What to expect when you have your garden landscaped

The order of work in one paragraph

Landscaping is done from the ground up and from the boundary in. First the plan is agreed. Then the garden is cleared of whatever is not staying. The ground is prepared and levelled. Boundaries and hard surfaces such as fencing, edging and gravel go in next, because they involve the most disturbance. Turf and planting come last so they are not trampled or buried. Nearly every question about timing or disruption makes sense once you picture that sequence.

Step one: the visit and the quote

Craig will walk the garden with you and talk through how you actually want to use it: somewhere for children to play, lower upkeep, privacy from a road, a place for a table in the sun, borders that look good most of the year. He looks at access, soil, drainage, slopes and what is worth keeping, then provides a clear quotation for the agreed work.

It is worth thinking beforehand about which parts of the garden matter most to you, what you dislike about it now and roughly what you would like to spend. That helps shape a plan that fits the property instead of chasing short lived trends.

Step two: clearing the space

Most projects begin by removing what is not staying: old turf, tired shrubs, broken fencing, weeds, rubble and sometimes stumps. On larger or badly overgrown plots a digger does this quickly. Everything is taken away as a registered waste carrier, so you are not left with a pile at the side of the drive.

Step three: ground preparation

This is the part you will not see in the finished photos, and it is the part that decides whether the garden lasts. Soil is levelled and graded so water runs away from the house, compacted areas are loosened, buried rubble is dug out and weed roots are removed. Areas for gravel get a firm, even base. Areas for lawn get a fine, level surface.

Step four: boundaries and hard surfaces

Fencing, edging and gravel go in once the ground is ready. Doing them before turf means posts can be set and materials barrowed through without damaging a new lawn. Gravel is a common choice where people want a tidy, low upkeep surface, for example across a front garden or along a side path.

• Fencing for privacy, boundaries and keeping pets in
• Gravel areas and paths with a proper base
• Clean edges between gravel, lawn and borders

Step five: turf and planting

New turf is laid on the prepared ground with tight joins and clean edges, and you are given aftercare guidance for the first weeks. Borders and planting areas are set out and planted with species chosen for the soil, the light and how much looking after you want to do. In the sandy ground around Brandon and the Brecks, for instance, drought tolerant choices tend to do far better than thirsty ones. See Craig's planting service for the work involved in preparing and planting beds.

Living with the work while it happens

Expect some noise and some mess while clearance and ground work is going on, especially if a machine is on site. Access through a side gate is usually needed, and it helps to move cars, pots and garden furniture out of the way beforehand. Once the final area is finished the site is left tidy.

After the landscaping is done

New turf needs watering while it roots. New planting needs watering through its first dry spells. After that, many customers move onto a garden maintenance plan so the finished garden stays the way it looked on the last day of the job.