What we do
From the first sketch to the last plant.
A design-led studio, so it starts on paper — consultations, concept drawings and plant palettes — then, if you want it built, paving, decking, structures, water features, retaining walls, irrigation, planting, hedging and lawns. And for keen gardeners, IRIS, HEBE and VERBENA: health-checks, reports and hands-on mentoring. All electrical work is carried out by a NICEIC-registered contractor.
01Service
Garden consultation & written summary
Every project can start here. Steve spends two hours in your garden working through the design possibilities, the materials that would suit it, the planting, the maintenance it will need and the state of your lawn — then writes it all up as a summary you keep. It's a properly considered brief rather than a sales visit: plenty of clients use it to guide their own work. The consultation is £240 + VAT, with a 50p-per-mile travel charge for gardens outside WD3.
02Service
Concept drawing
Once we know what the garden wants to be, Steve draws it. A concept for the layout — the zones, the levels, the lines of sight and how you'll move through the space — produced by hand or in CAD depending on the scheme. It gives you something real to react to and refine before any ground is broken, and becomes the reference the build works from. Priced at £250 + VAT.
03Service
Plant palette
This is where the horticulture training earns its keep. Rather than a generic list, you get a plant palette curated specifically to your soil type, the aspect of each area and what you've asked the garden to do — colour, structure, screening, low maintenance. It reads as a document you can hold a nursery to, and it's designed so the planting works together and matures well. Priced at £250 + VAT.
04Service
IRIS · HEBE · VERBENA — health-checks, reports & mentoring
Three named packages for gardeners who want guidance rather than a full build. IRIS is a one-hour verbal garden health-check (£80 + VAT). HEBE is a written, two-hour garden assessment report you keep (£220 + VAT). VERBENA is practical mentoring — three or more hours of hands-on gardening alongside Steve, learning as you go (£300 + VAT). Gift vouchers are available for all mentoring and consultation packages.
05Service
Paving — natural stone & porcelain
Paving frames a garden, and it's where cutting corners shows first. We lay natural Indian sandstone (from £16–£30+/m² + VAT) and porcelain (from £25–£60+/m² + VAT), bedded properly and set to falls so water runs off rather than pooling. The stone you choose and the groundwork the base needs are what drive the cost — we set both out clearly before we start.
06Service
Hardwood decking
For a softer, warmer surface than stone, we install Yellow Balau — also known as Bangkirai — a dense tropical hardwood that stands up to the British weather and ages to a handsome silver-grey if left, or holds its honey tone if oiled. Built on a sound sub-frame with the joints and fixings detailed to last, decking makes a natural transition from house to garden.
07Service
Garden structures
The right structure turns an awkward corner into somewhere you actually use. We design and build raised beds, pergolas, balustrades and railings, bespoke steps, window boxes and arbours — made to suit the garden rather than pulled off a shelf, and built square and weathertight so they earn their place for years.
08Service
Water features
A well-placed water feature changes the whole feel of a space — the sound of moving water, light on the surface, a focal point that draws the eye. We design and install features to suit the garden, from still reflective pools to waterfall features, with the pumps, liners and levels detailed properly so they run reliably and look right.
09Service
Retaining walls
Sloping plots need structure before they need planting. We build oak sleeper and natural stone retaining walls on proper foundations to hold ground, manage levels and turn an awkward gradient into a series of usable terraces. Done well, retaining walls become a feature in their own right rather than just an engineering necessity.
10Service
Fencing
A good boundary does quiet, important work — privacy, shelter from the wind and a clean frame for the planting in front of it. We install treated timber boundary panels set on posts that hold true, giving the garden a tidy, durable edge that the borders can be built up against.
11Service
Shed & hut bases
An outbuilding is only as sound as the base under it. We install level, well-drained foundation bases for sheds, garden huts and other structures, so the building sits true, stays dry underneath and doesn't rack or rot over the years. It's unglamorous groundwork that saves a lot of trouble later.
12Service
Irrigation & lighting design
Good planting deserves reliable watering, and good lighting extends the garden into the evening. We design and install automated irrigation systems that take the daily watering off your hands, and garden lighting that picks out structure and planting after dark. All electrical work is carried out by a NICEIC-registered contractor, so the connections are certified and safe.
13Service
Driveway resurfacing
The driveway is the first thing anyone sees, and it takes a beating from weather and traffic. We resurface in resin-bond for a smooth, permeable, low-maintenance finish, or in traditional surfacing where that suits the property better — laid on a base prepared to carry weight and drain properly.
14Service
Plant selection & supply
The quality of a planting scheme starts at the nursery. We source plants through wholesale trade nursery accounts, which means better stock at fairer prices — and every plant is quality-checked before delivery, so nothing goes in the ground that isn't up to standard. It's a small step that makes a lasting difference to how a garden establishes.
