From urban gardens and terraces, to country estates and farms, every project is a new challenge; multilayered, complex and consuming, and each new commission initiates a new process of looking and learning, but each one begins with the same initial steps.
During our first meeting we will establish basic information about the site, the scope of the project and explain our approach. If we are the right team to help you achieve your aspirations, we’ll make our first visit to the site. We will walk the property and listen closely to your ideas, inspiration and ambitions. Our conversations will help us develop a sense of the property’s meaning to you.
It’s architecture, history, layout, geography, aspect, proposed uses and maintenance regime all form part of our analysis. Site and context inform every decision we make.
We encourage our clients to participate fully in the design process to ensure the most meaningful and resonant outcome. We try to immerse ourselves in an understanding of our client’s daily lives, working alongside them to understand how they want to live in, and use the property. When they typically vacation for instance, so that plants are chosen for the timing of their flower blooms, which coordinate with when the client are home.
Once a fee for the Schematic Design stage is agreed, and we have a survey for the property we carry out an initial Site Analysis study. We will make two presentations within the Schematic Design stage, refining the design after the first presentation to take into account any comments, and if you have new ideas or additions to the brief, they will be accommodated in the second presentation.
Once the Schematic Design is agreed and finalized and we have an approved masterplan, we will know what details to develop in the Design Development stage and finally produce within the package of Construction Documents to allow your landscape to be built. These documents will be used to invite contractors to bid on your project.
During construction we attend site at agreed intervals to inspect and advise on progress, and during planting to layout all plants on site prior to planting. After completion we encourage regular follow-up visits to ensure your garden is settling in as intended, and to advise on its development.