On 28 Jan, 16:33, Des Higgins wrote:
I meant if he had no training in garden design and tried to do it
himself, it would be unlikely to work unless he was inspired or lucky.
All he has to do is keep it neat for it to look saleable. *If he has
no experience in garden design, he risks a huge expenditure of effort
for no gain or even to make it look worse.

You're right, off course.

Every time I have gone house hunting, the worst gardens were either
neglected or badly designed (naff and made you wonder how much effort
it would take and how many skips to remove the whole lot and start
again).

There's some matter of taste in there somewhere too. Naff is perhaps
70% of the gardens I see, in my opinion ;o) I love neglected gardens
because then nobody seem to mind about what you are going to do.
Anything is an improvement! Deck and concrete urban designed garden is
frankly a costly affair in skips hire, I agree!

Getting a qualified designer and landscaper in (whose work you like
and therefore whose taste you agree with) is more likely to work.

This is costly (I know, I've just done an hypothetical business plan -
my goodness, see you all on the Riviera next year!). All in all I
think the poster must find a balance. A course which will gain him/her
some knowledge which he/she will keep for ever (cost the same as a
handfull of gardening books). Then a small project to keep her/him
busy till July. C'mon, don't be a spoilt sport. Everybody wants to
potter in the garden!! You never know, that garden might not end up in
my 70% ...!