What Information Does a Garden Designer Need?

The more useful information you can provide at the beginning of a garden project, the easier it is for the designer to understand:

• The property

• The garden

• Your priorities

• Your budget

• The practical constraints.

You do not need to arrive at the first meeting with a complete technical file.

A professional garden designer can help identify what information is genuinely needed.

However, gathering the right material early can make the design process:

• Faster

• Clearer

• More accurate

• Better aligned with your expectations.

At Kirman Design, the initial aim is not to ask clients to solve the garden themselves.

It is to understand enough about:

the house + the site + the people + the project

to develop an appropriate design.

Kirman Design provides garden design and landscape construction across North West England, including Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and the Ribble Valley.

What Should I Give a Garden Designer Before the First Meeting?

If available, useful information can include:

• Property address

• House plans

• Extension drawings

• Site plans

• Garden measurements

• Existing survey information

• Photographs

• Information about drainage

• Details of protected trees

• Planning information

• Your priorities

• Approximate budget

• Inspiration images

• Details of any important deadlines.

Do not worry if you do not have all of these.

The designer should establish what is necessary for your particular project.

Start With the Property Address

The property address allows the designer to understand the basic context of the project.

Depending on the situation, it can help identify:

• Property type

• Surrounding development

• Orientation

• General neighbourhood character.

For rural or unusual properties, additional site information may be particularly useful.

House Plans

If you have architectural drawings of the house, these can be very valuable.

They may show:

• Building dimensions

• Door positions

• Window positions

• Floor levels

• Extensions

• External walls.

These are especially useful where the garden design needs to respond closely to the architecture.

Our Garden Design for Period Properties page explores how the relationship between house and garden can influence the design.

Extension Drawings

If you are extending or renovating the house, provide the garden designer with the architectural drawings as early as possible.

These may show:

• New bifold doors

• Sliding doors

• Raised floor levels

• New walls

• Changes to drainage

• Access routes.

Our Garden Design After House Extension page explores how building work can fundamentally change the relationship between house and landscape.

Plans for a New Extension

If the extension has not yet been built, the designer may still be able to begin planning the garden.

Our Garden Design for New Extensions page explores why bringing the garden designer into the process early can be valuable.

Bifold and Sliding Door Information

Large glazed openings often become one of the main visual connections between the house and garden.

If your project includes new doors, provide:

• Width

• Position

• Opening configuration

• Finished floor level.

Our Garden Design Around Bifold Doors and Garden Design Around Sliding Doors pages explore how the garden can respond to these openings.

Finished Floor Levels

Floor levels can be extremely important.

They affect:

• Patio levels

• Steps

• Level access

• Drainage

• Relationship between house and garden.

If you have accurate finished floor-level information, provide it.

Our Garden Levels After an Extension page explores why this issue can become particularly important after building work.

Do I Need Exact Garden Measurements?

For an initial conversation, not necessarily.

For detailed design, accurate measurements are usually important.

These may include:

• Garden width

• Garden length

• Boundary positions

• Existing structures

• Tree positions.

A proper site survey may be recommended where the project is substantial or technically complicated.

Existing Site Survey

If you already have a professional survey, provide it.

It may save time and avoid duplication.

Useful survey information can include:

• Boundaries

• Buildings

• Levels

• Trees

• Structures

• Services.

The more construction involved, the more useful accurate site information becomes.

Do I Need Levels?

For a flat and simple garden, basic level information may be enough.

For a sloping or complicated garden, levels can be fundamental.

They help the designer understand:

• Where terraces could sit

• Where steps are required

• How much retaining is needed

• How water will move.

Our Sloping Gardens page explores why a sloping site has to be considered in three dimensions.

Steep Gardens

If the garden has significant gradients, tell the designer at the earliest stage.

Our Landscaping a Steep Garden page explores how:

• Terracing

• Retaining walls

• Steps

• Planting

can be used to manage difficult levels.

Photographs of the Garden

Photographs can be useful before the first meeting.

Try to include:

• Views from the house

• Views back towards the house

• Boundaries

• Existing trees

• Problem areas

• Important features.

