Fernwick Garden Design | Garden & Landscape Designers in Bath

What we do

Six ways we can help, from a single visit to a finished garden

Some clients come to us for an afternoon of advice; others for the whole journey from survey to first cut-back. Prices below include VAT, and every quotation is fixed in writing before we start.

No. 01
Garden design consultation
Two hours walking your garden with a designer, then written notes, a sketch and a plant list within five working days. £195 · 2-hour visit Read more
No. 02
Full garden design plans
Measured survey, two concept layouts, a scaled master plan, planting plan and construction details ready to build from. from £1,450 · 4–8 weeks Read more
No. 03
Landscaping build
Patios, paths, walls and decking built by our own crew in Bath stone, Pennant, reclaimed brick and FSC oak. from £8,500 · 2–10 weeks on site Read more
No. 04
Planting design
Borders that look good in February as well as June, using peat-free plants grown within sixty miles of Bath. from £650 · 2–4 weeks Read more
No. 05
Small urban & courtyard gardens
Basement lightwells, terrace yards and roof terraces turned into outdoor rooms, designed and built as one package. from £6,900 · 3–5 weeks Read more
No. 06
Seasonal garden maintenance
Four-season care plans or regular visits from the people who planted your garden, so it matures the way it was drawn. £44 · Year-round Read more

How it works

From muddy boots to first flowers in four steps

Walk-Round visit

Two hours in your garden looking at light, soil, levels and how you use the space. Notes and a sketch follow within five working days.

Week 1
Survey & concepts

A measured survey, then two concept layouts drawn by hand. We talk them through at your kitchen table, not over email.

Weeks 2–4
Master plan & quote

A scaled master plan, planting plan and construction details, with a fixed build quotation and a week-by-week programme.

Weeks 5–8
Build, plant & aftercare

Our own crew builds and plants. A designer visits weekly, and we come back after the first season to check everything has settled.

Season by season

Eleanor Marsh, founder of Fernwick Garden Design, holding a potted rosemary in a garden — Eleanor Marsh, founder and lead designer

About the studio

A small studio that still draws every plan by hand

Fernwick began in 2012 at Eleanor Marsh’s kitchen table in Larkhall, with a drawing board, a borrowed van and three clients who had seen her front garden. Today we are a team of nine working from a first-floor studio on Walcot Street, a short walk from the river.

We have stayed deliberately small. The designer who draws your garden is the one who visits the site every week during the build, and many of the gardeners who plant it come back to look after it for years afterwards. That continuity is the reason our gardens tend to look better at five years old than at five months.

Meet the team and read our story

“A good garden should look as if it could only belong to that house, on that street, in that light.”

— Eleanor Marsh

Recent gardens

Six gardens, six very different briefs

A listed terrace on Lansdown, a shady yard in Widcombe, a wildlife pond above the Avon. Each case study gives the garden size, build time and budget band, so you can see where yours might sit.

Read all six case studies

The gardener’s year

A seasonal planting calendar for the South West

Good gardens are planned around the seasons, not the other way round. This is roughly how our year runs on the heavy clays and limestone brash around Bath — and why autumn is the best time to call us about next spring.

When we design, build and plant, month by month

Swipe sideways to see every month.

When we design, build and plant, month by month
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Design & survey
Hard landscaping
Perennials & shrubs
Bare-root hedges & trees
Spring bulbs
Pruning & cutting back

Ideal time
Possible, with care
Best avoided

Spring
March – May
Perennials and shrubs go in as the soil warms. Terraces poured over winter are planted up, and we mulch everything before the first dry spell.
Summer
June – August
Our busiest drawing months. We survey while the garden is in full leaf and you can see exactly where the shade falls at six in the evening.
Autumn
September – November
The best planting season in the West Country: warm soil, reliable rain. Bulbs, perennials and the first bare-root hedging all go in now.
Winter
December – February
Hard landscaping on dry days, structural pruning of yew and fruit trees, bare-root trees and roses, and final plans for spring builds.

Kind words

What our clients say, a few seasons on

Eleanor listened to us for a full hour before she picked up a pencil. The plan she came back with solved the slope, the shade and our argument about where the table should go. Three years on, people still stop at the gate.

