Irish Garden Designers

Garden Design is the art and science of designing, creating and maintaining our evolving private open spaces as both amenity and practical resources. A current entry in Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, makes good and pleasant reading, with the added advantage that you can amend it to share your knowledge of Garden Design

The following will help you, firstly to decide if you need a garden designer rather than a landscape architect or a landscape contractor.  Once you have decided it will then help you to prepare for working with the garden designer

The Garden Designer
Garden Designers generally prefer to work with residential clients, helping them to understand their existing garden space and enabling them to arrive at a space that suits their lifestyle.  They like to spend some initial time meeting with the client in order to gain an understanding of their client's lifestyle and how the use the private open space that is their garden.  

Preparing for your first meeting with the Garden Designer
It is helpful before meeting with you garden designer, and it will save you time and money, if you take a little bit of time to prepare by assessing your needs.  Think about the following:

What are your practical must-haves? Cloths-line, oil-tank, play-area, vegetable patch, patio design, decking design, or if you, for instance work from home, a shaded place where you can sit with you laptop on sunny days.  Do you or another member of your household have a hobby that involves using part or all of the garden.  I've seen golfers who practice putting, radio amateurs who have antennas overhead and even a garden where a play area and slide are in place for, and used by, the adults!  Take you time and make a short list of how you want to use the space from day to day.

What do you want to create? Do you want lots of plants or possibly something with a high hard-surface or possibly brown-surface content?  Are you interested in wildlife? Are there times of the year when you're not present in the garden? Think about the space as if it were already finished and mature.  That way you will help yourself to arrive at decisions about the garden that you really want to have.

Firstly think in broad terms about the scope of work; do you want your designer to address hard-works, soft-works and enclosures or are you happy with some of these as they exist and want to concentrate on others.

Secondly think about the brief for your designer in narrower and more detailed terms; Show her photographs and book and magazine illustrations of other gardens that you like, make specific lists of the plants you like or the type of plants you like.  Which hard landscape surfaces do you like and which do you really want to avoid; give reasons for your choices as the more information your designer can internalise the closer he can come to understanding exactly what you need.  When you meet do engage in conversation about the various options as the more that the designer and the client understand each other the more successful the project is likely to be.

It is useful to understand the following points and to engage in a full discussion about them during the briefing session:

At the first meeting with your designer examine the following
1. Is you garden isolated from all other visual entities or are there areas that need integrating, framing or screening. Do you want to blend the view with a view, or views, that exist? Do you want to emphasise things that you like? Do you really want to hide or reduce the visual impact of other things that you do not like?
2. Spend some time ensuring that both you, the client and your garden designer fully understand each other.  The more questions that you can ask yourself at this stage the better.
3. The more you can do to communicate the way that you live and use you garden and home, the better understanding your designer will have of your needs.
4. Is there an ecological aspect to how you want to organise your garden, would you like to use local materials, sustainable drainage systems or perhaps encourage biodiversity?
5. Almost everybody likes low maintenance gardens, however do have a little think about this and decide on the things that you actually like to do in the garden.  Discuss this with your designer and help her to find ways to maximise the activities that you like and to minimise the things you'd rather not do.
6. Avoid thinking that the garden is something that can only be enjoyed visually.  The five senses are more important than we think; sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell.  In doing your research therefore, and before you brief your designer, think about and have a look at ways that will help your garden space to become a treat, not just for the eyes, but for all the senses.  Ask your designer to consider this.
7. Spend some time ensuring that both you the client, and your garden designer fully understand each other by revisiting but not labouring points that are important or where you feel that doubt may exist.
8. Be very clear about the documents and the level of service that you require from the contractor.  The basic procedure normally executed by most designers involves:

a) Signing off on a simple appointment or contract which forms the relationship between you and the designer.
b) Carrying out a site assessment and complete a survey, a copy of which you should receive.
c) The completion of a preliminary design, a copy of which you will receive and which you will discuss with the designer.
d) The preparation of a final detailed design drawing showing all the work that it is proposed to undertake, a bill of quantities listing the amounts, type, quality and source for the various materials to be used, a specification document which describes in writing the work to be undertaken by the landscape contractor, a set of preliminary measures to be priced by the contractor and a management/maintenance plan designed to ensure that the finished scheme thrives to maturity and beyond.

Generally speaking a garden designer will provide you with the early stage final detailed design consisting of a detailed design drawing and a list of materials.  Anything further will generally need to be agreed before commencing.  It is good however to have the designer prepare each of the documents listed a) to d) above in order to help eliminate as much doubt as possible during the next project stage, when your landscape contractor is on site.

Some landscape contractors may provide a full and comprehensive garden design service.  Members of the GLDA and the ALCI who provide a design and build service will generally adhere to the above process. In order to maintain clarity throughout the project, this design process should be fully completed before contract work commences on the site.