Photographs do not replace a site visit, but they can help the designer understand the project beforehand.

Photographs From Different Seasons

If you have them, older photographs can be surprisingly valuable.

They can show:

• Where the sun falls in summer

• How existing trees develop

• Areas that become waterlogged

• Seasonal planting

• Views obscured during winter.

This can help build a more complete picture of the site.

Tell the Designer What You Like About the Existing Garden

A new design does not automatically mean everything needs to be removed.

Tell the designer what you want to keep.

This might include:

• Mature trees

• A favourite plant

• Existing stone

• A sculpture

• A view

• A particular seating area.

Good garden design can incorporate existing strengths rather than starting again unnecessarily.

Tell the Designer What You Dislike

This can be equally useful.

Problems might include:

• Too much lawn

• Poor privacy

• Awkward levels

• A patio in the wrong place

• Too much maintenance

• Lack of planting

• Poor drainage

• No evening use.

Sometimes knowing what is wrong with the current garden reveals the brief more clearly than asking what style you like.

How Do You Use the Garden Now?

Tell the designer how the garden currently functions.

For example:

• Do you eat outside?

• Do children play in it?

• Do you have dogs?

• Do you entertain?

• Do you garden actively?

• Is the garden mostly viewed from indoors?

This helps distinguish between what the garden looks like and what it needs to do.

How Do You Want to Use the Garden?

The new garden may need to accommodate:

• Outdoor dining

• Entertaining

• Relaxing

• Children

• Dogs

• Gardening

• Cooking

• Exercise

• Hot tub

• Swimming pool

• Fire pit

• Quiet seating

• Wildlife.

Our Outdoor Living Garden Design page explores how lifestyle requirements can shape the layout.

Outdoor Dining Requirements

If outdoor dining is important, tell the designer:

• Typical number of people

• Maximum number of guests

• Whether you need shade

• Whether you want to be close to the kitchen.

Our Garden Design for Outdoor Dining page explores this in more detail.

Entertaining

If you regularly entertain, explain what that actually means.

It might involve:

• Large family gatherings

• Drinks for a few friends

• Formal dining

• Casual parties.

Our Garden Design for Entertaining page explores how circulation and seating can respond to different types of entertaining.

Outdoor Kitchens

If an outdoor kitchen is part of your plans, tell the designer early.

Useful information includes:

• Preferred size

• Cooking equipment

• Whether it needs a sink

• Refrigeration

• Bar seating

• Gas or electrical requirements.

Our Garden Design Around an Outdoor Kitchen page explores how the kitchen should relate to the rest of the garden.

Fire Pits

If a fire pit is important, explain how you imagine using it.

Our Garden Design Around a Fire Pit page explores:

• Seating

• Circulation

• Position

• Atmosphere.

Hot Tubs

For a hot tub, the designer needs to understand:

• Size

• Access

• Screening

• Privacy

• Power requirements.

Our Garden Design Around a Hot Tub page explores these considerations.

Swimming Pools

A pool has major implications for the whole garden layout.

If one is proposed, provide any available supplier or technical information.

Our Garden Design Around a Swimming Pool page explores the relationship between:

• Pool

• Terrace

• Planting

• Outdoor living.

Pergolas and Garden Structures

If you already know you want a pergola, gazebo or other structure, tell the designer.

Provide:

• Product information

• Approximate dimensions

• Preferred location

if known.

Our Pergola Ideas page explores how a pergola can contribute to:

• Structure

• Shelter

• Privacy.

Garden Style

You do not need to know the technical name of the style you want.

It can be enough to say:

• Clean and contemporary

• Traditional

• Relaxed

• Natural

• Architectural

• Highly planted

• Minimal.

The designer can interpret this into a coherent direction.

Inspiration Images

Images can be useful if they help communicate:

• Mood

• Materials

• Planting

• Colour

• Atmosphere.

They do not need to show a garden identical to yours.

A few strong examples are often more useful than hundreds of unrelated images.

Modern Gardens

If you prefer strong geometry, simple materials and clean lines, our Modern Gardens page may help you identify what you like.

