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Our Design Approach

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Place & Architecture

Every garden is shaped by the house it belongs to and the landscape around it. We design spaces that feel like a natural extension of your home.
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Structure & Planting

Clean lines and considered form, softened by generous, naturalistic planting. Hard landscaping and horticulture working together as one.
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Built Around You

Every project begins with listening, understanding how you want to feel in your garden, how your family uses it, and what you want it to become over time.
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Made to Last

We design with the long view in mind. Gardens that establish, evolve, and grow more beautiful with every passing season.

Why work with a qualified Landscape Architect?

Landscape Architects are trained in site analysis, grading and drainage, ecology, planning and permitted development, structural planting, and the long-term management of land. On a larger project, these considerations are not incidental - they are central to whether a design works, lasts, and adds lasting value to your property.

Our resident landscape architect, Toby Kirkaldie brings this depth of training to every project SK Landscapes undertakes. Where other designers may focus on the visual, Toby considers the whole picture: how the land behaves, how it will mature over time, and how every element relates to the wider property and its character.

A Landscape Architect brings expertise across:

  • Topography, grading, and drainage design
  • Ecology, biodiversity, and habitat creation
  • Structural and large-scale planting
  • Planning and permitted development for landscape works
  • Hard landscaping specification and material selection
  • Long-term land management and estate maintenance planning

Our Garden Design Process

A Considered Process, From First Conversation to Finished Garden.

Terraced entertaining garden in chislehurst
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Private Consultation

An initial conversation at your property. We listen, ask questions, and begin to understand your vision, your household, and what the garden needs to do.

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Site Survey & Analysis

A thorough assessment of your site, levels, soil conditions, aspect, existing features, and the relationship between the garden and the house.

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Concept Design

We present initial design concepts: spatial layouts, material palettes, and planting direction, giving you a clear sense of what the garden could become before any decisions are made.

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Detailed Design & Planting Plan

A full set of design drawings, including a detailed planting plan developed around your soil, aspect, and aesthetic. Every plant chosen with purpose.

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Build & Installation

Our own skilled teams carry out all works, managed throughout by SK Landscapes. No subcontracting, no compromise on quality.

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Aftercare & Maintenance

Ongoing maintenance tailored to the garden we have created together, ensuring it establishes well and continues to perform beautifully, season after season.

Popular Garden and landscape design styles

Every property is different, and every great garden begins with an honest conversation about the land, the brief, and what you want the space to feel like. Below are the design approaches we work with most frequently. Many projects draw on more than one.
Large luxury garden with a formal striped lawn leading to a swimming pool and elegant white house. Architectural planting beds with palms, clipped shrubs, and decorative stone borders line the lawn.

Formal garden design

Formal gardens are built on symmetry, geometry, and structure - axes, clipped hedging, parterres, and carefully ordered planting. They suit period properties, manor houses, and any estate where the architecture itself has a formal character. SK Landscapes has extensive experience in formal design across London and the South East, from walled kitchen gardens to box-edged parterres and pleached allées.
Modern landscaped garden featuring a light-coloured tiled patio and contemporary garden room beneath a louvred pergola. A sculpted topiary tree sits in a raised dark stone planter, surrounded by evergreen hedging, bark mulch, and neatly arranged planting beds.

Contemporary garden design

Contemporary design embraces clean lines, considered materials, and a restrained planting palette. It works particularly well on modern houses and newly developed properties, and for clients who want the garden to feel like a continuation of the architecture rather than a contrast to it. Our contemporary projects often combine hard landscaping with bold structural planting and carefully placed water features.
Naturalistic garden with a clear stream flowing over rocks beneath a black arched footbridge. Lush green planting, hostas, flowering perennials, and a large lawn create a tranquil park-like setting.

Naturalistic & wildlife garden design

Naturalistic design takes its cues from the wider landscape - layered planting, native species, meadow areas, and habitats woven through the structure of the garden. It is especially well suited to larger rural and semi-rural properties, where the garden can be designed to transition into the broader countryside. We have particular expertise in biodiverse planting design and the creation of ecologically rich outdoor spaces.
Structured ornamental garden with geometric planting beds arranged around a circular brick planter. Clipped topiary trees, flowering borders, stone paving, and timber fencing create a formal, symmetrical design.