It is almost always of benefit to have the designer present on site during key stages of the construction process in order to ensure that you, the client, are getting what you are paying for.  At a minimum it is generally required that the designer carry out inspections prior to the contractor receiving payments.

Some landscape architects will also provide a full and comprehensive garden design service to whatever level you require.

This page is here for your information and we are not responsible for any decisions you make.  We will however be happy to amend this article based on any questions or observations you have about the garden design process. Simply contact us and if we feel that the information arising is if benefit to readers we'll be delighted to include it.  

To find a practice in your area please consult the following list.  Even though there may not be a practice in your area, garden design is a very portable skill, and many, if not most designers carry out work in all parts of the country:

Cork

Verney Naylor, Dromreagh, Durrus, Bantry, Co Cork.  Tel +353 27 61031, Local 027 61031

Clare

Lisa McKnight, LMK Landscape Consultants, The Grainstore, Deerpark House, Bunratty, Co. Clare. Tel +353 61 713664

Dublin

Andrew Glenn-Craigie, Landscape Restoration Design Ltd., The Rookery, Powerstown, Clonee, Dublin 15.  Tel: +353 1 8217046, Local 01 8217046

Barry Lupton, Portmarnock, Co Dublin. Tel +353 86 3492286, Local 086 3492286

Brian O'Hara, Projectgarden Ltd., 11 Myrtle Park, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. Tel +353 87 6891679, Local 087 6891679

Colm Doyle, St Marys, Brennanstown Road, Cabinteely, Dublin 18. Tel +353 1 2048020, Local 01 2048020

David Shortall, 6 Walnut Avenue, Kingswood Heights, Ballymount, Dublin 24. +353 1 4525674, Local 01 4525674

Gary W Foran, 3 Park Lodge, Castleknock, Dublin 15. Tel +353 1 8217512, Local 01 8217512

Gordon Ledbetter, Design F&L, 74 Highfield Road, Dublin 6. +353 1 4970439, Local 01 4970439

Jane McCorkell, Brambly Cottage, The Rath Farm, Kilsallaghan, Co.Dublin. tel +353 1 8353181, Local 01 8353181

Lisa Murphy, Landscape Restoration Design Ltd, The Rookery, Powerstown, Clonee, Dublin 15. Tel +353 1 8217046, Local 01 8217046

Maximilian Kemper, Maximize Design, 10 Ballybough Road, Ballybough, Dublin 3. Tel +353 1 8556957, Local 01 8556957

Patricia Tyrrell, 8 Crannagh Grove, Rathfarnham, D14, +353 1 4906873, Local 01 4906873

Peter FitzPatrick, 6 Walnut Avenue, Kingswood Heights, Dublin 24.  Tel +353 85 7299736, Local 085 7299736

Sheena Vernon, 2 Ullard Mor, Ardeevin Road, Dalkey, County Dublin. tel +353 1 2859019, Local 01 2859019

Susan Maxwell, 17 Killeen Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6. Tel +353 1 4978624, Local 01 4978624

Kildare

Angela Binchy, Angela Binchy Designs, Gormanstown Studio, Kilcullen, Co Kildare.  Tel +353 45 481303, Local 045 481303

Elma Fenton, Garden Studio, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare.  Tel +353 1 4977311, Local 01 4977311

Offaly

Angela Jupe, Jupe Design Ltd, Bellefield House, Shinrone, Co Offaly. Tel +353 505 47766, Local 0505 47766

Waterford

Peter Stam, Stam's Bamboo Nursery Ltd, Ballinwillin, Lismore, Co Waterford. Tel +353 58 54787, Local 058 54787

Wexford

Gerry O'Keeffe, Kildermot, Ballymoney, Gorey, Co Wexford. Tel +353 53 9425805, Local 053 9425805

Wicklow

Gerry Daly & Associates, Ballinahinch, Ashford, Co Wicklow. Tel +353 404 40158, Local 0404 40158

Hugh Ryan, Hugh Ryan Landscape Design, Kilballyowen, Annacurra, Aughrim, Co.Wicklow.  Tel +353 402 36913, Local 0402 36913

Louise Burns, Tara, Newcastle, Co Wicklow. Tel +353 87 6547856, Local 087 6547856

Peter O'Brien, Plan Eden, 54 Garden Village Drive, Kilpedder, Co Wicklow.  Tel +353 1 2819470, Local 01 2819470

Sally Kelly, Johnstown North, Arklow, Co Wicklow. Tel +353 402 39790, Local 0402 39790

Tim Austen, Austen Associates, One Salt House, South Quay, Wicklow. Tel +353 404 66433 ext. 4115, Local 0404 66433 ext. 4115

Tycho Mays, Howbert & Mays, Meadowsweet, Ballycullen, Ashford, Co Wicklow. Tel +353 404 42806, Local 0404 42806

For more information please go to the GLDA, The Garden and Landscape Designers Association