Contemporary Gardens

For a broader current design approach combining modern materials with outdoor living and planting, see Contemporary Gardens.

Country Gardens

If you want the garden to feel connected to a rural setting, our Country Gardens page explores this style.

Formal Gardens

If you are drawn to:

• Symmetry

• Strong structure

• Clipped hedging

• Geometric lawns

our Formal Gardens page may help explain the approach.

Naturalistic Gardens

If you prefer a looser, more planted atmosphere, see Naturalistic Gardens.

Prairie Gardens

For grasses, perennials and strong seasonal movement, our Prairie Gardens page explores prairie-style planting.

Japanese Gardens

If you are interested in restraint, stone, water, asymmetry and carefully framed views, see Japanese Gardens.

What Colours Do You Like?

Colour preferences can influence:

• Flowers

• Foliage

• Materials

• Furniture

• Structures.

You do not need to produce a detailed palette.

Simply explain whether you tend to prefer:

• Bright colour

• Pastels

• White and green

• Warm tones

• Cool tones

• Primarily foliage.

Tell the Designer What You Do Not Like

This can be very helpful.

You may dislike:

• Artificial grass

• Gravel

• Formal hedging

• Large lawns

• Bright flowers

• Rendered walls

• Porcelain

• Timber.

These preferences can save time.

How Much Maintenance Do You Want?

Be realistic.

Tell the designer whether you enjoy:

• Gardening

• Pruning

• Lawn care

• Seasonal planting.

Or whether you want to keep maintenance relatively low.

Our Low Maintenance Garden Without a Lawn page explores one approach to reducing ongoing maintenance.

Do You Want a Lawn?

This sounds obvious, but it is worth discussing.

Some clients assume every garden should contain lawn even when they:

• Rarely use it

• Do not want to maintain it.

A lawn should have a reason to exist.

Children and Family Requirements

If children use the garden, tell the designer:

• Their ages

• How they play

• What equipment is needed

• Whether requirements are likely to change.

Our Family Garden Design page explores how a garden can work for adults and children without becoming dominated by play equipment.

Trampolines

If you have or intend to buy a trampoline, mention it early.

Its:

• Size

• Position

• Visibility

can significantly affect the layout.

Our Garden Design with a Trampoline page explores how it can be incorporated more successfully.

Sunken Trampolines

If you are considering sinking the trampoline, see Sunken Trampoline Ideas.

This needs to be considered during the groundwork stage rather than added as an afterthought.

Dogs

Tell the designer:

• Number of dogs

• Size

• Behaviour

• Where they normally toilet

• Whether they dig

• Whether they need secure boundaries.

Our Dog-Friendly Garden Design page explores how the garden can be designed around both pets and people.

Dog-Friendly Plants

If plant safety is a priority, see Dog-Friendly Garden Plants.

Accessibility Requirements

Tell the designer about any current or likely future mobility requirements.

These might include:

• Wheelchair access

• Reduced mobility

• Step-free routes

• Handrails

• Frequent seating.

Our Accessible Garden Design page explores inclusive design more broadly.

Wheelchair Use

If the garden needs to work for a wheelchair user, provide information about:

• Chair size

• Turning requirements

• Key routes

• Door thresholds.

Our Wheelchair Accessible Garden Design page explores these considerations.

Level Access

If you want a step-free transition from the house, tell the designer before external levels are determined.

Our Level Access from House to Garden page explores how access and drainage can be coordinated.

Privacy Problems

Tell the designer specifically where you feel overlooked.

Do not simply say:

“We want privacy.”

Explain:

• Which windows overlook you

• Which seating areas feel exposed

• Which views you want to keep.

Our Overlooked Garden page explores how privacy problems can be solved by understanding sightlines.

Garden Privacy

Our broader Garden Privacy page explores how:

• Trees

• Hedges

• Screens

• Pergolas

can work together.

Ugly Views

If there is something beyond the garden you want to hide, identify it.

Our How to Screen an Ugly View page explores ways of screening unwanted external views.

