Christmas at Preston Bissett - Book Now
Garden Design & Planting Consultations
At Preston Bissett Nurseries & Country Shop, we offer a full garden design service to help you transform your garden into a space that enchants & inspires.
We can produce masterplans, working drawings and planting plans to meet your specific requirements and from initial consultation through to construction, we will provide expert advice and support to ensure the entire process runs smoothly.
We also offer a planting consultation service with our horticultural advisor, to help you create beautiful borders, select the best trees for screening, or find simple solutions for those difficult to manage areas.
We are able to cover Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire.
Enquiry Form
If you are interested in either a garden design or planting consultation, please fill in this form and we will contact you to provide any further information you need and hopefully book a consultation appointment with you. Please include any site photographs, surveys or plans you have to give us an understanding of your project.
Tina James MSGD
Garden designer
I am a registered member of the Society of Garden Designers and have been a professional garden designer for over 16 years. I have been fortunate to work on gardens from tiny city courtyards to large country estates. I have a wealth of industry experience in creating gardens and I will always take a pragmatic approach.
I will listen to your ideas and aspirations whilst considering the layout, geography, aspect, proposed use, and maintenance. These points infirm the process and are used to create a beautiful garden design, a unique space for you to experience the restorative effect of being immersed in nature.
I like to create gardens that are in harmony with their surroundings by prescribing a restrained palette of natural materials from the local environment. I aim to connect the house to the landscape and strive to create timeless spaces
Jarka Valasheek
Garden Designer
Jarka chose horticulture and garden design as part of a career change that took her from the world of art and architecture into the world of gardens. Jarka is not only a qualified designer, having achieved RHS Level 2 Diploma, and currently studying a Postgraduate Diploma in Garden Design she is also Preston Bissett Nurseries head plant buyer. With an eye for seasonal colour across all of the ranges and an in-depth knowledge of new and exciting varieties Jarkas eye is one of the very best within the industry.
Jarka has designed many successful planting schemes that her clients enjoy. She has a particular interest in biodiversity and blending formal aspects of garden design with naturalistic planting. With an eye for art and design, Jarka was involved in projects that took her to work on winning show gardens of recent years at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Vicki Eeles
Planting Consultant
Vicki is a dedicated and creative garden consultant. Trained in horticulture with the RHS, she uses her varied experience to design imaginative and thoughtful planting and support you to gain confidence with plants so you can enjoy a beautiful garden.
Vicki is on hand to assist you in finding the right direction for your garden and will talk through plant care, choice and style. She will work with you to get the best out of your space and find the right planting to compliment your life and your garden needs.
‘Gardening and plants can feel overwhelming sometimes and I find people can lose confidence and feel they will never be any good at caring for plants. I love to empower people to understand their outdoor space, what plants will work where and how to care for them so they will have somewhere to enjoy for many years to come.’
Working with Vicki is a flexible experience and she can help facilitate your garden needs from border organisation, plant recommendations and planting designs through to placing and planting your chosen plants.
‘I look forward to working with you to create a space full of life and bring out your green fingers!’
Garden Design Process
Step 1: Initial consultation & brief
This will take place in your garden so we can consider the space and use our design expertise to explore it’s potential. We will listen to your needs and discuss how you imagine living in your newly designed space. After the initial consultation we will prepare a design brief for your project, this will outline our approach and our proposed fees to complete your design.
Step 2: Site survey
An accurate topographical survey of the existing garden is required before any design work can begin. This will be undertaken by a professional surveyor to locate the boundaries, hard surfaces, doors, windows, services, existing vegetation and levels all relative to the house. We will be able to recommend a certified surveyor for you.
Step 3: Master plan & mood boards
A master plan is a scaled 2D layout plan showing details of terraces, steps, walls, planting, lawns, trees and any other elements such as pergolas or water features. The master plan does not include planting plans, these will follow once the master plan is approved. The mood boards will reflect design details and give you a sense of the overall look and feel for your garden. Upon presentation we will invite your feedback and make any amendments to the design, should you wish. If you would like to see 3D renders of your design, we can quote for this service once the masterplan has been approved.
