When is the best time to start a garden design project?
- Zoe Kilbride
- May 7
- 3 min read
There’s a very specific moment most people decide they want to redesign their garden.
It’s usually the first warm day of the year.
The sun comes out. Somebody sits outside with a coffee. They look around and suddenly notice everything at once. The wonky fence. The muddy patch near the back door. The patio that somehow feels both too big and too small. The plants that appear to not know who they are anymore.
And then comes the thought: 'We should probably do something with the garden.'
Which is completely understandable. The only slight problem is that this is also the exact moment everyone else has the same idea.
The short answer?
The best time to start a garden design project is usually earlier than you think.
Autumn and winter are often ideal times to begin the design process, even if the actual landscaping work won’t happen until spring or summer.
A good garden rarely comes together overnight. There’s normally a design phase, planning, sourcing materials, scheduling landscapers, and thinking carefully about planting.
The gardens that look calm and effortless usually involve quite a lot of thought behind the scenes.
Annoyingly.
Why starting earlier helps
One of the biggest advantages of starting early is that it gives you time to make thoughtful decisions rather than rushed ones.
You can properly consider:
how you want the garden to feel
where the light falls throughout the day
how you’ll actually use the space
what works with the style of your house
whether you genuinely want a giant outdoor kitchen or just saw one on Instagram once
There’s also more flexibility with scheduling. Spring and early summer tend to be the busiest times for landscapers, garden designers and nurseries. Starting earlier often means projects can move forward more smoothly, without everything becoming a race against the weather by May.
But can you start a project in summer?
Absolutely! There’s never really a 'wrong' time to begin.
In fact, seeing a garden during summer can be incredibly useful. You notice how the space behaves in heat, which areas are too exposed, where planting feels sparse, and whether you’re actually using the garden in the way you imagined.
Winter is useful too, though slightly less flattering. Everything becomes very honest in winter.
If a garden still feels good in February, that’s usually a very good sign.
Good garden design is about more than planting
People often assume garden design starts with choosing plants. In reality, the structure usually comes first. The layout, movement through the space, seating areas, levels, materials and proportions all play a huge part in how a garden feels to spend time in.
Planting is incredibly important, but even the most beautiful plants struggle to rescue a layout that never quite worked in the first place. A bit like putting very expensive cushions in a room with terrible lighting.
So… when should you start?
If you’re already thinking about changing your garden, it’s probably worth starting the conversation now rather than waiting for the 'perfect' time. That doesn’t mean rushing into construction next week.
It just means allowing space to explore ideas properly, understand what’s possible, and create a garden that feels right for your home and the way you live. Preferably before the first sunny weekend panic begins.
Starting with a garden design consultation
If you’re not quite sure where to begin, that’s completely normal. Most people don’t arrive with a fully formed masterplan and a spreadsheet of paving samples.
A garden design consultation is usually the best place to start.
It’s a chance to walk around the garden together, talk through ideas, discuss how you’d like the space to feel and look at what would genuinely work well for your garden, your home and the way you live.
Sometimes a consultation gives people all the direction they need to move forward confidently on their own. Other times, it naturally becomes the starting point for a full garden design or planting design project. Either way, it helps turn the vague feeling of “something needs to change out here” into a much clearer plan.
To find out more about the consultation and what it involves, click below.
Garden design in Hertfordshire and Essex
Zoe works on garden design projects across Hertfordshire, Essex and surrounding areas, creating gardens that feel calm, balanced and genuinely connected to the people who use them.
And while there’s never a perfect time to start a garden project, it’s usually easier (and far less stressful) when the process begins before the first unexpectedly warm Saturday of spring sends everyone into garden panic at once.
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