Garden & Landscape Design
At Consilio, we believe that every garden should be as individual as the people who enjoy it. No two spaces—or clients—are the same, which is why our design approach is completely bespoke. We take the time to understand your lifestyle, your tastes, and the way you want to use your outdoor space. By working closely with you from the very beginning, we ensure that every detail reflects your personal style and meets your practical needs. Our aim is to create a garden that is not only visually striking but also functional, sustainable, and a joy to live in for years to come.
Our design process unfolds over several carefully structured stages, allowing us to gain a full understanding of your aspirations and the existing character of your garden. We begin with an initial consultation at your home, where we explore how you’d like to interact with your space—whether that’s for relaxation, entertaining, family time, or simply enjoying the scenery. This is your opportunity to share ideas, wish-lists, and inspirations, alongside our knowledge, ideas and experience on how these can be shaped into a cohesive, achievable design.
During this visit, we also assess the current site conditions, taking note of levels, boundaries, lighting, soil quality, and any existing features worth retaining or enhancing. A clear discussion about your budget forms an important part of this stage, helping us to recommend design directions and material choices that fit comfortably within your expectations. By aligning creative vision with practical considerations from the outset, we can ensure that your finished garden is beautifully designed, expertly built, and perfectly suited to you.
Site Survey
Following the initial consultation, we carry out a comprehensive site survey to gather all the essential information needed to create an accurate and well-considered design. This detailed assessment forms the technical foundation of your project, enabling us to understand the true character, potential, and limitations of your outdoor space.
During the survey, we record key measurements, levels, boundaries, existing features, and the overall layout of the garden. We assess soil conditions through sampling, helping us determine nutrient levels, drainage, and suitability for different types of planting. We also analyse how sunlight, shade, and microclimates interact with the space throughout the year—factors that influence everything from material choices to plant selection and layout.
By combining these findings, we ensure that every design decision is rooted in the realities of the site. This careful groundwork allows us to create gardens that are not only beautiful and imaginative, but also practical, sustainable, and perfectly adapted to their environment.
Client Brief
Following the site survey and our initial consultation with you, we use the information gathered to draft your garden design. By combining your ideas, wish lists, and inspirations with our professional insights, ideas and technical findings, we create a clear framework for the project.
This stage allows us to define the scope, priorities, and opportunities within your space, ensuring that the design aligns with your vision while remaining practical and achievable. It also helps us identify any potential challenges early on—such as site constraints, drainage considerations, or material choices—so that these can be addressed seamlessly within the design.
The resulting plan of action acts as a blueprint for the creative process, guiding the development of a garden that is both inspired by your aspirations and rooted in the realities of the site. With this solid foundation, we can move forward confidently, turning combined ideas into a cohesive and well-considered garden design.
2D CAD Layout
Once the design direction has been agreed, we produce a detailed, scaled 2D CAD layout with some annotated dimensions that clearly illustrates the structure and flow of your new garden. This technical drawing forms the blueprint for the entire project, mapping out all key elements—from hard-landscaping features and access routes to planting areas, boundaries, and level changes. Alongside this, we create a comprehensive planting plan that specifies plant varieties, quantities, spacing, and locations to ensure a cohesive and carefully considered scheme.
Final Design Visual Renders
To help you visualise the design with complete clarity, we then develop fully realistic and accurately proportioned 3D renders of your garden. These immersive images bring the design to life, showing how materials, planting, and features will look once installed. They are an essential tool in refining the finer details of the project, from the placement of individual plants to the position of furniture and decorative elements.
We can also generate renders in different lighting conditions such as daylight, dusk, and night—allowing you to see how proposed lighting strategies enhance ambience, safety, and usability throughout the year.
By combining precise technical drawings with lifelike visualisations, we ensure you know exactly what to expect and can move forward with complete confidence that the design is the right choice for you.
Materials & Planting Strategies
Using your Client Brief and our experience, we develop creative materials and Planting strategies that set the visual tone and character of your garden. This stage allows us to explore a range of creative possibilities, from colour palettes and textures to material combinations and planting styles, ensuring that every choice supports the overall vision for your outdoor space.
We consider how plants will grow and evolve through the seasons, selecting varieties that complement your preferred aesthetic whilst thriving in the specific conditions of your garden. Equally, we review a range of materials—such as paving, timber, aggregates, and feature elements—to find options that not only look beautiful but also suit your lifestyle and maintenance expectations.
These early decisions form the foundation of the final design, helping to shape a cohesive, harmonious design that feels both personal and purposeful. By aligning planting and materials with your preferred style, your home, and the natural environment, we create a garden that is visually rich, practical to live with, and enduringly elegant.