Walled garden design

A walled garden is one of the great privileges of a larger property. Whether you are restoring an original kitchen garden or creating a walled enclosure from scratch, the design must account for the microclimate the walls create, the relationship between productive and ornamental planting, and the way the space is entered and experienced. We have designed and restored walled gardens for private estates across Kent, Surrey, and Sussex.
Landscaped sloping garden beside a wide concrete staircase with metal handrails. The hillside is planted with a mix of ornamental shrubs, flowering perennials, and low-growing evergreens arranged in flowing bands.

Terraced & sloped garden design

Steeply sloping sites present both a challenge and an opportunity. Terracing can transform a difficult gradient into a series of distinct outdoor rooms, each with its own character and use. The engineering involved - retaining walls, steps, drainage - requires careful design and specification, and is precisely the kind of work where a Landscape Architect's structural training adds significant value.
A grand estate with a large historic mansion sits beyond a formal landscaped garden. Symmetrical lawns, trimmed hedges, flower beds, and manicured topiary line the grounds, while tall mature trees frame the scene.

Country & estate garden design

Large rural properties require a different scale of thinking. The relationship between the formal garden and the wider estate, the management of boundary planting and woodland, the design of drives, courtyards, and outbuildings - all need to be considered as part of a unified whole. SK Landscapes has been working at this scale across the South East for nearly four decades, and it remains the type of project we find most rewarding.

Book a Design Consultation
or Call 020 8462 7800

Feedback From Gardens and Grounds We’ve Cared For

What Our Clients Say

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No request was too much

Their plan was informed and individual to our needs. Once work commenced, we were stunned by the effort they applied. No request was too much. I have full confidence in their expert hands.

- Yvonne A
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Our Dream Garden

Toby and team have helped us design our dream garden. They have just finished all the planting and other works and it looks amazing. We have been really impressed with the professionalism of Toby and the team, making sure we are 100% happy with everything, will certainly be using them to help maintain the garden going forward. Thanks for all your hard work.

- Mark H
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Very Professional

His eye is sympathetic in its design, keeping with the practicalities of professional people's work and the time we can allocate to the garden.

- Asha Parmar
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Highly Recommend

We have been using SK landscapes for a few years now. We have been very happy with their service. Not only do they maintain our garden on a weekly basis, they have also undertaken landscaping, tree planting and built new fences. I would highly recommend them I couldn’t fault their service.
- Mrs Lewis
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Professional & Efficient

We engaged Nathan and team to trim back trees and hedges and to remove some woody and overgrown lavender plants. They turned up nice and early and got on with the job. The end resultant is very satisfying and both the good lady and myself are pleased with their work. The property has been left in a very clean state too.

- Rob Archer
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Polite and Helpful

The two gardeners are polite and helpful and take a pride in their work. Our residents appreciate this. It is a pity that none of our management team (directors) have more time to spend with them every Monday due to their other commitments. So more regular site meetings would certainly be helpful.

- David Harrison

    What to expect: your design investment

    A garden or landscape design is a long-term investment in your property. At SK Landscapes, we work on projects where the brief, the land, and the ambition justify a thorough, professional approach - from initial survey through to planting specification and implementation.

    We are transparent about how our fees work, and happy to discuss your project in detail before any commitment is made.

    Design fees

    Our design fees reflect the time, expertise, and resource required to produce a considered, detailed design proposal for your property. Fees are based on the scope of the project - the size of the site, the complexity of the brief, and the level of detail required at each stage.

    Smaller residential projects: we offer a design package tailored to your outdoor space, encompassing an initial site visit and consultation, concept design, and a planting plan.

    Larger residential and estate projects: fees are agreed on a project-by-project basis following an initial consultation. Projects of this scale typically involve multiple design stages, detailed specification drawings, and in some cases planning coordination.

    What is included: all design fees include site survey, concept development, client presentation, revisions, and final design documentation. Planting plans and material schedules are included as standard.

    Implementation costs

    Design fees are separate from the cost of implementing the garden. Implementation - groundworks, hard landscaping, planting, structures, and features - is quoted separately once the design is agreed. SK Landscapes can manage the full implementation of your project, or work alongside your preferred contractor.

    Timescales

    Design stage: typically 6–12 weeks from initial consultation to final design sign-off, depending on project complexity and client availability.

    Implementation: varies significantly by project scale - from a few weeks for a focused residential design to several months for a larger estate project.

    Best time to start: we recommend beginning the design process in autumn or winter, allowing implementation to begin in the following spring planting season.

    To discuss your project and get a clear picture of what your design investment is likely to involve, book an initial consultation below. There is no obligation, and all initial conversations are treated in complete confidence.

