Every successful garden begins with a conversation.

We start with a complimentary introductory call to understand your ideas, aspirations and the scope of your project.

Following this, we arrange a video consultation to explore your garden in greater detail, explain our design approach and discuss how we can help bring your vision to life.

We then prepare a tailored design fee proposal outlining the recommended services, scope of work and professional fees.

Begin Your Garden Journey

Tell us a little about your garden and what you would like to achieve by completing our short enquiry form. You are welcome to include photographs or existing plans to help us understand your project.

Once we have reviewed your enquiry, we will be in touch to arrange your complimentary introductory call.

Once we have reviewed your enquiry, we will be in touch to confirm the most appropriate next step. Where your project is a suitable fit for our services, we will arrange a complimentary introductory telephone call.

If there is a good mutual fit following this conversation, we may invite you to a complimentary video consultation to explore your project in greater detail. Following this, we can prepare a bespoke design fee proposal for your consideration.

We work with homeowners who want to make more of their gardens, whether that means improving an existing space, introducing better planting, addressing practical problems or rethinking the garden as a whole.

Our work spans rural and country gardens, historic properties, riverside settings and urban spaces, from intimate planting schemes to larger gardens requiring a considered approach to design, planting and long-term development.

Our work is primarily focused on South Suffolk and North Essex. We value working closely with our clients and developing solutions that respond to the property, its surroundings and the way the garden will be used.

Not at all. Sometimes a client has a clear vision; sometimes they know only that the garden isn't working as well as it could.

Part of our role is to help identify the opportunities, establish priorities and develop a clear direction. We can start with the problems you want to solve and build from there.

Garden project costs vary considerably depending on the size of the space, the scope of the work and the materials and planting involved.

As a general guide, focused planting improvements may be achievable from around £2,000, while more comprehensive garden transformations can involve investments of £30,000–£80,000 or more.

These figures are indicative project budgets rather than design fees. Professional design services are priced separately, with fees reflecting the scope and complexity of each commission.

You do not need to have a fixed budget before contacting us. However, having an approximate investment range in mind helps us understand your ambitions, assess what may be achievable and recommend an appropriate approach.

For more information, please visit our Budget and Fees page.

We believe that a garden should be experienced, not simply looked at.

Our approach to design considers how people arrive in a garden, move through it, discover different views and experience changes in atmosphere, planting and space. We bring together the practical disciplines of garden design and horticulture with a particular interest in the experience a garden creates.

The result should be a garden that responds to its setting and the people who use it, with a character and identity of its own.

The scope depends on the garden and the project. It might involve rethinking the overall layout, developing a planting scheme, improving the relationship between different areas or preparing a more comprehensive design for a garden transformation.

We will discuss your requirements at the outset and set out the proposed scope, deliverables and fee before work begins. Where appropriate, the design can also form the basis for obtaining contractor quotations and planning the implementation.

Yes. Stagecraft Gardens can lead the design independently of the installation.

Where a project requires construction or specialist skills, we can help identify and coordinate suitable contractors. You can also choose to work with your own contractor. The arrangement and our level of involvement will be agreed to suit the project.

Yes. Not every garden needs a complete redesign.

A planting-led project, a redesigned border, a better use of an overlooked area or a plan for improving an established garden can all make a meaningful difference. We will discuss the scale of the work and recommend an appropriate service rather than assume that every client needs a full garden design.

Design fees depend on the size, complexity and requirements of the project, as well as the level of detail and support needed.

Following our initial discussions, we prepare a bespoke design fee proposal outlining the proposed scope of work, the services included and the associated fees. This allows you to make an informed decision before committing. For design commissions, the first site visit takes place following appointment to a paid design commission.

Design fees are separate from the costs of plants, materials, construction and other specialist services unless expressly stated otherwise in the proposal.

Timescales depend on the project, its complexity and the information required to develop the design. A planting scheme for an existing border will usually involve a different process from a comprehensive redesign.

We will discuss likely timescales when we understand the brief. The season can also influence when planting or practical work is best undertaken, although the winter months can be an excellent time to plan for the year ahead.