In my experience, very few people start out on a career in professional gardening as a definite ambition. Obviously, it is a perquisite that a love of working outdoors, watching nature and all of the joys of creation is taken as a fact. Most will work part-time as students or straight from school, as it is a natural option if they live in the country or have access to suitable garden sites. Pocket money becomes a full time job, and evolves into a professional practice, employing others and building a gardening business.
Many develop their skills and start on construction projects, taking on landscaping works and building gardens, often moving away from maintenance and into pure landscaping, others will offer both services. Landscaping works evolve into Design and Build, where the original gardener starts to offer design as well as construction and maintenance.
However, starting out a career as a Garden Designer is often not quite so evolutionary, as there are far fewer opportunities to hone your drawing skills in the same way as moving from ‘jobbing gardener’ to running a commercial practice.
During a fairly recent Open Day at the RHS Garden at Wisley, where I manned a stand for The Chartered Institute of Horticulture for a Careers Day one very wet Saturday, nearly two hundred visitors arrived. The business of the day was to introduce people to the potential careers in horticulture. Most were mid 30s career changers, looking for a more satisfying job than their current desk/computer employment. During discussions and in more formal means of obtaining a demographic of the visitors, nearly 90% were keen to become Garden Designers. Little or no interest in gardening or landscaping – only design.
As an advocate of attempting to interest people in taking up a career in horticulture, I found this fact to be somewhat demoralising. As an industry, horticulture is in desperate need of new blood; to become the Head Gardeners and gardeners of the future. Garden design as a business opportunity means entering an already crowded field. I could imagine another hundred and eighty new designers among the visitors that day, all trying to enter the market and earn a living, and I tried hard to promote the alternatives of growing and maintaining gardens.
But then of course, reality kicks in and I realised that only a handful of those visitors would have the necessary skills to become professional Garden Designers. An ability to work with a computer, and draw pretty pictures is never going to turn anyone into a garden designer, able to make a living from their talent. And this, I reasoned, is the one fundamental fact that tempers reality.
CAN YOU SELL YOUR SKILLS?
This the key question for all budding Garden Designers. Being a skilled designer is only the beginning of your venture into the world of professional garden designing. What is a skilled designer? The ability to produce attractive drawings and perspectives is only a small part of becoming a professional – your time being paid for in a meaningful manner – and not simply a hobby is crucial to success. Although this sounds like a statement of the obvious, the act of producing drawings is only one aspect of becoming a garden designer.
Without customers, you have no business. Without a sound business platform behind you, you will flounder in the world of commercial reality. Customers nowadays are very savvy, and demand much more than ideas on paper. It is extremely important that you create a solid professional base for your practice before you present yourself to potential customers.
First of all, you need a practice name. If you decide to work under your own name, that is fine, especially if you have a name that is memorable. Many designers prefer to work under a Trading Title, often a plant name or similar evocative label, presenting themselves as a business rather than a design practice. Obviously, that broad statement will be negated if the words Garden Designer are included in the Trading Title! Put yourself in the shoes of a customer. If you are working as (say) Quercus Garden Design as your trading name, would-be clients may expect to be talking with a firm, rather than an individual. If you operate under Susan Smith Garden Design, they are more likely to think they will be talking to a single handed Garden Designer.
This is all part of your marketing strategy, and I make no recommendations except to ask you to think of how you wish to be seen by potential customers. Either as a design practice, with more than one designer, or as a solo design specialist with whom they can develop a rapport. Why not try out some names and titles on your friends and neighbours before making any decisions?
Having settled on a trading title, you will need to arrange for insurance. You will require both Public Liability insurance and (usually combined) Employers Liability insurance. Even if you do not employ anyone, should you at any time, require an assistant to help hold a tape measure, even if they are unpaid volunteers, you will require Employers Liability insurance. If possible try and obtain Indemnity Insurance to protect you from any claims for negligence or incorrect information and advice.
I suggest that you decide on an image – either a logo or style of lettering. Perhaps a colour palette to use universally throughout your literature, flyers, social media etc. Perhaps even your choice of working clothing or work gloves. It is important even at the outset, to create a public persona that will identify you, and latterly, your work and style of presentation. This will become a solid part of your business, as underpinning your identity is very important. Setting yourself apart from your peers, in a publicly stated manner is a major part of marketing.
You will need a bank account, although many people continue to use their own private account with a bank or building society (who do not have business accounts) and consider engaging an accountant or financial adviser, who will help you to save money and recover start up costs from the taxman.
You must register with your local Tax office, announcing that you will be going self-employed from a certain date. They are always very helpful and will provide you with every assistance.
Remember that you can be self-employed at the same time as holding a full-time or part-time job.