15Service
Planting design & installation
Planting is where a design finally comes to life. We set out and plant borders, beds and feature areas to the palette agreed for your soil and aspect, getting each plant in properly so it roots and establishes. Because the person who chose the plants is guiding how they go in, the finished planting reads the way it was drawn.
16Service
Hedging
A hedge is living structure: screening, shelter and a green backdrop for everything in front of it. We plant evergreen and deciduous hedging — species including Photinia and Portuguese laurel — matched to what the boundary needs. 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.
17Service
Lawn installation
A good lawn is built from the ground up. We install fine-leaved Bents and Fescues mixes, in both luxury and hard-wearing utility grades, with the earthworks and soil preparation that a lawn actually needs to thrive — levelling, cultivation and a properly prepared seed or turf bed. The result is grass that establishes evenly and keeps its quality, rather than turf laid onto neglected ground.
18Service
Raised vegetable beds
Where the ground is heavy clay or drains badly, raised beds are the practical answer — you build good growing conditions above the problem rather than fighting it. We construct and fill raised vegetable bed systems sized and sited for easy working, giving you productive, well-drained growing space even on the most awkward soils.
19Service
Successional & wildflower planting
A garden should give you something at every point in the year, not just one big flush. We design successional planting schemes so colour and interest carry through the seasons, one wave of planting handing over to the next. And where it suits the garden, we establish wildflower meadow areas within a wider scheme — a lighter-touch, pollinator-friendly counterpoint to the more formal planting.
Materials & finishes
Chosen to last, not just to look good on day one.
Good landscaping is as much about the base you don't see as the surface you do. Here is what we tend to reach for, and why.
Natural Indian sandstone
Riven and sawn Indian sandstone for terraces, paths and step treads (from £16–£30+/m² + VAT) — a warm, natural finish bedded and laid to falls so water runs off rather than pooling.
Porcelain paving
Hard-wearing, low-maintenance porcelain (from £25–£60+/m² + VAT) for a crisper, contemporary look — near-zero staining and colour-stable through the seasons.
Yellow Balau hardwood decking
Dense tropical Yellow Balau (Bangkirai) hardwood, built on a sound sub-frame — a warm timber terrace that weathers to silver-grey if left, or holds its honey tone if oiled.
Oak sleeper & stone retaining walls
Oak sleeper and natural stone retaining walls built on proper foundations to hold ground on sloping plots — structure that turns an awkward gradient into usable terraces.
How it works
Concept, planting, mentoring — one studio.
01
Consultation & concept
It starts with a two-hour consultation on site — a written summary covering design, materials, planting, maintenance and lawn advice. From there Steve draws up a concept for the layout, by hand or in CAD, and a plant palette curated to your soil, aspect and brief. You can take any of these as a standalone piece of work, or as the first stage of a full project.
02
Planting & landscaping
When a design is ready to build, the studio takes it on: natural stone and porcelain paving, hardwood decking, pergolas and bespoke structures, retaining walls, water features, fencing, irrigation and lighting, then the planting and lawns themselves. Plants are sourced through wholesale trade nursery accounts and quality-checked before they reach your garden.
03
Mentoring & aftercare
Not everyone wants the whole thing done for them. Through our IRIS, HEBE and VERBENA packages, Steve offers verbal health-checks, written garden reports and hands-on practical mentoring — three or more hours of gardening alongside you. Gift vouchers are available for all mentoring and consultation packages.
Before you call
Questions we're asked most.
How does a project usually start?
Most start with a two-hour garden consultation with Steve — design, materials, planting, maintenance and lawn advice, written up as a summary you keep (£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.
Will I actually deal with Steve?
Yes. Your Garden Project is Steve's studio — he runs the consultation, draws the concept and guides the planting. That's why clients name him personally in every one of our Google reviews.
What makes your approach different?
After thirty years in film and television, Steve took a full second degree in Horticulture at Writtle College. So the design is grounded in how plants behave in your soil and aspect, and how a scheme matures over the seasons — not just how it looks on day one.
Do you offer something for people who want to garden themselves?
Yes — IRIS (a one-hour verbal health-check, £80 + VAT), HEBE (a written two-hour garden report, £220 + VAT) and VERBENA (three-plus hours of hands-on mentoring, £300 + VAT). Gift vouchers are available for all of them.
What paving and surfaces do you install?
Natural Indian sandstone and porcelain terraces, Yellow Balau hardwood decking, resin-bond and traditional driveways, and oak-sleeper and stone retaining walls for sloped gardens.
How do you handle electrical work?
All electrical work — for garden lighting and automated irrigation controls — is carried out by a NICEIC-registered contractor, so the connections are certified to the proper standard.
Not sure where to start?
A two-hour consultation is the usual first step — Steve walks the garden with you and writes up a clear plan you can act on, with or without us.