Most people find it hard to picture a garden that doesn't exist yet. That's not a failing. A drawing on paper, a list of materials and a price don't tell you how the space will feel when you step out of the back door. So before anything is built, we show you.
What we mean by a concept visual
A concept visual is a picture of your own garden, from a photo we take at the consultation, showing it finished: the patio, the levels, the lawn, the planting, in the materials we're talking about. It's not a brochure photo of somebody else's house. It's your fence, your windows, your space.
We make one as part of every proposal, and we go through it with you on the design call.
Why it matters
It makes decisions easier. Choosing between a grey and a buff stone from two small samples is hard. Seeing both in your garden is much easier, and it's where people usually know straight away.
It catches problems while they're cheap to fix. A step in the wrong place, a patio that's too small for the table, a path that doesn't go where you actually walk. On a picture, those are a quick change. Once the concrete's down, they're expensive.
Everyone agrees on the same thing. When two people are deciding, it's easy for each to picture something different. A visual puts you both, and us, on the same page before a spade goes in the ground.
It helps you decide what really matters. Sometimes seeing it shows you that the thing you thought you wanted most isn't the thing that makes the space work. That's worth knowing before you pay for it.
What it isn't
A concept visual shows the design and the feel. It isn't a survey drawing, and the finished garden won't match it pixel for pixel: real stone varies, plants grow, light changes. What it does is make sure the garden we build is the one you had in mind.
For bigger or more complicated gardens, with lots of levels or several areas, we may suggest a paid design package with detailed drawings as well. If you go ahead with the build, its cost is credited in full. What happens after the design, stage by stage, is in what a full garden renovation involves.
Questions people ask
Do I have to pay for the concept visual?
No. It's part of every proposal. The paid design package is only for complex gardens that need detailed drawings before a fixed price is possible, and we'll tell you at the consultation if we think yours does.
Can we change the design after seeing it?
Yes, that's the point. We go through it together on the design call and change it until it's right, and your proposal then confirms what you agreed.
Will the finished garden look exactly like the visual?
Very close in layout, levels and materials. Natural stone varies slab to slab and planting takes a season or two to fill out, so think of it as a faithful picture of the design rather than a photograph of the finished job.