Neighbour's Extension

If a neighbouring extension has created a privacy problem, see How to Screen a Neighbour's Extension.

Existing Trees

Tell the designer which trees:

• You like

• You dislike

• Cause problems

• Provide useful screening.

Do not remove established trees simply because you intend to redesign the garden.

They may provide:

• Scale

• Privacy

• Maturity

that would take decades to recreate.

Protected Trees

If you know a tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order, tell the designer.

Likewise, mention if the property is within a conservation area.

Our Do I Need Planning Permission to Landscape My Garden? page explores planning and tree protections more broadly.

Existing Plants

Tell the designer if there are plants you particularly want to retain.

You may have:

• Sentimental plants

• Mature shrubs

• Valuable specimens

• Plants associated with family memories.

These can sometimes be successfully integrated into the new design.

Soil Conditions

If you know the soil type, tell the designer.

For example:

• Clay

• Sandy

• Free-draining

• Wet

• Stony.

You do not need a scientific soil report for every garden.

But known problems are useful.

Clay Soil

Heavy clay is particularly relevant across many areas of North West England.

Our Clay Soil Gardens page explores how clay affects:

• Drainage

• Lawns

• Planting

• Construction.

Drainage Problems

Tell the designer if:

• Lawn floods

• Patio holds water

• Borders remain saturated

• Water runs towards the house.

Photographs taken during heavy rain can be very useful.

Our Garden Drainage page explores how drainage problems should be diagnosed.

Drainage After an Extension

If drainage problems started after building work, mention this.

Our Drainage Around Patios and Extensions page explores why house alterations can change surface-water movement.

Sun and Shade

Tell the designer what you know about:

• Morning sun

• Afternoon sun

• Deep shade

• Seasonal shade.

You do not need to produce a complex solar study for an ordinary domestic garden.

But practical observations can be very useful.

North-Facing Gardens

If the garden is north-facing, mention it.

Our North-Facing Gardens page explores how:

• Seating

• Planting

• Materials

• Lighting

can respond to lower light levels.

Wind and Exposure

Some gardens experience considerable wind.

Tell the designer:

• Which direction it comes from

• Which areas are uncomfortable

• Whether fencing or plants have previously failed.

This is particularly relevant for:

• Exposed rural sites

• Coastal areas.

Existing Boundaries

Provide any information you have about:

• Fence ownership

• Walls

• Hedges

• Shared boundaries.

If boundary ownership is unclear, the garden designer may not be the appropriate person to determine the legal position.

It may need to be checked through title documents or legal advice.

Access to the Garden

Access has major implications for construction.

Tell the designer whether the garden can be reached through:

• Wide side access

• Narrow passage

• Garage

• House only

• Rear lane.

This can affect:

• Machinery

• Excavation

• Material deliveries

• Waste removal.

Restricted Access

A garden that can only be accessed through the house may require a very different construction strategy from one with direct vehicle access.

Our Garden Groundworks page explores how site logistics can affect landscaping.

Utility Information

If you know the location of:

• Drainage

• Manholes

• Gas

• Electricity

• Water

• Other services

provide the information.

Do not assume that every buried service is shown accurately on old plans.

Manhole Covers

Existing inspection chambers can affect:

• Paving layout

• Levels

• Outdoor kitchens

• Structures.

They should be identified early rather than discovered halfway through construction.

Existing Drainage Drawings

If you have drainage drawings from:

• Extension work

• New-build construction

• Previous landscaping

provide them.

They may be highly useful when considering new hard landscaping.

Planning Permission Information

Tell the designer if the property has:

• Recent planning approvals

• Planning conditions

• Previous landscape approvals.

This is especially important after:

• Extensions

• New-build development

• Significant structural work.

Our Do I Need Planning Permission to Landscape My Garden? page provides a broader planning guide.

Listed Buildings

If the house is listed, tell the designer immediately.

Our Garden Design for Listed Buildings page explores the additional considerations.

Do not assume that because proposed work is outside the house heritage controls cannot be relevant.

Conservation Areas

Tell the designer if the property lies within a conservation area.

