Garden Design Cheshire & North Wales | Jane Houghton Garden Design Studio

A garden to be lived in

A garden is not just something to look at. It has to work beautifully in daily life.

It should welcome you home, connect naturally to the house, offer places to sit, gather and retreat, and change with atmosphere through the seasons.

Our role is to bring those practical and emotional needs together — so the finished garden feels calm, useful and entirely at home.

Cross HouseProject

Meeting you

The first conversation is about understanding the property, the garden and what you would like to achieve.

We talk through how the space is used now, what feels unresolved, and what kind of support the project needs — from a full garden design to planting, masterplanning or more focused design input.

From the outset, the aim is to give the project a clear and considered direction.

White GardenProject

Reading the site

Every project begins with a close look at the garden and its setting.

We consider levels, light, soil, views, boundaries, access, existing planting, materials and the relationship between the house and garden.

Maximising opportunities - whether that is clearer movement, better proportion, stronger planting, more privacy, improved arrival or a closer connection to the wider landscape.

Understanding

This stage helps uncover what the garden needs.

Direction

Rather than beginning with a fixed style, we establish what the garden needs to do and how it should feel.

This gives the project a clear foundation, helping decisions around layout, materials, planting, phasing and budget to be made with confidence.

Brief

The brief is shaped through conversation, site understanding and design judgement.

Establishing the structure

The first design work focuses on the structure of the garden.

Routes, terraces, level changes, planted areas, thresholds, views and focal points are explored together, so the garden begins to take shape as one coherent composition.

Developing the design

This is where the project starts to feel grounded — with practical needs and design intent brought into balance.

The masterplan

The masterplan is where the garden becomes clear.

It sets out the overall layout: how spaces connect, how movement works, where planting sits, and how the garden relates to the house and wider setting.

It gives the project a shared direction before the design moves into refinement, detail and specification.

Design refinement

Once the main layout is agreed, the design is carefully refined.

Proportions are adjusted, materials are considered, transitions are resolved and practical details are brought into focus.

This stage is often where the design becomes calmer and stronger — less complicated, more settled, and better able to move towards construction.

Drawings and visualisations

Drawings and visuals help bring the design to life before the garden is built.

Depending on the project, this may include plans, sketches, presentation drawings, elevations, rendered views or simple visual studies to show how spaces, materials and planting will work together.

These are not just presentation tools. They help test ideas, support decisions and make the design easier to understand.

Rendered visuals

For certain projects, we may recommend commissioning specialist photorealistic renders to convey the garden or landscape design with greater clarity.

This can be particularly valuable for ambitious, sensitive or planning-related projects, where neighbours, planning officers or wider project teams need to understand the quality, scale and atmosphere of the proposed scheme.

Developing the design

High quality rendered visuals are useful to show how key areas of the garden may feel once built.

Materials and detail

Materials are chosen for how they sit with the house, the garden and the wider setting.

Paving, gravel, stone, timber, brick, edging, walls, steps and other built elements all shape the character of the garden.

We develop a restrained material palette that feels appropriate to the property and supports the overall design, paying close attention to the small details that make the finished garden feel properly resolved.

Detail and specification

Once the design is agreed, we prepare the information needed to price, build and plant the garden.

This may include layout drawings, setting-out information, levels, material specifications, construction details, planting plans and plant schedules.

Clarity

These drawings help contractors understand the design clearly and give the project the best chance of being built with care and accuracy.

Planting design

Each scheme responds to the site, the architecture, the soil, the aspect and the atmosphere the garden is intended to hold.

The planting brings softness, rhythm, seasonal movement and long-term structure, so the garden continues to gain depth as it matures.

For planting-led projects, we can assist with sourcing, substitutions and setting out on site, ensuring plant quality, spacing and placement support the balance, rhythm and atmosphere of the scheme.

Biodiversity

Planting is developed as part of the design from the beginning.

Implementation support

We can support the project as it moves from design to garden.

This may include working with landscapers, answering site questions, reviewing details, advising on materials, checking setting out and helping resolve changes as they arise.

Gardens are built in real conditions. Having design support during the build helps protect the integrity of the scheme and keeps the project moving in the right direction.

Finding the right team

We can advise on trusted professional landscapers, specialist contractors and craftspeople whose experience and standards are well suited to the design and the nature of the project.

Settling the garden

A garden continues to develop after the main work is complete.

Plants establish, materials weather and the space begins to soften into its setting.

We can also advise on the finishing elements that help the garden feel complete — from furniture, atelier pots, sculpture and lighting to aftercare, establishment and small refinements as the garden matures.

Considering a private garden or landscape design project?

The first step is to tell us about the property, the garden and what you would like the design to achieve.

From there, we can guide you towards the right level of support.

Begin a project enquiry

How we work.

The first step is to tell us about the property, the garden and what you would like the design to achieve.