One off Consultations | Garden Advice Service

What is the Consultation service?

The One-off consultation combines my garden design and horticultural expertise to give homeowners fresh eyes and perspective on their garden. At the end of the One-off consultation, I leave clients armed with ideas, knowledge and the confidence to start making changes to their garden.

The service works equally as a ‘standalone’ service or as a ‘springboard’ for further help.

The consultation has been finely tuned personally by Melissa Morton, to create a tailored garden advice service for moderate budgets. It is a unique service to Melissa Morton Garden Design.

“It was good to have an exploration of values and ideas. Small suggestions and thoughts gave me something to think about.

I’d recommend this service as the beginning of a journey. It is a starting point to understand what you want from your garden and to make a plan to achieve it”

D Hopkinson, Ilkley

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Who is this service for?

Design ideas and inspiration
This service is perfect for anyone who wants to spend some time focusing on their garden with the help of an expert who can shed light on those problem areas or just bring fresh perspective and inspiration.
New home
Maybe you’ve moved into a new home and need help making sense of your new outdoor space?
House extension
Perhaps you’ve just completed a house extension or having bifold doors installed, and you need to work out the impact on the garden?
Have a lot of ideas?
Do you have a lot of ideas, keen gardener or not, and want to get stuck into the garden but don’t know where to start?
Lived in your home for many years
Now your garden needs a change – with different priorities?
Does the planting need an overhaul & refresh?
Planting lacks structure, order and rhythm. … “can’t see the wood for the trees”?
Planning a garden party
Wish to create a special place to celebrate?
A perfect gift
Melissa Morton Garden Experience vouchers are ideal for a One-off consultation.

Garden Advice Consultation Design Tips Skipton Ilkley Otley Menston

The details

The One-off consultation is a three stage process typically taking two weeks from the pre-visit email to the client receiving my report with ideas, recommendations and images.

Before I visit you and your garden in person, I’ll ask you to think about your garden and the areas you’d like my help with. And to help you distil those thoughts I’ll send you a short questionnaire and request further information.

Our meeting includes a site visit Once I’ve finished in the garden and before I leave, I will take you through my notes and recommendations.

You’ll receive a follow up summary by email so that you have it to refer back to in your own time.

During busy periods, bookings are made up to 6 weeks in advance.

How much does it cost?

The cost of the one-off consultation is £385, for visits within 10 mile radius of Ilkley. Outside this area, travel expenses are taken into account, please enquire.

Melissa Morton Garden Experience vouchers are available and make a perfect gift!

Book a consultation Case study - Karen & Roland in Skipton

I’m motivated and definitely excited to make some changes and get started

S. & L. Parry, Yeadon, Leeds

“This session was booked to help focus my attention on the garden. Inspiration and advice to start putting a plan together to improve the garden

I can’t think of anything to change/add – I thought it was a really comprehensive service for a One-off consultation. Great email report follow up.”

C. Wood-Robertson, Ilkley

“We can’t think how it would be changed for the better. The time does go very quickly but it was good that you had sent details of exactly how the consultation would work”

L. & C. Loughlin, Addingham

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What this service aims to do

An opportunity to:

Tap into a garden designer’s skills ...
and knowledge at an introductory level
Explore ideas about planting
for example what to keep, take out or transplant
Explore ideas on how to approach hard landscaping
for example how one might deal with levels, drainage, paths
New perspective
Fresh pair of eyes and renewed inspiration

What this service doesn’t do

The One off consultation cannot…

provide drawings or sketches
For a sketch designs, please see my Garden Inspirations service
identify specific planting solutions
Selecting plants for particular locations takes into account many criteria. If you are looking for recommended planting for your borders, my Flash Planting Design service may be a better option for you.
resolve specific design solutions for levels
Design tips on how to deal with steps and level changes can be shared. However exact number and arrangement of steps/slopes etc is difficult to determine in the time available here.
answer all your questions and issues
solutions to a lot of queries can be provided. I often find suggestions and ideas to other issues that the client has not thought about, has been particularly useful to raise during the consultation.

Finding creative solutions to issues, which are unique to each garden / client, can take time to process and work up. Due to the time limitations of the meeting, it’s not always possible to arrive at a solution to the detail one would expect from engaging in a full design.

If you are someone who is fixed in their ideas and knowledge, then this service is not for you.

“I booked the consultation to figure out the layout & what to keep/remove. We could then begin shaping our garden”

S. & L. Parry, Yeadon

“I used the consultation to help re-work the garden mess (currently a vacant property) ready for selling the house and putting it on the market”

M. Birch, York & Ilkley

“We requested this service because we had quite a good idea of what we wanted but felt we needed some professional advice and guidance.

Having someone looking at the garden with “fresh eyes” was beneficial. Sometimes one doesn’t see the obvious. Talking ideas through with you was also very helpful and made us focus on what we really want.”

Mr & Mrs Loughlin, Addingham

“The session provided a holistic view of the problem.

I think the Consultation is great. It has given me a perspective I would never have thought about.”

Mrs Powell, Ilkley

Garden Experience Gift Vouchers

Do you know someone who would appreciate getting to know their own garden better?

A chance to learn some secrets & tips from a garden professional – makes a unique & perfect present.

A gift voucher will be supplied for the recipient, who can then arrange their consultation with me at a mutually convenient time.

A gift experience voucher can be used to pay for a one off consultation or a discount off any of my other services.

Please contact me to discuss your special event.

Contact me for a Gift Voucher

Although this was a surprise gift, I really wanted to know how to prioritise the many actions needed in my garden.
Melissa took the time to explore how I felt about my garden and what my requirements were, on a practical and sensitive level. She helped me to look at the garden in a new way and helped me to decided on my next course of action.
Her knowledge was very useful. The notes with photos and advice are excellent and I’m finding it very helpful to prioritise the work.
I have begun to implement the suggestions made by Melissa. It has been so useful to receive her advice how to start and how start on revamping my garden.

J. Dallas, Gargrave