Elks-Smith Landscape and Garden Design

Our family recently moved into the New Forest area. While the house needed some renovation, more than half the garden to the rear, which was itself sizeable, was completely unusable. Over an extended period of years, it had become overgrown by large trees, bushes and weeds and we needed help to resurrect the “old place” back to its former glory. Having approached Helen for advice and following several good, consultative discussions with her, my wife and I agreed a design plan to renovate the garden areas – both back and front. In the knowledge we had plans to put a pool into our property in the early part of 2024, we initially focussed on the back garden. Following a tendering process, which Helen coordinated and managed, and which brought suppliers to us who Helen had worked with in the past, groundwork got underway in the Spring of ‘24. The process was seamless, communication was good and as we proceeded, and new ideas came to the fore, amendments to the original design plan were made in consultation with Helen resulting in the completion of our back garden in November ’24 with spring planting to follow in early ‘25. This has been a sizeable project for everyone but we as a family are delighted with the garden we now have, the workmanship that has been displayed throughout and the professional approach which has been taken by Helen and her suppliers. We very much look forward to later this year when work will commence on the front of our house and I’m sure when finished we will have invested wisely not only in the house but the garden which we very much look forward to enjoying with our family in the summer months to come.

I have only positive things to say. Helen visited our medium sized but utterly neglected garden at the end of a refurb of our 1817 stone house. She listened to our needs and adapted plans around our (seemingly never ending) difficulties with ground conditions and prior landscaping work. The process to gather our preferences in planting was really helpful, as I couldn’t fully describe what I liked. The end result is something personal to us, and I’m so looking forward to seeing it grow and develop over the years. It really does have the wow factor I was hoping for and has transformed the space. We didn’t have unlimited funds and Helen worked with us tirelessly to help the budget stretch to achieve the final look. Couldn’t ask for more.

Extortionately expensive and hugely disappointing !! Don’t be seduced by the CG images of your border planting and garden plans ‘these don’t count’ . After spending 2 years on my project with open ended budget I have been left with a shambles of a garden . The planting , clearly the most important consideration and the ultimate goal , is incredibly sparse , lacking imagination and flair . This was the point of the whole exercise in the first place but has turned out to be one huge letdown . Customer care and personal service is very poor and communication and response time unacceptably slow. (Except with bills) I wish it had been otherwise ….

After a substantial refurbishment of our house in rural Dorset on the coastal path, Isle of Purbeck was completed in 2009, we commissioned Helen of Elks-Smith Design Ltd. to design, plan and oversee a large area, amounting to about 1/2 acre, to the front and back of the house that was totally flattened through building works and compacted by heavy equipment. Our property and surrounding walls are built of local Purbeck stone with significant amount of glass and the interior is pretty contemporary. We wanted to reflect both this contemporary aspect as well as some of the wild and beautiful landscape that is beyond our walls. We also wanted the garden to be easy to maintain as well as stunning to look at. Helen came up with a wonderful design, both landscaping as well the planting which complements the house perfectly. Grasses of all types sway in the more or less constant coastal wind and the rest of the plants give all year round colour and form. We get tremendous pleasure from our garden and, on two occasions we opened it to the Dorset Garden Trust to great acclaim. Helen's confident and creative approach as well as her horticultural knowledge has made it a pleasure to work with her and gave us a great outcome. Gabrielle Peskin

We commissioned Helen to re-design our garden following the building of an extension. We wanted to incorporate sweeping curves, to minimize the slight gradient and avoid a barrier effect, and for it to be complementary to the house. We also wanted to include a water feature and provide disabled access as the extension accommodates my elderly parents who have moved in with us. Helen listened closely to our requests and came up with an amazing design that we absolutely love and works very well for us. The garden is much admired by all who visit and gives a lot of pleasure. The design was totally beyond what we could have imagined and showed us the value that an exceptional garden designer can provide.

We approached Helen Elks-Smith for garden design and we were so impressed with Helen's creative flair, adaptability, and warm friendly manner that we had no hesitation in hiring her and her team for our garden design/build project. We have had a complete garden redesign, including planting plans, hard standings, driveway re-configuration and more. Helen has also project managed for us and has been helpful, practical and honest in her approach. We would wholeheartedly recommend Elks-Smith Garden design.

We inherited the property which had a much loved traditional garden but having modernised the inside of the property we asked Helen to create a low maintenance garden with a series of outdoor spaces for dining and relaxing. Helen used contemporary fencing, low walls and architectural plants and trees to achieve this. We very much wanted to use the garden as an outdoor living space and Helen achieved this involving us every step of the way making it really exciting and fun. We love the garden as does everyone who visits. Helen is a delight to work with, has kept in touch to provide plant advice and is now working with us to develop some new themes in the garden. She keeps in touch and it is a delight to work with her as the garden evolves. some

Helen designed the garden for us, providing an overall plan including hard landscaping and a detailed planting plan. Having just finished a major rebuild of our house, the garden of half an acre was a blank canvas. We have now finished implementing her plan and it looks amazing! Helen listened to us, steered us and designed a garden for today's needs with young kids and a garden that can evolve as we grow as a family. Great service, quality product.

I liked Helen from the moment I met her and knew instantly that she was the person to work with on our disaster of a garden. It had suffered from a succession of owners that had made their own additions none of which made the garden whole. Helen immediately understood the problems and our needs and came up with ideal solutions about usage, views and weather conditions and space. This is our second home and therefore we wanted to enjoy a garden that would not require each weekend being on my hands and knees weeding and returning on Sunday with a broken back! The planting provides just enough work for me to keep me busy and happy pottering around without me having to push a reluctant teen/husband workforce into action. We love our garden, it is serene and a complete haven from the city. It provides space for our teenage children to enjoy with their friends and place for us all to enjoy the garden both during the day and evening. Helen is highly organised, highly knowledgeable and honestly has the patience of a Saint as it took me forever to get myself sorted out! We have now moved house in the city and after only 12 days here I have already been on the phone to Helen to ask for help. I can't wait! If photos can be uploaded after the event I shall post one of us enjoying a long-promised evening glass of wine together.

We have used Elks-Smith Garden Design for a couple of large projects, and can thoroughly recommend Helen and her team. Amongst Helen's many characteristics, she is thorough, highly knowledgeable, friendly, and great to work with. Helen doesn't just do the design and exit stage left, she stays with you during the construction and continues to provide great input as the garden evolves and matures. It's been wonderful working with her and she comes highly recommended!

Helen Elks-Smith came to visit our garden on a very rainy day. After quite a long discussion on what we wanted to achieve, she then sat outside for almost two hours trying to understand what she could do to make our garden work within the harbour surroundings. She produced some initial drawings and made several suggestions that we had not considered and inevitably expanded the scope of what we were trying to do. Helen then arranged for other Companies to come in and build the garden and do the planting out. She made frequent visits along the way to make sure that everything was right for us. It was more than alright it was absolutely superb and she managed to interpret everything that we wanted and created an absolute triumph. We are truly delighted with what she and her Company have created, a legacy for the future.