Botanical gardens and public parks have to do three jobs at once: hold a collection, teach something, and give a city somewhere to breathe. The design has to serve all three for decades, through seasons and budgets.
Masterplan, collection and route
We start with the collection and the story. What is grown here, why, and in what order should a visitor meet it? From that come the zones, the sightlines, the route, the rest points, the covered space for bad weather and the positions where a glasshouse earns its cost.
Then the practical layer: maintenance access, irrigation, drainage, soil improvement, phasing and what the garden looks like in year one versus year fifteen.
Where a glasshouse belongs in a botanical park
Indoor and outdoor are one design problem, not two. A glasshouse extends the season, protects a tender collection, gives the park a landmark and makes it usable in weather that would otherwise close it.
Because we design and build glass structures ourselves, the glasshouse is dimensioned and costed as part of the masterplan rather than bolted on when the budget is already committed.
Specimen trees and planting at scale
- Specimen and semi-mature trees — species, calliper, root ball, availability and lead time
- Soil build-up, root space and tree stability in hard-surfaced areas
- Seasonal planting schemes and succession planting
- Biodiversity: habitat structure, native mixes, water and pollinators
- Irrigation and long-term maintenance regimes
- Signage, education and visitor facilities within the planted structure
From 3D design to a planted park
Board approval, public consultation and permits are usually won or lost on visualisation. We produce the 3D design and renders alongside the technical package — the same model that convinces the committee is the one the contractor builds from. The Land of Cuijk park design and the Tbilisi botanical garden both ran that way.
Phasing and the fifteen-year view
Public green is rarely funded in one go, and it is never finished on opening day. We phase the masterplan so each stage stands on its own — a park that reads as complete at the end of phase one, not as a building site waiting for money.
The same applies to the planting. Specimen trees give immediate structure but cost the most and need the most aftercare; nursery stock is cheaper and slower. A good planting plan mixes both deliberately, and states plainly what the park will look like in year one, year five and year fifteen.
Maintenance decides whether the design survives
- Maintenance regimes written for the team that will actually do the work
- Irrigation zoned so establishment watering can be dialled back over time
- Access routes and turning circles for maintenance machinery designed in
- Species chosen against the available maintenance budget, not against an ideal one
- Replacement and succession planning for short-lived planting
Frequently asked questions
Do you work for municipalities as well as private clients?
Yes. Public parks, campuses and civic projects sit alongside private botanical gardens and estate work.
Can you supply the specimen trees for the park you design?
Yes. Specimen and semi-mature trees are sourced through our nursery network, which also means the planting plan is written around material that can actually be delivered.
Do you provide 3D renders for approval processes?
Yes — 3D design and renders are part of the standard package and are produced for boards, consultations and permit applications.
Projects we have delivered
- Botanical garden city, Tbilisi (Georgia)
- 3D render Park Land of Cuijk (Netherlands)
- Dubai Miracle Garden (Dubai)
- NEOM Media Park design (Saudi Arabia)
Working on a masterplan?
Send us the site, the collection and the visitor numbers you are planning for. We will come back with what is realistic.