Chris Young BA (Hons)
Garden Designer

News

I have added just a few of the commissions I have been working on this past year to the site. I have been very fortunate and had some wonderful and interesting projects and look forward to creating new projects this year.

I am very pleased to say that I now have a really good team working with me. Aire valley are landscapers well known in the Yorkshire area and have a Silver Gilt and Gold medals from Chelsea The latest garden built at Chelsea this year will shortly be built at Harlow Car “Called Rhubarb Crumble”
Morley Brothers, fabricators supply wrought iron and steel work from my designs. Carving work in wood i.e. seating, totem poles abstract works of art by Karl Barker Other artists working in sculpture, stained glass and Children’s play equipment.

I have also been working on photographic projects and creating new art works. Click here for more information

Have a great year and enjoy your gardens

The Design Process

My service is flexible and ranges from an informal chat on how to improve the garden to a full design with planting plan and instructions on how to maintain plants and landscape service.

The full design service would include:

  • A visit to the garden on two occasions at different times of the day to collect information.
  • The brief - A informal talk with you to learn about your desires and needs for the garden ie. what plants you like, colour, use of the garden, budget etc. This helps me to establish and record your requirements.
  • A site survey - When the brief is agreed I will take detailed measurements of the garden and features to produce a scaled plan of your existing garden. Photographs are taken and a recording of views, soil type, microclimate, information of areas outside the garden boundaries and the character of the garden. (A bill for an interim payment is requested at this stage).
  • Concept and sketch design - This is a working drawing of shapes, ie. pathways, planting beds and initial ideas.
  • When the sketch design is agreed a Master Plan is then drawn up. (The second interim payment is requested).
  • Plant identification - At this stage I suggest which stock may be suitable and we discuss your likes and dislikes. Once agreed, a planting plan of suitable plants for the areas involved is added to the Master Plan which can be drawn in ink only or in full colour.
  • Having agreed all the above, the next step is to choose and get estimates for the hard landscaping. (A bill for the final payment is then requested.)

The design process can take between 4 to 6 weeks.

Having presented the design I can then at your instruction proceed with construction. If this is a small project I may undertake the work myself otherwise I am in the hands of the Landscape Company who are also Tree Surgeons. They receive a copy of my design with instructions and submit their estimates giving me a time scale. 'Aire Valley Landscaping Services' carry out all my landscaping work. They are a well known Company and highly thought of. They recently worked on a garden for the Chelsea Flower Show which won Best in Show and a Gold Certificate. I recommend that when they begin work my services are retained to act as Project Manager. I can then oversee that all work is carried out exactly as required.

The planting commences when all building work has been carried out and usually proceeds in stages as different plants are available at different times of the year. I plant everything personally and have a number of nurseries I visit or correspond with and can rely on good stock.

You may not feel you wish the full service as shown above. A talk about the garden may be enough or possibly moving on from that I could produce a 'working drawing' of shapes showing hard and soft landscaping with specific information on the planting you have at present and how to enhance the area with other stock.

Whatever your requirements, from an informal chat to a full landscape construction, I am at your service.

© 2008 www.cyoungdesign.co.uk