Samantha McKay

Welcome and thank you for visiting Samantha McKay Garden Design, providing a comprehensive garden design service to clients across Norfolk and Suffolk in East Anglia. I'm an experienced garden designer with qualifications in design, plants and plantsmanship. My portfolio of work includes a range of both traditional and contemporary garden designs and I've created designs ranging from the smallest of modern urban gardens, to large rural gardens in excess of five acres in size. Through expert choice of materials and plants incorporated into strong designs, I can help you to achieve your dream garden and also minimise the time, cost and effort needed to maintain it in future years.

Some people have the skills, energy and time to carry out the hard landscaping work themselves. Others need more help and will call in the services of a professional landscaper. Whatever your preference, it's important to understand that landscaping is not a job to be approached lightly. If you go down the route of calling in a landscaper, it's important to get one who can do what's required. I've worked with dozens of landscapers across Norfolk and Suffolk and can help you to make sure that whoever you choose, they're up to the job.

In this garden, a large Leylandii fir tree needed to be taken out because it was too close to the house and the old pond leaked. The brief was to take out the pond and decking and instead design a new seating area for informal furniture and a fire pit. Different levels always makes a garden look more interesting so we built some raised beds to surround the seating area. It is also important to try and link house and garden together so the height of the raised wall mirrors the height of the conservatory wall.

Gardening in the shade, whether under trees or next to a hedge, is the hardest area to plant. However, as long as you prepare the ground well and choose only plants that are happy in this environment, you can create a beautiful and calm garden. Shade can be cast by the orientation of the house, fences and walls and by other large plants such as hedges and trees. Some shade is dappled, such as under Birch trees and some is heavy, from Holly, Oak or Chestnut trees. The most important consideration when planting is working out the type of shade and the type of plants most suitable.

Hard landscaping provides the structure and backbone to the garden, but it's the plants which bring the design and the garden to life. Plants add colour, movement, scent, softness and volume to your garden. As the seasons change, so too do your plants and it's important to use plants that can get the very best from your garden and how you want to use it, whatever the time of year. Whether you're having a complete garden redesign or just looking to refresh a particular part of your garden, my expertise can help.

Everyone has different needs so I offer a flexible garden design service to suit you. My collaborative approach means I can develop the design concept together with you and tailor the service according to your taste, needs and budget. You can choose the full garden design package or just pick the parts that you need help with. So, depending on your needs I'm happy to simply design and manage a complete build for a new garden whether large or small, prepare and plant up a new garden border, or simply update and replant existing borders.

I passionately believe that gardens are for people and not just plants. This means that your garden should be a place where you can relax, have fun and recharge your batteries. I also believe that you should enjoy the process of having a new garden created. In order to achieve this I provide a professional and very personal service from start to finish. My job is to deliver a garden that will make you smile every time you step into it. I'm one of the most highly qualified garden designers covering Norfolk and Suffolk and have numerous garden design and horticultural qualifications from a range of internationally respected organisations.

I provide a professional design service for the commerical and public sector and have worked with schools, care homes, property developers and motor trade groups. When working on commercial designs I always take into account the amount of time clients will have available to look after the schemes and the image the company wants to project. I am also very happy to work alongisde architects, lighting designers and interior designs to provide a seamless service. Commercial clients include Hartismere School, East Anglia Care Homes, Reeves Property Restoration, Langley Abbey Estate and Robinsons Motor Group.

Water features are popular additions to the garden as they add sound, movement and texture. However, they need to be chosen with care, especially if either low maintenance is needed or if children use the garden. Ponds can provide a natural habitat for wildlife. All living creatures need water to survive but ponds do not need to be deep unless you want to keep fish. Pebble pools with a shallow 'beach' provide easy access for frogs and birds. Waterfalls introduce the sound of water spilling into the pond but again these can be quite simple, even when there is no slope available.