Garden Designer

Business Owner Profile

Hi, I’m Gary.

How I Work Today

I provide Full garden design services, covering Somerset, Devon & Dorset.

My background allows me to approach design differently.

I understand how gardens are actually built — how levels interact, how drainage behaves, how materials perform and where unnecessary complexity can inflate cost. That insight enables me to design spaces that are not only visually strong, but efficient, practical and realistic to construct.

For homeowners, that means clarity and confidence before work begins.

Garden design, in my view, sits at the intersection of creativity and construction. The most successful projects respect both.

My career has been built around bridging that gap — ensuring ideas are grounded in technical understanding and buildable detail.

I believe in thoughtful, well-resolved designs that maximise value and stand the test of time.

My background

My route into garden design didn’t begin in a Grounded Landscape Design, far from it !, — it began on construction sites.

I originally trained as a Site Engineer, gaining a BTEC in Civil Engineering before spending 17 years working along the M4 corridor & The South West, on a wide range of construction projects. During that time, I worked as a Site Engineer, Engineer-Foreman, Senior Site Engineer and Site Manager, involved in everything from major earthworks and steel-frame buildings to road schemes, civils projects and housing developments.

My role often centred around setting out lines and levels — the unseen precision that determines whether a project truly works. I developed a particular appreciation for the technical aspects of construction: accuracy, ground conditions, drainage, sequencing and problem solving.

After nearly two decades in large-scale construction, I made a career change and established my own paving and landscaping business.

For 25 years, myself & my small team worked primarily on domestic projects, along with some work on local schools, the odd pub garden & the like. I was designing and building gardens, ranging from complete transformations to focused installations such as patios, decking, fencing, driveways and structural features. I remained hands-on throughout, personally carrying out installations and mastering the practical skills required across paving, brick and stone walling, timber construction, lawn preparation and planting.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of our varied profession, I particularly liked building anything timber related – decking, oak pergolas, gazebos, etc.

Over that period, I carried out more than 5,000 site visits to provide quotations, and designed and built in excess of 100 gardens.

Working directly with clients, physically constructing what I had designed, provided an education that cannot be replicated on paper alone. It reinforced an understanding of what is realistic, what lasts, what causes issues — and how to avoid unnecessary cost.

I would like to think one of my key skills was the ability to design & build a garden to an agreed budget. I built many gardens planned by other Garden Designers whilst running my business, and I often found myself having to give the prospective client the bad news that their wonderful design, was going to cost them significantly more than they had budgeted for. I also had to suggest alterations & better material options on a regular basis. That’s not to say all Designers can’t budget or complete “workable” drawings, but sadly there are many that can’t.

After 25 successful years in business, I chose to make a lifestyle move to Somerset. On my arrival to Somerset, I spent some years working with a respected local landscaping company, focused on hands on landscaping, quotations & design.

Having now stepped away from on-site physical work, I concentrate solely on garden design, a process I have a passion for.

“One of the main reasons we chose Gary, was the mix of design and hands-on landscaping experience. The plans were clear, sensible and gave us confidence moving ahead with the project.” Alistair H