Where will we work?

Whilst Morpen is located in the Peak District of England with a focus on working in Cheshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire we are more than happy to consider commissions from further afield. We would advise that the main impact of this would be on travel expenses but we are very used to having remote meeting on Teams/Zoom etc where possible to minimise these.

When should we be looking to plant?

Plants enter dormancy during the colder months, in the UK this is typically from late October through to mid-late March. This dormancy makes it easier to transplant and move plants which in turn makes them cheaper to buy and they have a higher success rate when they are planted in their new setting (this is especially relevant for trees and larger shrubs). We therefore recommend planting the larger elements of the planting design during the colder months with herbaceous plants following swiftly on in the spring. Another benefit of this is that there is less watering in required.

We can plant in the hotter months but plants become more expensive due to nurseries having to spend more time looking after them and they take more looking after for the first few months when they are installed in their final location.

What can we expect to receive from our garden designer?

Please also see our Garden Making section of the website. Typically our design output includes the following information:-

• Concept design proposal including 3D views, mood images and plans

• Planting plans and lists

• Technical details, scaled plans and Schedule of Works for costing

• Planting maintenance document

How can we ensure the gardens flourish after completion?

Morpen can issue simple planting maintenance documents to our clients as required we can also offer repeat visits to review how the garden is establishing over the next few months and years to come.

How long can I expect the garden design and implementation process to take?

This varies dependant on the scale of the job however if our clients could allow 1-2 months from commission for the concept design to be completed and approved. A further 1-2 months to tender the works to (we normally advise a minimize of three landscape contractors) and then three-six months to install the gardens themselves.

Fees-how much can a client expect to pay on design fees?

As outlined in the garden making section of our website all jobs are bespoke and our involvement can vary. However, we would suggest as a typical starter for ten that our design fees for the lifecycle of a project (i.e. from inception to completion) tend to be around 10% of the overall construction budget dependant on the size of the job i.e. the percentage gets lower if the construction budget is larger than average and vice versa.