HarrietLansdown, Bath · Design plan & build

The crew turned up at eight every morning and swept the street every evening. They found a Victorian drain nobody knew about, explained what it meant for the budget, and still finished two days early.

OwenClifton, Bristol · Landscaping build

Our yard was where the bins lived. Now it’s the room we use most from April to October. The festoon lights were Daniel’s idea and they were completely right.

Siân & MarkWidcombe, Bath · Courtyard garden

Ways to work with us

Three starting points, clearly priced

All prices include VAT at 20%. Travel within 25 miles of Bath is included; beyond that we agree a fixed supplement before booking.

The Walk-Round

For advice on an existing garden or a first step before a full design.

£195one visit, Bath

Two hours on site with a designer
Written notes and annotated sketch
Plant list of around 20 suggestions
Fee deducted from a full plan booked within 3 months

Book a Walk-Round

Chosen by most clients

The Full Plan

For a new garden or a complete rethink, ready to build yourself or with us.

from £1,450gardens up to 80 m²

Measured survey and site analysis
Two hand-drawn concept layouts
1:50 master plan and planting plan
Construction details and tender pack
Three rounds of revisions

Start a design

Design & Build

For clients who want one team to take the garden from survey to first flowers.

from £18,000design, build and planting

Everything in the Full Plan
Built by our own crew, not subcontractors
Plants supplied and planted by our team
10-year structural guarantee
Aftercare visit after the first season

Discuss a project

Build work is paid in stages: a 20% deposit, 30% at start on site, milestone payments and a final 10% on completion. How our payments work

Good questions

Things people usually ask us first

Costs, timings and what happens on the first visit. If your question isn’t here, the full list covers fourteen of them — or just ring the studio.

All frequently asked questions

How much does a garden design cost?

A two-hour Walk-Round consultation costs £195 within Bath and £240 elsewhere in our area, including VAT and travel. Full design plans start at £1,450 for gardens up to about 80 m², and most plans for typical Bath and Bristol gardens come to between £1,950 and £3,800. You get a fixed fee in writing before we start.

When is the best time to start planning?

Late summer and autumn. Design takes four to eight weeks, and booking a build slot in autumn means construction can happen over winter and planting in early spring or the following autumn, when plants establish best. Our spring build slots usually fill by the end of January.

How long does a garden build take?

A small courtyard usually takes three to five weeks on site. A typical rear garden with a new terrace, paths and planting takes six to eight weeks, and larger or sloping gardens with retaining walls can take ten weeks or more. Your quotation includes a week-by-week programme.

How do deposits and payments work for a build?

We take a 20% deposit to reserve your build slot, 30% when we start on site to cover materials, staged payments at milestones set out in your contract, and the final 10% within seven days of practical completion. You never pay for work that has not yet been done, apart from the deposit and materials.

Where do your plants come from?

Wherever possible from peat-free nurseries within about sixty miles of Bath, in Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. Locally grown plants arrive fresher, travel less, and are already used to our climate and soils.

Get in touch

Tell us about your garden

Send a few lines and we will call you back within one working day to arrange a Walk-Round visit. Photos help, but they can wait until we reply.

01225 480 312
[email protected]
14 Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BG
Mon–Fri 8:30–17:30, Saturday by appointment

Your name

Email address

Phone number

What can we help with?

Tell us about your garden

Roughly how big it is, which way it faces, your postcode and what you’d like to change. A few lines is plenty.

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Gardens with a sense of place, drawn by hand in Bath.

Six ways we can help, from a single visit to a finished garden

Garden design consultation

Full garden design plans

Landscaping build

Planting design

Small urban & courtyard gardens

Seasonal garden maintenance

From muddy boots to first flowers in four steps

Walk-Round visit

Survey & concepts

Master plan & quote

Build, plant & aftercare

A small studio that still draws every plan by hand

Six gardens, six very different briefs

A seasonal planting calendar for the South West

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

What our clients say, a few seasons on

Three starting points, clearly priced

The Walk-Round

The Full Plan

Design & Build

Things people usually ask us first

The best time to plan next spring’s garden is this autumn.

Tell us about your garden