This may have implications for:

• Trees

• Boundaries

• Structures.

Restrictive Covenants

If you know the title contains restrictions affecting:

• Boundaries

• Structures

• Planting

mention them.

Planning permission and private covenants are separate issues.

Where legal interpretation is required, appropriate professional advice may be needed.

New-Build Homes

New-build gardens benefit from providing as much developer information as possible.

This may include:

• Plot plan

• Landscape plan

• Drainage drawings

• Planning conditions.

Our New-Build Gardens page explores the particular challenges associated with developer-built gardens.

Existing Planning Drawings

Plans submitted for previous building work may help establish:

• Site boundaries

• Building footprint

• Proposed levels

• Drainage.

They are particularly useful when the garden design follows a recent extension.

What Budget Information Does a Garden Designer Need?

One of the most useful things you can give a designer is a realistic indication of your overall project budget.

This does not mean you must know the exact final figure.

But there is a substantial difference between designing for a landscape investment of:

• £20,000

• £60,000

• £150,000.

The designer needs to understand the broad financial context.

Why Does the Designer Need to Know My Budget?

Because almost every design decision has a cost implication.

For example:

• Patio size

• Retaining walls

• Mature trees

• Bespoke structures

• Outdoor kitchen

• Lighting

• Plant quantities.

Without any budget discussion, it is possible to produce a beautiful design that cannot realistically be built.

How to Set a Landscaping Budget

If you are unsure where to begin, our How to Set a Budget for Garden Landscaping page provides a practical framework.

How Much Does Garden Design Cost?

Professional design fees should also form part of the overall project planning.

Our How Much Does Garden Design Cost? page explores the factors affecting design fees.

How Much Does Landscaping Cost?

Our How Much Does Landscaping Cost? page explores the wider construction budget.

Prioritise Your Requirements

A useful exercise is to divide your requirements into:

Essential

Things the garden genuinely needs.

Important

Things you would strongly like.

Desirable

Features you would include if budget and space allow.

This can make the design process much clearer.

Examples of Essential Requirements

These might include:

• Safe access

• Drainage

• Privacy

• Dining space

• Parking

• Secure boundaries.

Examples of Desirable Requirements

These might include:

• Fire pit

• Water feature

• Second seating area

• Outdoor kitchen

• Bespoke pergola.

The categories will be different for every client.

Tell the Designer About Future Plans

The garden should not only respond to the present.

Tell the designer if you expect to:

• Extend the house later

• Install a pool

• Buy a hot tub

• Add an outdoor kitchen

• Build a garden room

• Need greater accessibility.

It may be sensible to allow for these future elements now.

Future Family Needs

A garden designed for a family with toddlers may need to evolve as children grow.

Likewise, long-term accessibility may be worth considering before major levels are fixed.

A good design can allow some flexibility.

Tell the Designer Your Timescale

If you have a specific completion date, say so at the beginning.

Examples include:

• Wedding

• Major birthday

• Housewarming

• Summer event.

This allows the designer to assess whether the programme is realistic.

How Early Should I Book a Garden Designer?

Our How Far in Advance Should I Book a Garden Designer? page explores typical planning considerations.

For substantial projects, starting months in advance is usually preferable to beginning when construction already feels urgent.

How Early Should I Book a Landscaper?

Construction availability also matters.

Our How Far in Advance Should I Book a Landscaper? page explores landscaping lead times.

What Happens at the Garden Design Consultation?

You do not need to resolve everything before the first meeting.

The consultation is where many of these issues are explored.

Our What Happens at a Garden Design Consultation? page explains what to expect.

How Should I Prepare for the Consultation?

Our How to Prepare for a Garden Design Consultation page provides a practical preparation guide.

The purpose is not to arrive with all the answers.

It is to make the conversation more productive.

Do I Need Garden Drawings?

Once the required site and project information has been gathered, the design can be developed into drawings.

Our Do I Need Drawings for My Garden? page explains the different types of garden plans and when they may be useful.

Do I Need a Garden Designer?

