If you could only spend money on one part of your garden, where should it go?
Clients ask us this a lot. After 50 years, our answer is always the same: start with the hard landscaping.
Paving, retaining walls, fencing, steps, drainage — these are the bones of your garden. Get them right and they'll serve you for decades. Get them wrong, and everything built on top suffers.
Our priority order if budget is tight:
First — drainage and ground preparation. Not glamorous, but skip this and nothing else works properly.
Second — main paved areas. You use these every day. Quality here makes a daily difference.
Third — boundaries and structure. Fencing, walls, raised beds — these define the space.
Fourth — planting. Plants are the most flexible element. Start simple, add over time. You can't easily move a patio.
Fifth — features. Lighting, water features, garden buildings — character, not foundations.
You can phase this over time. Structure in year one, planting in year two, features when budget allows. Each phase builds on solid foundations.
The most expensive mistake in garden design isn't choosing the wrong plants. It's redoing hard landscaping because it wasn't done properly the first time.
📍 Surrey
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