Garden Design & Landscaping in Birmingham

A straightforward rear garden of average size usually runs to two to four weeks on site. The first week is clearance, excavation and setting levels, which is the part that looks like destruction and worries people. Structures, walling and paving fill the middle. Turf, planting and lighting finish it. A garden with significant level changes, a large retaining structure or a garden room build will run longer, and heavy rain stops jointing and turfing rather than the whole job. We give you a stage by stage programme with the quote.

Often not, but it depends entirely on the size and where it goes. Under permitted development a garden building has to be single storey, with eaves no higher than 2.5 metres and an overall height under 4 metres for a dual pitched roof or 3 metres otherwise. Sited within two metres of a boundary the whole thing is limited to 2.5 metres overall. It must be behind the principal elevation, must not take total cover of the land around the original house past half, and must be incidental to the house rather than separate living accommodation. We check all of that before drawing one in.

Yes, and it is common. The important part is that the whole garden is designed first, even if only part of it is built this year. That way the levels, the drainage runs and any ducting for lighting or power are set once, and phase two does not involve digging up phase one. We normally suggest doing groundworks, retaining and buried services across the full plot in the first phase, then adding surfaces, structures and planting as budget allows. Phased pricing is set out per stage so you can see what each one costs.

We can, but be clear about what you are buying. A drawing without a contractor behind it tends to get value engineered on site by whoever is holding the tools, and the details that cost money, retaining depth, drainage, sub-bases, are the first to go. Our design work is priced on the basis that we build it, and the design fee is set against the build when you go ahead with us. If you want drawings only, say so at the first visit and we will price that separately.

Between two gardens, permitted development generally allows up to 2 metres measured from existing ground level. Alongside a highway used by vehicles, or its footway, the limit is 1 metre, which is what catches front boundaries. Two things trip people up. Raising the ground behind the fence counts against the height, so a new raised bed against a boundary fence can push it over. And ownership is separate from planning: you need the owner's agreement to fix anything to a fence that is not yours, which is worth checking on the deeds before we quote.

Usually, and often we should. A mature tree gives a new garden a maturity that no amount of planting buys for years. It does change the design though: the root protection area calculated under BS 5837 sets how close a foundation, a patio or a structure can come, and paving over roots kills trees slowly. If the tree carries a Tree Preservation Order, or the property is in a conservation area, work on it needs council consent or written notice first, so we identify that at survey rather than on the day the saw comes out.

Hard landscaping can be built almost year round. Excavation and groundworks are messier in a wet winter and heavy machinery does more damage to a soft lawn, but the work itself is not seasonal. Planting and turfing are: autumn and spring give new plants and turf the best chance to root before they are asked to survive a dry summer. In practice we often build the structure of a garden through winter and finish the soft landscaping in spring, which also spreads the cost.

Yes, and usually better than a taller fence, which is limited to 2 metres under permitted development anyway and rarely blocks a first floor window. What works is interrupting the sight line closer to where you sit: a pergola or gazebo overhead, a raised bed with multi stem trees at eye level, or trellis on top of a wall within the allowed height. Moving the seating area to a different corner is often the cheapest answer of all, which is the sort of thing a survey and a drawing surfaces early.

We supply and plant everything in the scheme, sourced from nurseries rather than whatever a shed has left on the rack. Plants are chosen for the aspect, the soil and how much time you want to spend on them. Beds are dug over and improved before anything goes in, because most planting failures are soil and drainage rather than the plant. New planting needs watering through its first summer, and we leave you a short note on what needs what. Talk to us if something struggles in the first season.

It is driven by groundworks more than by finishes. A flat garden that needs clearing, paving and turfing is at one end. A sloping plot needing excavation, spoil removal, retaining walls, steps and a structure is at the other, and the two can differ by a multiple rather than a percentage. Rather than quote a headline figure that ignores the levels, we visit, take measurements, and price a defined scheme stage by stage so you can see where the money goes. Call 07837 577358 or send photos and a rough size.