How much does a garden designer cost?

It depends on the size of your garden, its levels and how much needs working out. Naomi charges a fixed fee for each stage, and gives you the figure, after the free first visit, before that stage begins.

Is the first visit really free?

Yes. Naomi spends about an hour in your garden talking through what you want, at no charge and with no obligation.

Do I have to do all the stages?

No. Plenty of clients stop after the concept design and take it from there themselves. You decide at the end of each stage whether to carry on.

Why isn’t there a price list?

Every garden is different. A large sloping plot takes far more time to design than a small flat one, so Naomi quotes for your garden once she has seen it.

Will you tell me what the build will cost?

Not as a figure up front, because an honest answer depends on decisions that haven’t been made yet. The detailed design gives your landscaper a written specification and bill of quantities, so they can price exactly what has been designed.

What if the design comes back more than I can spend?

Tell her. Scaling a design back to fit a budget is normal, and it’s much easier to do on paper than halfway through a build.

Garden design cost

What does garden design cost?

It depends on your garden. Here’s how Naomi’s fees work, what each stage includes, and why the first visit is free.

A finished garden by Naomi Ferrett-Cohen in Croydon: a gravel path curving around a lawn, with planting along the fence and a maple in the corner

Start with a free first visit

Naomi spends about an hour in your garden, talking through what you want to get done, your budget and the style you like. Afterwards, she will quote for the first stage of the design. There’s no charge for the visit and no obligation.

Every garden is different, so every fee is too. Naomi gives you a fixed price for each stage before that stage begins.

How Naomi’s fees work

Most garden designers price one of three ways: an hourly or day rate, a fixed fee per stage, or a percentage of what the garden costs to build.

Naomi charges a fixed fee per stage, worked out from the hours a garden will take. You’re told that figure before each stage begins, and it doesn’t move unless you change what you’ve asked for. You decide at the end of each stage whether to carry on.

Read why a garden designer pays for itself →What the garden design service includes →

What each stage includes

First visitFree: About an hour in your garden, talking through what you want to get done, your budget and the style you like. Afterwards, Naomi will quote for the first stage.
Measuring your garden: Accurate measurements are the starting point. Naomi will advise whether your garden needs a measured survey from an independent surveyor, or whether your own measurements will do.
Concept design and visuals: A 2D master plan of the whole garden, with mood boards for planting and materials and 3D views so you can see it before it exists. Naomi then meets you to talk it through, with one full round of changes.
Detailed design: Everything a contractor needs to build the garden: construction drawings, planting plans, and a written scope of works with a bill of quantities. Naomi also recommends local landscapers and reviews their quotes with you. She then meets your chosen contractor on site before work starts.
Planting: Naomi sources plants from specialist nurseries and quotes them for your approval before anything is ordered. She then plants the garden, working alongside your landscaper.

What affects the fee

Your fee reflects the time your garden takes to design. These things can add to it:

Size. A larger garden has more to resolve, and more of it to draw.
Slope and levels. Steps, retaining walls and changes in level all need working out and drawing in section.
How many separate areas there are. More areas mean more to work out and draw.

Invoicing

Each stage is invoiced half at the start and half on completion.

What you’ll pay other people

Naomi’s fees cover the design. Three things sit outside them, and you pay for those directly:

A measured survey, if your garden needs one. An independent surveyor does it.
The plants, quoted for your approval before anything is ordered.
The build. You contract your landscaper directly, so their price is between you and them.

Questions people ask

How much does a garden designer cost?: It depends on the size of your garden, its levels and how much needs working out. Naomi charges a fixed fee for each stage, and gives you the figure, after the free first visit, before that stage begins.
Is the first visit really free?: Yes. Naomi spends about an hour in your garden talking through what you want, at no charge and with no obligation.
Do I have to do all the stages?: No. Plenty of clients stop after the concept design and take it from there themselves. You decide at the end of each stage whether to carry on.
Why isn’t there a price list?: Every garden is different. A large sloping plot takes far more time to design than a small flat one, so Naomi quotes for your garden once she has seen it.
Will you tell me what the build will cost?: Not as a figure up front, because an honest answer depends on decisions that haven’t been made yet. The detailed design gives your landscaper a written specification and bill of quantities, so they can price exactly what has been designed.
What if the design comes back more than I can spend?: Tell her. Scaling a design back to fit a budget is normal, and it’s much easier to do on paper than halfway through a build.

Start with the free visit

The first conversation costs nothing. Tell Naomi what you have in mind.

RHS Chelsea Silver-Gilt
London College of Garden Design

01273 381512

Tell Naomi about your garden

The first visit is free, with no obligation.