Although all of the above appears to have nothing to do with becoming a garden designer, unless you have your ‘establishment’ firmly in place, once you start to undertake professional commissions, unless you have all of these pieces in place, you risk ruining everything if you cannot operate in a professional manner. Bear in mind that potential clients will be assessing and researching you and your background, and any gaps in your business will quickly cause problems. Definitely insurance cover will be a major factor.
Although it may seem difficult at first, you should have some decent Terms and Conditions in place. You will find a set available from The Landscape Library www.landscapelibrary.co.uk free of charge. Look for Useful Industry Information, then download the Garden Designers Terms & Condition.
You should be a bone fide business first. What you are selling comes secondary.
MARKETING – GAINING ATTENTION
I strongly suggest that before you launch your practice to the paying public, you need to have a portfolio. Do not be concerned that you have never had a real customer, as long as you can produce examples of your work, you will have a sales portfolio to present to would-be customers.
You may wish to develop your own style, or use SketchUp or other digital methods. You may wish to present a particular type of garden. Cottage gardens with lots of traditional plants, modern, cutting edge gardens with new materials used in innovative ways. Seaside gardens, chalk gardens, alpine gardens, organic gardens, wildlife/wildflower gardens – the choice is yours if you decide to specialise.
Your portfolio may be an Illustrative Portfolio, so titled as it is your presentation model for clients to browse. You may wish to use the same sized plot and show ten different designs using that site, or perhaps a dozen different sizes and shapes proving your ideas and talent.
When I first started designing (I was a landscaper turned designer) around thirty years ago, I found it easiest to use a new build site plan produced by a developer or builder, choosing a number of different sites that really existed on a development, producing different styles of garden for a dozen or so genuine sites. Clients could readily identify with both the site, the type of property and style of design on each plot.
If you choose the New Build/Developer route, by presenting your work to the Sales Manager in charge of selling houses, you will have gained a willing advocate of your work. They want to sell houses. If your designs help them with their job, they will certainly welcome your input!
Your leaflets and business cards will be handed out to all interested parties, plus of course, those people who do not buy on that site may take your details with them. This is Solid Gold Marketing!
PRACTICAL SITE ISSUES
Take care to ensure that you adhere to the rules regarding the Construction (Design Management) Regulations 2015 (known as CDM) and produce a CDM Plan including the name of the owner, your name as the designer and other details as set out in the CDM plans that are available via the Internet.
You will need to learn the art of surveying or measuring sites. You may decide to take an assistant with you (hence the need for Employers Liability insurance) until you get used to plotting and gathering the information you will need to sit down and produce plans. (There are several articles in The Landscape Library detailing site visits and dealing with customers). Be wary of accepting existing site surveys if they are presented by the client. Use them as a guide only, unless you want to accept responsibility for their accuracy.
When surveying a site, look well beyond the boundary fences. Make a note of vegetation that is thriving nearby. Look out for very wet areas, those that may have been compacted by others, note any signs of Japanese Knot Weed or other pernicious weeds and ensure you flag them up to the client.
Take care to collect soil samples, unless very obvious (chalk, sand etc) especially on new build sites where topsoil may have been imported. The pH of the soil may vary from the indigenous location and it is important to establish the likely types of plant that will thrive in the ground.
Careful professional assessments and listening to the client’s statements including wishes are paramount elements of working as a successful garden designer. Never rush your assignments, taking great care to be as accurate as possible.
You should aim at producing your proposals on a staged process. Survey first. Establish the life style/life stage of the clients. It is essential that you are given a budget, and if you have to design according to that figure, ensure that you are aware of any limitations, and if the client asks for more features, be ready to add them in at extra cost to their original budget. There is nothing more likely to enrage a customer that to be presented with a fabulous scheme that is double the budget.
It is very useful to develop a relationship with a friendly well recommended landscaper to establish a list or schedule of approximate rates for essential items such as paving and turfing, using those figures to back up your presentation values.
Survey first. Outline ideas presentation second. Any alterations and additions next. Technical details if required next. (you may have to state that you are unable to undertake this work due to insurance and CDM limitations) Finally planting plans and maybe aftercare advice as a separate document.
Once you have completed your designer’s element of the project, don’t forget to have the CDM plan signed off by the client to end your involvement in the works. The client may then appoint a Principal Contractor or carry out the work themselves.
I have left all mention of fees and payment until last. I suggest that you do not become fixated on money and getting paid until you have perfected the art of coping with the client. This means becoming proficient in your handling of the methodology of becoming a Garden Designer. When you are confident, all matters concerning finance will become second nature in your dealings with the customer. When and if you are confident, your terms of payment and fee structure should be shown on your web site and the client ready with their cheque book as soon as you arrive on site.
Too much emphasis on getting paid until you have that magic ingredient called confidence may come across as negativity and distrust in the eyes of the client. I always used to say ‘Don’t let me go without a cheque’ in the days before Internet banking. Always act as a professional, and you will be treated with respect. And that only comes with confidence.
Alan Sargentwww.landscapelibrary.co.uk