Garden design: what happens at the site visit
Every garden we design starts with a walk around it. Here is what that visit actually looks like: what to have ready, what we check, and how it turns into a plan, a quote and a build.
Before we arrive
A little preparation goes a long way
You do not need drawings, plant names or a finished brief. What helps most is knowing how you want to use the space: where you sit, what the kids and pets need, what you are sick of maintaining, and any photos of gardens you like the feel of.
It also helps to know the practical constraints before we get there. If there are plans of the block, easements you know about, or a body corporate with rules, have them handy. None of it is essential; it just means the visit spends more time on the garden and less on paperwork.
Walking the garden
Access, levels, soil, sun, and what stays
The visit itself is a walk around the garden together. We look at how gear and materials would get in, because access decides how a job is built and what it costs. We read the levels, since a slope might mean retaining, steps or terracing that a flat plan would never show.
We also dig a little: what the soil is like, where the sun lands through the day, where water goes when it rains, and which trees, plants and structures are staying. A design that ignores any of those looks good on paper and fails in the ground.
Talking scope honestly
Budget shapes the plan, so we talk about it plainly
At some point in the visit we talk about scope, and we would rather do that honestly than design something you never intended to build. Every garden has versions: the full rebuild, the staged project that starts with the structure and adds planting later, and the focused job that fixes the thing that bothers you most.
You do not need to name a number. What matters is a frank conversation about which version of the garden you actually want, so the plan and the quote describe a project you would genuinely go ahead with. The visit and the quote are free, and there is no obligation either way.
From visit to plan
What you get after we leave
After the visit we put the plan together: the layout of beds, paths, lawn and structure, and a planting direction suited to your soil and light, with native and low-water species as our usual starting point.
With the plan comes an itemised quote for the agreed scope. Because the person who walked the garden is the person who prices it, the quote reflects the real site: the access, the levels and the materials, not a rate per hour.
From plan to build
The same crew sees it through
If you go ahead, the build is done by our own founder-led crew, not subcontracted out. Groundwork and structure come first, planting and turf follow, and the site is kept tidy as the work moves through its stages.
Because design, quote and build sit with one team, nothing gets lost in a handover. The garden you talked about on the walk is the garden that gets built, and we can keep maintaining it while it establishes if you want us to.
Book a visit
Free, and no obligation
The visit costs nothing and commits you to nothing. We come out, walk the garden with you, talk scope honestly and leave you with a clear plan and an itemised quote to consider in your own time. We work across Melbourne's inner north from our base in Northcote.
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What local clients say
Real reviews from homes across Melbourne's inner north, in their own words.
Exceeded all expectations! Saxon came to see what work was required, offered suggestions & gave me a quote on the spot. Plants were delivered & then Cam and Elf arrived on time and cleaned up my front and backyard of overgrown bamboo, tree shoots, weeds and replanted my front planter box removing dead plants as well as trimming grass plants back. I am thrilled with the result and just wish I had taken before photos to show the incredible job done.
Simone Fet
Local Guide
Thank you Oliver & Cam for doing such a great job on a very overgrown backyard ivy - great communication and consultation throughout. Thanks Saxon for prompt response and booking, great communication and a pleasure to deal with. Now I've found this team I'll be returning in the future.
Louise Long
Local Guide
Cameron did a fantastic job with our front, side and backyards. He was efficient and had 4 bags/bins worth of weeds and vines packed in 3 hours. Saxon was able to squeeze me in last minute before a rental inspection. Highly recommend these guys!
Casey Nguyen
Local Guide
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