If you are still deciding whether professional design is necessary, our Do I Need a Garden Designer? page explores which projects are most likely to benefit.

What Does a Garden Designer Do?

Our What Does a Garden Designer Do? page explains the wider role beyond producing drawings.

Choosing a Garden Designer

Information flows both ways.

The designer needs to understand your project, but you also need to decide whether the designer is appropriate for you.

Our How to Choose a Garden Designer page explores:

• Portfolio

• Approach

• Experience

• Communication.

Questions to Ask a Garden Designer

Our Questions to Ask a Garden Designer page provides a useful checklist for the initial conversation.

Design-Only Projects

If you want professional drawings but intend to appoint the landscaping contractor separately, our Garden Design Only Service page explores this approach.

Design and Build Projects

If you prefer the design and construction to be coordinated, see Complete Garden Design and Build.

Information for Large Gardens

Large properties may require additional information.

This could include:

• Topographical surveys

• Tree surveys

• Extensive level information

• Existing services

• Outbuildings.

Our Large Gardens page explores why masterplanning becomes more important as the site increases in size.

Information for Country Properties

Rural projects may also need information about:

• Existing views

• Mature trees

• Field boundaries

• Access

• Existing walls

• Outbuildings.

Our Garden Design for Country Houses page explores how the garden can respond to the wider landscape.

Information for Listed Properties

Listed properties can require additional care.

Provide any information you have about:

• Listing

• Previous consents

• Historic structures

• Existing plans.

Our Garden Design for Listed Buildings page explores this in more detail.

Information for New-Build Gardens

For a newly completed property, useful information may include:

• Developer plan

• Drainage plan

• Finished floor levels

• Planning conditions

• Approved boundary treatment.

Our Garden Design for New Build Homes page explores this property type specifically.

Information for Accessible Gardens

Where accessibility is important, give the designer as much practical information as possible.

This may include:

• Wheelchair dimensions

• Mobility limitations

• Preferred gradients

• Seating frequency

• Access between doors and key garden areas.

Our Accessible Garden Design page explores these requirements.

Information for a Sloping Garden

For a sloping site, accurate level information is often one of the most valuable things you can provide.

Our Sloping Gardens page explores why.

Do not rely solely on photographs where the vertical relationships are important.

What If I Do Not Have Any Plans?

That is not unusual.

Many homeowners do not have:

• Existing garden drawings

• Accurate surveys

• Drainage plans.

The designer can establish what new information is necessary.

The absence of old paperwork does not prevent a garden from being professionally designed.

What If I Do Not Know My Soil Type?

Again, that is not a problem.

Known observations can still help.

For example:

• Soil is sticky in winter

• Lawn cracks in summer

• Borders stay wet

• Water drains quickly.

These practical clues can be useful before more detailed assessment.

What If I Do Not Know My Exact Budget?

You do not need a perfectly calculated figure at the first meeting.

But an honest broad range is much more useful than saying:

“We don't have a budget.”

Every project has a financial limit.

Understanding that limit helps the designer develop an appropriate scheme.

What If I Do Not Know What Style I Want?

That is completely normal.

A good garden designer should be able to help you identify a direction by discussing:

• House architecture

• Lifestyle

• Materials

• Planting

• Inspiration.

You are appointing a designer because you do not already have the finished solution.

What If My Partner and I Want Different Things?

Tell the designer.

It is better to identify different priorities at the beginning than discover them halfway through design development.

The brief can then explore how both sets of requirements might be reconciled.

What Should I Not Hide From My Garden Designer?

Try not to omit problems because you think they will make the project more complicated.

Tell the designer about:

• Flooding

• Bad soil

• Difficult neighbours

• Poor access

• Existing planning problems

• Budget limits

• Unsuccessful previous work.

These are precisely the things the design needs to address.

A Practical Garden Design Information Checklist

Before your initial consultation, gather whatever you already have from the following list.

