colour and interest or the planting has become tired and unmanageable, it may be time to assess the planting you have and opt for a redesign of your beds and borders. For areas over 50 square meters, we can create a full Planting Design Package. With 21+ years experience as a professional Plantswoman, plant Nursery Woman and Garden Designer, I have extensive plant and garden knowledge which I put to good use creating planting schemes for gardens whether that be an elegant courtyard or the rolling acres of a country house.
So what is included in a Planting Design Package?
Planting Plan
Firstly I will create a to-scale Planting Plan, showing the plant locations and quantities, with a helpful key indicating which plants are evergreen, deciduous and perennial. All of the plants are clearly labelled with their botanical name. Clients are provided with paper copies and a digital copy is available too.
Plant Mood Boards
I provide a series of Plant Mood Boards which show a picture of the plants included in the plan and those they will be planted nearby so the client is able to see the overall effect the planting will create in each area of the garden. The Plant Mood Boards are labelled with the plant names so they can be used as a reference guide in future.
Plant List and Estimate for Supply
From the planting plans I then develop the plant list, noting the plant name, quantities required, plant sizes and I provide an estimated cost for supplying the plants too. I source plants from top quality wholesale nurseries in the UK and Europe and will only use the best plants available.
An estimate for the supply of sundries such as compost, grit and tree stakes is also provided along with delivery costs from my suppliers.
Scope of Works
Most projects I am involved with will require more than simply planting up bare borders. There may be trees, shrubs, perennials and weeds which need removing, border edgings installing, turf repair, new borders creating etc. in which case I will provide a Scope of Works which details the work required prior to planting. The scope of works is provided to landscape gardeners I regularly work with in order to obtain a quote for the work.
Soil Improvement Specifications
To ensure that new planting establishes well and flourishes for years to come, it is vital to improve the soil. Whether the clients are looking to plant their own garden or call on me for the task, I will provide a Soil Improvement Specifications, which details the work required to the soil for clear, nourish, feed and prepare it ready for planting. In most cases, landscapers I work with will carry out the clearance and soil improvement and I will then move on to plant up the garden.
Bespoke Plant Encyclopedia and Maintenance Schedule
Something my clients really appreciate is the detailed bespoke Maintenance Schedules which I create for each project. The schedule contains pictures of each plant alongside the plant name, habit, features, ultimate size, what work will be required in the way of trimming, pruning, staking etc and when this should be carried out. The schedules are used by clients to ensure that the plants establish well and will flourish in the future. The schedules are also useful for professional gardeners who work within my clients gardens.
General Garden Care Guides
To be sure that each plant establishes well and has the best start in life i also included my general care guides which cover topics such as identifying and tackling weeds, watering - when and how much, mulching planting areas, deadheading, staking, and gardening task.
The Planting Design Package provides my clients with a comprehensive set of documents to transform their tired gardens into a gloriously colourful place to spend time. It can also be quite a hefty document! A paper copy is provided to the clients and digital copies are also easily available.
Following on from the presentation of the Planting Design Package, I will call upon landscape or professional gardeners I work with to take a look at the project, quote for the garden clearance, soil improvement etc. Once this work is completed I will source, supply and plant up the garden, bring in in help from experienced gardeners on the larger projects.
More information on the Planting Design Process can be found on my website and case studies of my projects are available in the Portfolio