    Book a Consultation

    Our Garden Designs

    Garden & landscape design across London and the South East

    SK Landscapes works on projects across London and the wider South East - from substantial gardens in the capital's residential suburbs to country estates across Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. We are based in Bromley and travel across the region for the right projects.
    The Palace of Westminster and the clock tower commonly known as Big Ben stand beside the River Thames on a clear day.

    London

    SK Landscape works with clients across London, delivering tailored landscape design for a wide range of properties, from formal gardens in central boroughs to larger suburban plots in South and South West London. Our experience spans all boroughs, with particular focus on areas where garden size allows for more ambitious design solutions.
    A large red-brick structure sits atop a grassy hill overlooking a residential neighborhood at sunset.

    Surrey

    We support clients across Surrey with bespoke landscape design, working on everything from period properties in towns such as Esher, Cobham, and Guildford to larger country homes and estates. The county’s varied landscape allows us to deliver formal, naturalistic, and contemporary garden designs suited to each setting.
    A picturesque village at sunset with a narrow stream flowing between stone cottages and a timber-framed building.

    Kent

    Kent has been central to SK Landscapes' history since the company was founded in 1987. Delivering landscape design for a variety of properties, from traditional homes to larger rural estates. The county’s mix of settings allows us to apply a broad range of design approaches, tailored to suit both the property and its surroundings.
    Wide coastal landscape in East Sussex showing the white chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters stretching along the shoreline beneath a dramatic overcast sky.

    Sussex

    East and West Sussex offer some of the most beautiful private garden settings in the South East. Our experience includes formal layouts, woodland gardens, and naturalistic planting schemes, with careful consideration given to local planning requirements and the sensitivities of protected landscapes.
    For the right project, we are happy to discuss working further afield. Please get in touch to discuss your requirements.

    Book a Design Consultation or call 020 8462 7800

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What size gardens do you work on?

    We specialise in larger residential gardens and estate-scale projects - typically half an acre and above, though we are happy to discuss any project where the scope and brief justify a full design service. If you are unsure whether your garden is the right scale for us, simply get in touch and we can have an honest conversation.

    What areas do you cover?
    We work across London and the South East - primarily London, Surrey, Kent, and Sussex. For the right project, we are also happy to travel further afield. We are based in Bromley, South London, but the majority of our projects take us across a wide geography.

    What does the design process involve?
    Every project begins with an initial consultation and site survey, during which Toby will discuss your brief, assess the site, and talk through your ideas and aspirations. From there, we develop a concept design, present it to you, and refine it based on your feedback before producing final detailed drawings and a planting plan. We can also manage the full implementation of the design if required. You can read more about our process above.

    How long does a garden design take?
    The design stage typically takes between 6 and 12 weeks from initial consultation to final sign-off, depending on the complexity of the project and how quickly decisions can be made. Larger estate projects may take longer. We recommend beginning the design process in autumn or winter so that implementation can take place in the following spring planting season.

    Do you manage the implementation as well as the design?
    Yes. SK Landscapes has been both designing and building gardens since 1987, and the majority of our clients ask us to manage implementation as well as the design. Having a single team responsible for both means the design intent is fully understood on site, and any adjustments that arise during the build are handled seamlessly. We can also work alongside your preferred landscaping contractor if you already have an established relationship.

    What's the difference between a garden designer and a Landscape Architect?
    The title 'garden designer' is unregulated - there is no required qualification to use it. A Landscape Architect, by contrast, has completed an accredited degree programme covering site analysis, drainage and grading, ecology, structural planting, and planning. For a larger garden or estate, this broader training makes a meaningful practical difference - particularly when the project involves significant earthworks, drainage, ecology, or planning considerations. Toby Kirkaldie is a qualified Landscape Architect and leads all design work at SK Landscapes.

    How do I get started?

    The easiest way to start is to book an initial design consultation. Toby will visit your property, talk through your brief and ideas, and give you a clear picture of how we would approach the project and what it is likely to involve. There is no obligation, and we treat all initial conversations in complete confidence. You can book a consultation using the button below, or call us directly on 020 8462 7800.

    Start Your Project

    If you are considering a new garden or a significant redesign, we would welcome the opportunity to visit your property and talk through what you have in mind.

    Arrange a private consultation with our design team - no obligation, just a conversation about your garden and your vision.

    Book a Design Consultation
    or Call 020 8462 7800