The cost most people forget when planning a garden project: maintenance.
A garden isn't a kitchen renovation. You don't install it and walk away. Plants grow, materials weather, borders fill in, edges need managing. That's the beauty of it — but it needs ongoing attention.
Here's what people tend to underestimate:
Planting needs management. Herbaceous borders need splitting, cutting back, and occasional replanting. Hedges need trimming. A "low maintenance" garden isn't "no maintenance" — it's one where maintenance has been designed to be manageable.
Materials need care. Indian sandstone needs sealing. Softwood decking needs annual treatment. Even tough materials benefit from occasional cleaning.
Design evolves. A garden in year five should look different from year one — fuller, more established. But that evolution needs guiding. Without it, the garden doesn't mature — it just gets overgrown.
Contingency gets used. That 10–15% buffer in a responsible quote exists because gardens involve digging, and digging involves surprises. Better to plan for it than pretend it won't happen.
We offer aftercare because we've seen the difference it makes. A well-designed garden without ongoing care loses the qualities that made it worth building.
📍 Surrey
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