Helen Lowrie Garden Design

Helpful Tips

Before commissioning a Garden Design…

There are a few things you can do to get the most out of your garden design and to ensure that your designer knows exactly what you want:

· Spend some time finding out exactly what you will want to use the garden for. It may be that different members of the household will have different needs. For example you may want an area for relaxing, entertaining and having barbeques and your children may want an area for playing games.

· Think about what sort of things you like and dislike in a garden. For example traditional or contemporary styles, themes (such as Mediterranean, oriental or exotic), water features, colours etc. Sometimes making a simple 'mood board' of your favourite images can be invaluable to a designer by representing your personal tastes.

· Decide what sort of planting you would like to have in your garden, whether it be lush & exotic, spikey & minimalist, or billowy & romantic. If possible make a note of any plants or flowers you particularly like or dislike. Consider how much time you want to spend maintaining the garden as it can be designed to be either high or low maintenance to suit you.

· If you have access to old plans of your garden it is worth checking for signs of underground structures that you may not have known about, such as air-raid shelters, wells & old foundations. These old structures may well have a bearing on what work can be done in the garden.

· Often there are drains, pipes, cables & inspection covers in the garden. Try to make a note of where these are and point them out to your designer so that they can be factored into the design and disguised if necessary.




			Helen Lowrie Garden Design	020 8357 0813
				helen@helenlowrie.co.uk



			Helpful Tips Before commissioning a Garden Design… There are a few things you can do to get the most out of your garden design and to ensure that your designer knows exactly what you want: · Spend some time finding out exactly what you will want to use the garden for. It may be that different members of the household will have different needs. For example you may want an area for relaxing, entertaining and having barbeques and your children may want an area for playing games. · Think about what sort of things you like and dislike in a garden. For example traditional or contemporary styles, themes (such as Mediterranean, oriental or exotic), water features, colours etc. Sometimes making a simple 'mood board' of your favourite images can be invaluable to a designer by representing your personal tastes. · Decide what sort of planting you would like to have in your garden, whether it be lush & exotic, spikey & minimalist, or billowy & romantic. If possible make a note of any plants or flowers you particularly like or dislike. Consider how much time you want to spend maintaining the garden as it can be designed to be either high or low maintenance to suit you. · If you have access to old plans of your garden it is worth checking for signs of underground structures that you may not have known about, such as air-raid shelters, wells & old foundations. These old structures may well have a bearing on what work can be done in the garden. · Often there are drains, pipes, cables & inspection covers in the garden. Try to make a note of where these are and point them out to your designer so that they can be factored into the design and disguised if necessary.