Garden design · Landscaping · Care · Fernleigh Valley

Lush in June.
Lovely in January.

We design, build and look after gardens across the Fernleigh Valley: layered planting, natural stone and room for wildlife, planned so there is something worth stepping outside for in every month of the year.

Book a design consultation See gardens by season
  • 212gardens planted since 2012
  • 12 monthsguarantee on every plant
  • 38,000plants a year from our nursery
A pale gravel path curving through layered grasses, ferns and flowering perennials in a garden we designed

Our approach

Right plant, right place, right season.

A border in cross-section: a tree canopy, a shrub layer, perennials and grasses, ground cover, bulbs below the surface and living soil. CANOPY SHRUBS PERENNIALS GRASSES GROUND COVER BULBS LIVING SOIL
Every border we plant has all six layers, from the canopy down to the soil.

Most gardens peak for three weeks in June and sulk for the rest of the year. Ours are planned on a calendar as much as a drawing board, so when the roses go over, the grasses take the stage, and when the grasses fall, there is bark, berries and scent to carry the winter.

  • Soil first

    We test soil, light and drainage before we draw a line, so the planting suits the garden you have, not the one in a catalogue.

  • Layered planting

    Trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses and bulbs in layers, so something is always coming up while something else is going over.

  • Wildlife welcome

    Native hedging, clean water, peat-free compost and seedheads left standing for the birds. Gardens that hum.

Gardens planted since 2012
212
Plants grown in our own nursery each year
38,000
Of our planting is native or wildlife-friendly
74%
Guarantee on every plant we supply
12months

Seasonal portfolio

Every garden, four times over.

A garden is only finished when it looks good in February. Switch the season to see how three recent gardens change through the year: the plans recolour, and the notes say which plants are doing the work.

Showing the gardens in summer.

Blossom, bulbs and the first cut.

In the studio: Our busiest planting window for perennials and bare-root hedging. Spring consultations book up from January.

Full, layered and a little bit wild.

In the studio: Builds on site, and the best time to see a garden in full voice before you plan your own. Visits are long and sunny.

Colour, fruit and the best time to plant.

In the studio: Warm soil, cool air: trees, hedges and bulbs go in now. We plant most of the year’s new gardens between September and November.

Structure, scent and seedheads.

In the studio: The quiet season for planting and the best one for design: you can see a garden’s bones. Drawings done now are ready for spring.

Plan of the Alder Lane courtyard: a paved terrace by the house, a narrow rill running down to a small pool, a shade bed of ferns, two raised beds and three multi-stem trees. HOUSE 12345

Alder CrossCourtyard38 × 26 ftBuilt 2024

Alder Lane courtyard

A shady, north-facing yard turned into the room the family uses most: a stone rill to listen to, a fern bed for the darkest corner and herbs a step from the kitchen door.

In spring: Amelanchier blossom over the rill, and white tulips coming up through the unfurling fern crowns.

  • Amelanchier lamarckii
  • Tulipa ‘White Triumphator’
  • Anemone nemorosa

In summer: The shade bed at full height: shuttlecock ferns, blue hostas and the cool white of astrantia.

  • Matteuccia struthiopteris
  • Hosta ‘Halcyon’
  • Astrantia ‘Shaggy’

In autumn: The amelanchier turns flame red, Japanese anemones light the shade and the rill catches the falling leaves.

  • Amelanchier (autumn colour)
  • Hakonechloa macra
  • Anemone × hybrida

In winter: Bare silver stems, evergreen ferns, sweet box scenting the door and snowdrops along the timber edge.

  • Polystichum setiferum
  • Galanthus nivalis
  • Sarcococca confusa
  1. Stone terrace
  2. Rill and pool
  3. Fern and hosta shade bed
  4. Raised kitchen beds
  5. Multi-stem amelanchier
Plan of the Hollow Brook meadow garden: a wildflower meadow cut through with a mown path, a wildlife pond with a timber deck, a small orchard, a mixed native hedge and the old oak kept in the corner. STUDIO 12345

Hollow BrookMeadow garden0.6 acreSown 2022

Hollow Brook meadow

A tired paddock became a wildflower meadow with a pond, a small orchard and a path you can walk in slippers.

In spring: Cowslips and camassia in the long grass, and frogspawn in the pond by the second week of March.

  • Primula veris
  • Camassia leichtlinii
  • Caltha palustris

In summer: Ox-eye daisies and knapweed waist high, cut through with a mown path to the studio.

  • Leucanthemum vulgare
  • Centaurea nigra
  • Lythrum salicaria

In autumn: The one big cut and rake-off of the year, and apples from the young orchard.

  • Malus ‘Discovery’
  • Succisa pratensis
  • Rosa canina hips

In winter: Teasel and knapweed heads left standing for goldfinches; the pond edge stays wild.