Step 4: Construction drawings
We can prepare detailed construction drawings to enable your landscape contractors to quote and then build the garden. This can include setting out plans, lighting plans and any technical drawings for items such as pergolas or water features. We would strongly recommend considering garden lighting within your design as it not only extends the use of your outside space but creates a beautiful backdrop from the house after dark. A lighting plan will show locations, quantities, and types of fittings.
Step 5: Planting plan
A planting plan and schedule can be produced once the master plan has been approved. This will detail species, size, quantities and positions to enable accurate quoting and implementation. We can discuss costs and timings for us to supply and plant once your contractor reaches a suitable stage in construction.
Step 6: Project administration
With a professional landscape contractor in place, we will supervise the garden build on your behalf to ensure that the project runs smoothly. We would also love to support you in sourcing any styling elements such as furniture and pots. We work closely with a range of suppliers and would be able to find something that not only suits your budget but works beautifully within the design.
Planting Consultation Process
Step 1: Initial consultation
We would strongly recommend that the consultation takes place in your garden, as this will allow us to fully evaluate the areas in question and use our expertise to consider their potential. However, if this is not feasible, we are happy to talk through your project here at Preston Bissett nursery, but we would ask that you provide us with pictures and measurements of the areas in question prior to your consultation. On site consultations are charged at £100, payable in advance (*additional fees for mileage may apply). Nursery consultations are charged at £60 (per hour), payable in advance.
Our planting consultations are intended to advise you on what planting will work well within existing garden areas or show you how to use additional planting to enhance and develop new spaces. We can also provide expert advice on subjects such as pruning, training and general garden management.
During your consultation we will discuss what you would like to achieve and ask you about your preferred gardening / planting styles. We will work together to create an achievable plan for your garden, as well as considering any long-term plans for future development.
Step 2: Planting consultation report
Shortly after your consultation we will provide you with a consultation report detailing everything we discussed and outlining our recommended approach to your project. Our report is intended to provide you with considered advice and appropriate suggestions that will enable you to achieve your garden aspirations. If you would like us to develop our report into a detailed planting plan and provide costs to implement your new planting, we can provide you with a quote for the design time required to do this for you.
Some of Our Projects
Planting Consultation
Urban planting scheme
We were asked to propose a planting scheme for a local city centre development that will feature four large scale raised planters surrounding a circular seating area with water fountains at the centre. The planting needed to provide structure, add a sense of dynamism and feature changing seasonal interest along with providing food and habitat for wildlife.
Planting Consultation
Long boundary border
A new home owner was in need of some ideas on how to rejuvenate a tired border and add colour and form to create a longer season of interest. Lavender was already used throughout the garden, so we suggested some long flowering herbaceous perennials in complimentary colours along with some evergreen structural shrubs.
Garden Design
Family entertaining
Having lived in their home for a few yeas this family were ready to update their garden and wanted to create multiple seating areas to enjoy together and when entertaining friends. Our design worked around some existing hard landscaping to add in two new seating areas, one open and one set beneath a timber arbour, along with some boundary hedging and specimen trees to add some much needed screening from the surrounding houses.
Planting Consultation
Summer showstopper
These clients requested a show-stopping summer border to add in front of a rather dull Conifer hedge at the back of their garden. We pulled together a bright and bold planting palette full of contrasting colours, shapes and textures to provide colour, texture and movement.
Garden Design
Wildlife Friendly Garden
This client wanted to create a garden that would be a haven for wildlife, a peaceful, tranquil space where they could relax and unwind and watch wildlife visitors to the garden. Small seating areas surrounded by pollinator friendly planting with gravel paths running through delivered an interesting and varied garden with something to enjoy in all seasons. Long flowering plants add seasonal interest and offer food and increased habitat for wildlife to enjoy.