In short, the cost of a new garden is probably higher than you think!
There are several factors you should carefully consider when assessing the budget needed for your project…
Materials and labour cost
As a very rough guide, you might want to consider an overall budget starting at around 2 – 3% of the value of your property, depending on the size of the garden and its location.
I know it sounds like a lot, but doing some research on the prices of landscaping materials, garden plants and skilled labour will give you a very good idea of what costs are involved.
There is always of course some budget flexibility depending on the complexity of the design and the quality of materials required to fulfil its objectives.
Design fees
The garden design fees are calculated in a similar way to the fees charged by architects…
My work, in fact, is similar to that of an architect in many respects!
Instead of designing a building, however, I will be drawing up detailed plans for your garden.
Depending on the scale of the project, I will be charging a percentage fee or a set fee for my services for each of the design stages.
You will find the official fee guidance document prepared by the Society of Garden Designers here.
Timescale
Once you have a good idea of a rough budget needed to complete the project you might want to consider the timescale.
Sometimes, it might be more practical to divide the construction of your garden into phases.
This would spread the cost of creating a new garden over a period of time.
Investment value vs garden cost
Finally, it is useful to think of the cost of a garden in terms of an investment – similar to that of creating an extension to the house.
Just as additional rooms in your house raise its value, so does a beautiful, well designed garden.
Such a garden should also make your property more desirable should you wish to sell it in the future.
Hopefully, this is a helpful overview of costs involved in designing and creating a beautiful garden…
Please use the links below to explore my design process and benefits of employing a garden designer.
And please don’t hesitate to contact us, if you would you like to discuss your project!