  • Dipsacus fullonum
  • Carex pendula
  • Crataegus hedge
  1. Mown paths
  2. Wildlife pond and deck
  3. Heritage orchard
  4. Garden studio
  5. Mixed native hedge
Plan of the Quarry Row family garden: a terrace under a pergola, a hard-wearing lawn, four raised kitchen beds by a greenhouse, a play corner of stepping logs and a willow den, and deep borders along the side. HOUSE GLASS 12345

Quarry RowFamily garden64 × 40 ftBuilt 2025

Quarry Row family garden

A lawn tough enough for football, a kitchen garden for the grown-ups and a willow den that grows every year.

In spring: Sweet peas climbing the pergola posts, the first salad from the raised beds and narcissus under the crab apple.

  • Lathyrus odoratus
  • Narcissus ‘Thalia’
  • Rhubarb ‘Timperley’

In summer: Borders full of salvia and geranium, tomatoes in the glasshouse and a lawn that bounces back.

  • Salvia ‘Caradonna’
  • Geranium ‘Rozanne’
  • Rosa glauca

In autumn: Asters by the den, squash sprawling off the compost heap and the crab apple full of fruit.

  • Aster ‘Little Carlow’
  • Malus ‘Red Sentinel’
  • Squash ‘Uchiki Kuri’

In winter: Dogwood stems glowing orange by the den, hellebores at the back door, kitchen beds tucked under mulch.

  • Cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’
  • Helleborus × hybridus
  • Garlic sets
  1. Terrace and pergola
  2. Hard-wearing lawn
  3. Kitchen garden
  4. Play corner and willow den
  5. Deep side border

Services and prices

From one tired border to the whole plot.

Every price is a real starting range for gardens in the valley, before we have seen yours. After the consultation you get a fixed quote, and it does not move once you say yes.

From$18090-minute visit

Design consultation

A designer walks the garden with you, sketches ideas on the spot and sends a written note with directions and rough costs.

  • Soil, light and drainage read
  • Two or three directions sketched
  • Credited in full against a design
Visits within 2–3 weeks Ask about this: Design consultation

From$2,400–$6,800per garden

Garden design

A measured survey, a concept you can walk through, then a detailed plan with planting lists and drawings any builder can price.

  • Measured survey and soil test
  • Concept plan and seasonal sketches
  • Detailed planting and build drawings
Typically 4–8 weeks Ask about this: Garden design

From$850–$3,200per border or bed

Planting plans and planting

For gardens with good bones and tired borders. We plan layered, four-season planting and plant it ourselves from our nursery.

  • Plants grown peat-free on our yard
  • Bulbs and underplanting included
  • 12-month plant guarantee
1–3 days on site Ask about this: Planting plans and planting

From$14,000–$85,000per project

Landscape build

Terraces, paths, walls, decks, water and lighting, by our own crew. One fixed price, one site lead, and a tidy site every evening.

  • Natural stone and reclaimed brick
  • Permeable paving as standard
  • 10-year workmanship guarantee
2–10 weeks on site Ask about this: Landscape build

From$1,200–$7,500per area

Meadows and lawn alternatives

Swap thirsty lawn for wildflower meadow, clover or a no-mow mix. Cheaper to keep, louder with bees, and still good to sit on.

  • Ground preparation and sowing
  • Plug planting for quick colour
  • First-year cutting regime
Sown in spring or autumn Ask about this: Meadows and lawn alternatives

From$650–$4,800per job

Trees, hedges and screening

Native hedges, multi-stem trees and pleached screens for privacy and shelter, planted bare-root in season to save you money.

  • Bare-root hedging November to March
  • Specimen trees up to 4 m
  • Staking, guards and watering bags
Half a day to 3 days Ask about this: Trees, hedges and screening

Not sure where you fit? Most people start with a consultation. If you go ahead with a design, the $180 comes off the price.

How it works

From the first visit to first bloom.

Five steps, one team. The designer who walks your garden is the one who draws it and is there on planting day.

  1. Week 1

    Walk and talk

    90 minutes in your garden. You tell us what you love, what you would bulldoze and how you actually live outside.

  2. Weeks 2–4

    Survey and concept

    A measured survey and soil test, then a concept plan with sketches of the garden in each season.

  3. Weeks 4–8

    Detailed design

    Planting plan, build drawings and a fixed-price quote. Nothing is ordered until you are happy.

  4. 2–10 weeks

    Build and plant

    Our own crew, one site lead, plants from our own nursery. We plant in the right season, not the convenient one.

  5. Year one

    The first year

    Three aftercare visits, a care calendar for your garden and the 12-month plant guarantee.

Service area

The Fernleigh Valley, at a glance.

We keep our crews close to the nursery so plants go in the ground the day they leave the yard. Pick a town to see how far we are and what we can do there.

