Your questions answered
Everything you might want to ask.
Grouped by where you are in the decision — from early research through the build to the years after. If your question isn't here, just call and ask.
Before you get in touch
How does a project usually start?
Most start with a garden consultation — two hours on site with Steve, working through the design possibilities, materials, planting, maintenance and lawn advice, written up as a summary you keep. It's £240 + VAT (with a 50p-per-mile travel charge outside WD3). From there you might commission a concept drawing, a plant palette, or a full build — but plenty of people take the written summary and run with it themselves.
Will I actually deal with Steve?
Yes. Your Garden Project is Steve's studio — he runs the consultation, draws the concept, curates the plant palette and guides the planting. That's why clients name him personally in every one of our Google reviews. There's no sales layer between you and the person designing your garden.
What makes your approach different?
The training behind it. After thirty years in film and television, Steve took a full second degree in Horticulture at Writtle College in Chelmsford. So the design isn't just about how a garden looks on day one — it's grounded in how plants behave in your particular soil and aspect, and how a scheme will read as it matures over the seasons.
Do you offer something for people who want to garden themselves?
Yes — three named packages. IRIS is a one-hour verbal garden health-check (£80 + VAT). HEBE is a written two-hour garden assessment report (£220 + VAT). VERBENA is three or more hours of hands-on practical mentoring alongside Steve (£300 + VAT). Gift vouchers are available for all mentoring and consultation packages.
What areas do you cover?
We're based on Whitelands Avenue in Chorleywood and work across Little Chalfont, Chalfont St Peter, Chalfont Heights, Rickmansworth and Gerrards Cross, with named projects completed across the area. A 50p-per-mile travel charge applies to consultations outside WD3, and we're happy to travel further for the right design project.
Design, planting & the build
What do the concept drawing and plant palette include?
The concept drawing (£250 + VAT) is a hand-drawn or CAD design for the proposed layout — zones, levels, sightlines and how you move through the garden. The plant palette (£250 + VAT) is a curated plant selection document tailored to your soil, aspect and brief. You can take either as a standalone piece of work or as a stage in a fuller project.
What paving and surfaces do you install?
Natural Indian sandstone (from £16–£30+/m² + VAT) and porcelain (from £25–£60+/m² + VAT) for terraces, Yellow Balau hardwood decking, and resin-bond or traditional driveway resurfacing. We also build oak-sleeper and stone retaining walls for sloped gardens, and level, well-drained bases for sheds and outbuildings.
Where do the plants come from?
We source plants through wholesale trade nursery accounts, which means better stock at fairer prices — and every plant is quality-checked before it reaches your garden. For hedging, bare-root stock goes in over the dormant season (November to March) and rootball stock in spring (March to May), so each hedge is planted the right way at the right time.
Can you install lawns, and what mixes do you use?
Yes. We install fine-leaved Bents and Fescues mixes in both luxury and hard-wearing utility grades, with the earthworks and soil preparation a good lawn actually needs — levelling, cultivation and a properly prepared bed. We also build raised vegetable beds where drainage is poor or the soil is heavy.
How do you handle the electrical side of lighting and irrigation?
All electrical work — for garden lighting and automated irrigation controls — is carried out by a NICEIC-registered contractor. That means the connections are certified to the proper standard, so you get the design and the installation handled together without cutting corners on safety.
After the garden's in
How do you design for year-round interest?
Through successional planting — schemes designed so colour and interest carry through the seasons, one wave of planting handing over to the next, rather than a single big flush. Where it suits the garden we also establish wildflower meadow areas within a wider scheme, for a lighter-touch, pollinator-friendly counterpoint. As one client put it, the planting provides 'colour and interest all year round'.
Will the garden really keep improving?
That's the aim, and it's what clients tend to write about. Because the planting is chosen for how it matures rather than just how it looks on day one, gardens here tend to get better with time — 'seeing the garden in full colour this year is truly amazing,' as one review put it, 'it looks even better than it does in these photos.'
Can I get ongoing advice once the project's done?
Yes — the IRIS health-check and HEBE written report are there for exactly this. An hour walking the garden with you, or a written assessment you keep, so you know what your garden needs next. And VERBENA mentoring means Steve can garden alongside you, hands-on, if you'd rather learn to look after it yourself.
Do you do gift vouchers?
Yes. Gift vouchers are available for all of our mentoring and consultation packages — a consultation, a health-check, a written report or a mentoring session make a genuinely useful gift for a keen gardener.
Still wondering about something?
The quickest way to a straight answer is a quick call or a WhatsApp photo of the garden. No obligation, no pressure.