Property Information

• Property address

• House plans

• Site plans

• Extension drawings

• New-build plot plans

Garden Information

• Measurements

• Survey

• Levels

• Photographs

• Existing tree information

• Soil observations

• Drainage problems

• Sun and shade

• Wind exposure

Legal and Planning Information

• Listed building status

• Conservation area information

• TPO information

• Planning approvals

• Relevant planning conditions

• Known covenants

Existing Features

• Trees to retain

• Plants to retain

• Walls

• Fences

• Structures

• Utilities

• Drainage

• Manholes

Lifestyle Requirements

• Outdoor dining

• Entertaining

• Children

• Dogs

• Accessibility

• Gardening

• Relaxing

• Outdoor cooking

Desired Features

• Patio

• Pergola

• Outdoor kitchen

• Fire pit

• Hot tub

• Swimming pool

• Water feature

• Lighting

• Privacy screening

• Lawn

• Specimen trees

Design Preferences

• Favourite styles

• Inspiration images

• Favourite materials

• Colours

• Planting preferences

• Things you dislike

Project Information

• Budget

• Priorities

• Timescale

• Desired completion date

• Future plans

You do not need every item.

The purpose of the checklist is simply to help you identify useful information that may already exist.

Frequently Asked Questions

What information does a garden designer need?

At the beginning, useful information includes the property address, plans, measurements, photographs, priorities, budget, lifestyle requirements and any known site problems.

Do I need house plans for a garden designer?

Not always, but they can be extremely useful, particularly where the design needs to align closely with doors, windows, extensions or floor levels.

Do I need a survey before a garden design consultation?

Not necessarily before the first consultation. A survey may be recommended before detailed design begins.

Does the garden designer need exact measurements?

For detailed design, accurate dimensions are normally important.

Should I give the designer my extension drawings?

Yes. They can help coordinate the new garden with doors, levels, drainage and architecture.

Should I tell the garden designer my budget?

Yes. An approximate realistic budget helps ensure the design is appropriate to the level of investment.

What if I do not know my budget?

Discuss a broad range and priorities. The designer can help explain how different choices affect construction cost.

Should I show the designer inspiration pictures?

Yes, if they genuinely communicate what you like. A small number of useful examples is usually enough.

Do I need to know what garden style I want?

No. The designer can help develop an appropriate style based on the house, site and your preferences.

Should I tell the designer what I dislike?

Yes. This can be just as useful as describing what you like.

Should I tell the designer about drainage problems?

Definitely. Photographs of flooding or waterlogging can be particularly useful.

Should I tell the designer about protected trees?

Yes. Provide any TPO or conservation-area information you have.

Should I tell the designer if the house is listed?

Yes, at the very beginning.

Do I need planning information?

If the property has recent planning permissions, conditions or extension drawings, provide them.

Should I mention future plans?

Yes. Tell the designer about possible future extensions, pools, garden rooms, accessibility needs or other significant changes.

What if I have no plans or drawings at all?

That is not a problem. The designer can identify what information needs to be created or obtained.

Should I clean the garden before the consultation?

No. The designer needs to see the real site, including its problems.

Should both partners attend the consultation?

Where both have a significant say in the project, it can be very useful because different priorities can be discussed from the beginning.

What happens at the consultation?

See What Happens at a Garden Design Consultation?.

How should I prepare?

See How to Prepare for a Garden Design Consultation.

Do I need drawings?

See Do I Need Drawings for My Garden?.

A Garden Designer Needs the Right Information — Not Every Piece of Information

The objective is not to create an enormous file before you are allowed to speak to a designer.

You do not need to know:

• Every plant

• Every paving material

• Every dimension

• Every technical solution.

That is part of the design process.

What is useful is an honest picture of:

the property

the garden

the problems

the people using it

the budget

the priorities

the future plans.

From there, the designer can establish which additional information is necessary.

For one project, that may simply mean taking accurate measurements.

For another, it could mean obtaining:

• A topographical survey

• Tree information

• Extension drawings

• Drainage information

• Specialist technical input.

The key is to identify what matters before important design decisions are made.

If you are considering a garden project in Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, the Ribble Valley or elsewhere across North West England, Kirman Design can guide you through the information needed from the initial consultation through to the finished garden design and landscape construction.