Map of the Fernleigh Valley service area Our studio is in Fernleigh. Alder Cross, Millbeck, Ashby Green and Wren Hill are within 10 miles; Kestrel Down, Quarry Row, Stonebridge, Brackenridge and Hollow Brook within 25 miles; Lowmoor and Pennock Vale are design-only. Fern River 10 mi25 mi Fernleighstudio & nurseryAlder CrossMillbeckAshby GreenWren HillKestrel DownQuarry RowStonebridgeBrackenridgeHollow BrookLowmoorPennock Vale N 05 mi
  • Design, build and care
  • Design and build
  • Design only

Within 10 miles

Design, build and care plans

10 to 25 miles

Design and build; care plans on request

Beyond 25 miles

Design only, with a video consultation and one site visit

Fernleigh

Our studio and nursery yard, at 14 Bracken Lane. Design, build and care plans, and 64 gardens in town so far.

Book a consultation here

Maintenance plans

Care that knows what season it is.

Our gardeners are trained plantspeople, not mow-and-go crews. Every plan starts with a free walk-round, and you can pause or cancel any month.

Garden size

Seasonal

Four big visits, timed to the garden’s year.

$85/ month

4 visits a year · Medium garden

  • Spring cut-back, feed and mulch
  • Early-summer weed, stake and check
  • Autumn tidy and bulb planting
  • Winter structural prune
  • A short note after every visit
Start with a walk-round

Most chosen

Monthly

The same gardener, every month, all year.

$220/ month

12 visits a year · Medium garden

  • Everything in Seasonal
  • Deadheading, edging and weeding
  • Lawn or meadow care
  • Plant health checks and early fixes
  • Pause any month you are away
Start with a walk-round

Keeper

For gardens that should always look their best.

$410/ month

Fortnightly Apr–Oct, monthly in winter · Medium garden

  • Everything in Monthly
  • Replacement plants up to $300 a year
  • Irrigation and pond checks
  • A spring planting refresh
  • Priority booking for changes
Start with a walk-round
  1. SpringCut back, feed, mulch, divide and sow.
  2. SummerWater wisely, deadhead, stake and mow the paths.
  3. AutumnPlant bulbs and hedges, lift and divide, clear leaves.
  4. WinterPrune, protect, plan, and leave seedheads for the birds.

Design consultation

Three steps to a walk round your garden.

Ninety minutes with a designer, ideas sketched while we walk, and a written note within five working days. $180, taken off your design if you go ahead.

  • We read the soil, light and drainage with you.
  • You show us what you love, and what has to go.
  • We sketch two or three directions on the spot.
  • You get ideas and honest ballpark costs in writing.
  1. 1Your garden
  2. 2The visit
  3. 3Your details

Tell us about your garden
What kind of garden is it?
What would you like help with? Pick any
Pick a visit

Most of the valley gets a garden visit. Further out, we start with a video call.

How would you like to meet?
Choose a day
Time of day
Your details

Your visit

Garden
Not chosen yet
Where
Not chosen yet
When
Not chosen yet
Fee
$180, credited against a design

A sample site: nothing is sent, booked or charged.

From the people who live in them

Gardens that get used.

We have a courtyard the size of a parking space and it is now the room we use most. The rill alone was worth it.

Ana and RobAlder Lane courtyard

They talked us out of more lawn and into a meadow. In July it is the loudest thing on the street, and it is all bees.

Joyce M.Hollow Brook

The kids have a den, we have tomatoes, and somehow it still looks tidy in January.

The Adeyemi familyQuarry Row

Questions

Things people ask on the walk-round.

Still wondering about something? Call the studio on (555) 014-2286, weekdays 8 to 5.

How much does a new garden cost?

Design runs $2,400 to $6,800 depending on size and complexity. Most built gardens in the valley land between $18,000 and $60,000 for an average plot, and planting-only projects start under $1,000. After the design you get a fixed quote, and we are happy to phase the work over two or three seasons.

Do you only design, or build as well?

Both. Our own crew builds and plants everything we design, so there is no hand-off between drawing and digging. If you already have a builder you trust, we can do design-only and hand them drawings they can price.

How far do you travel?

We design, build and look after gardens within 10 miles of Fernleigh, design and build within 25 miles, and do design-only work further out, starting with a video call. See the service area map.

When is the best time to start?

Design in late summer or winter, plant in autumn or spring. Spring consultations book up from January, so if you want to plant in April, talk to us after the holidays. Autumn is the best planting season of all.

Can you keep what is already there?

Almost always. We survey every existing tree and plant, and established trees, good hedges and favourite shrubs often become the starting point of the design.

How do you garden for wildlife?

Native hedging, peat-free compost, no slug pellets or neonicotinoids, water in most gardens and seedheads left standing over winter. We aim for at least 70% native or wildlife-friendly planting.

What does the 12-month plant guarantee cover?

Any plant we supply that fails in its first year is replaced free, as long as you are on a care plan or have followed the watering guide we leave you. Trees are covered for two years.

Do I have to sign up for a maintenance plan?

No. Every new garden comes with a care calendar written for it, and three aftercare visits in the first year. Plans are there if you want them, and you can pause or cancel any month.

Do walls, decks or ponds need permission?

Some do, usually tall boundary walls, raised decks and anything near protected trees. We check with the local planning office during design and handle any applications for you.

Sample siteSee our work