Garden design in Hertfordshire and Essex
A garden begins long before anything is built — with a survey of the land, a conversation about how you live, and a design that earns its place.
Conway Landscapes is a garden design and construction company based in Bishop’s Stortford, founded by Cormac Conway in 2000. For twenty-six years we have designed and then built gardens ourselves — from small town courtyards to plots of two acres and more — so the drawing and the ground it describes are never out of the same hands.
Design with us is unhurried and specific. We survey the site properly, listen to how you want to use the garden through the seasons, and draw a scheme that suits the house, the soil and the light it actually has. Nothing is templated.
From first visit to final plan
A design project begins with a visit to walk the garden together — usually an hour, usually with tea. We note the levels, the drainage, the boundaries and the light, and talk about what you want the garden to do: somewhere to eat outside, somewhere for the children, structure for winter, privacy from the road.
From there we carry out a measured survey, then develop a concept: a clear layout of terraces, paths, levels, planting structure and features, presented with plans and 3D visuals so you can stand in the garden before it exists. Once the concept is agreed it becomes a full design package — setting out, construction details and a planting plan — ready for build, and for garden construction by our own team.
One team, from drawing to finished garden
Because we build what we draw, our designs stay honest. Steps are drawn the way they will be built, levels are set out the way water will actually move, and planting is chosen for the soil it will grow in — heavy Essex clay in Great Dunmow, thinner chalk around Cambridge, old garden soil in the conservation streets of Bishop’s Stortford.
Design fees typically start at around £1,500 for a courtyard concept and rise to £6,000 or more for a full design package on a large plot. We will always tell you where the money goes before you commit.
Designed with planning in mind
Some gardens need more than a drawing: conservation areas, listed frontages, tree preservation orders and level changes that affect neighbours. We design with those constraints from the start rather than discovering them at planning — see our journal guide to planning permission for garden structures in Hertfordshire.
We design across the county and beyond — recent work reaches from Hertford and Ware to the chalklands north of Saffron Walden.
Do you design gardens you will not build yourself?
Occasionally, but our work is design and build. The value to you is that the person who drew the garden is answerable for building it, and most clients want that.
How long does the design stage take?
Usually four to eight weeks from first visit to final plans: survey, concept, revisions, then a full design package. Larger or planning-affected sites take longer.
What do 3D visuals show me?
Views of the garden from your house and key positions, with the layout, levels and planting structure in place. Enough to make decisions with confidence, not a film.
Can you work with an architect or on a new build?
Yes. On new builds and renovations we coordinate with your architect so the garden meets the house properly — levels, drainage and door thresholds included.
Do you charge for the first visit?
The first visit is free within our working area. After that, design work is quoted clearly before any drawing begins.
Start your project
Arrange a design visit and we will walk the garden with you, listen to how you want to live in it, and set out what a design and build would involve.