A garden studio built on a second career.

Most garden firms grow out of the building trade. Your Garden Project grew out of a change of life. Steve spent thirty years working in film and television — then, rather than tinker with gardens as a hobby, went back to study them properly: a full second degree in Horticulture at Writtle College in Chelmsford.

That training is the difference clients feel. A garden here is designed around the things that actually determine whether planting thrives — the soil, the aspect of each area, how a scheme will read as it matures across the seasons — rather than what happens to look good on the day the last plant goes in. It is, in the truest sense, a design-led studio.

So most projects start on paper. A two-hour garden consultation and written summary; a hand-drawn or CAD concept for the layout; a plant palette curated to your soil and brief. You can take any of these as a standalone piece of work — plenty of clients do — or as the first stage of a fuller project, where Steve goes on to build it: natural stone and porcelain paving, hardwood decking, structures and water features, retaining walls, irrigation and lighting, then the planting and lawns themselves.

And there is a whole side of the studio for people who want to do the gardening themselves. The IRIS health-check, the HEBE written report and VERBENA practical mentoring exist so Steve can guide, assess and teach rather than simply take over — with gift vouchers available for all of them.

The reviews tell the story from the client's side, and there is a striking consistency to them: every single one is five stars. “His knowledge is incredible,” wrote House Green; the garden “looks even better than it does in these photos.” Louise Wiley's planting palette “has worked perfectly.” Arti Kumar's small space was “totally transformed” with planting that “provide colour and interest all year round.”