Stephanie, Tunbridge Wells.
‘For someone like me with a love of outdoor space but no garden design time, talent or knowledge, working with Sara Barraud has been an utter joy from start to finish. As a first-time client, Sara guided me through the process with clarity and fantastic communication along the way, explaining each stage, providing options as appropriate and responding hugely helpfully to any queries arising. Given a fairly open brief to revive a tired town garden that would function in part as an outdoor room, with a soothing colour palette, bee-friendly planting and little maintenance required, Sara created something more wonderful than I could ever have imagined. From the layout of the space, to the landscaping components to the plants themselves, every element has been beautifully considered, resulting in a peaceful sanctuary that gives me enormous pleasure every day. I couldn’t recommend Sara more highly.’
Caroline, Tunbridge Wells.
‘Sara was a fantastic find! She has transformed our tiny courtyard garden from a thorny problem area into a lovely space that we want to spend all our time in. The whole design process was a pleasure and Sara’ s design and planting plan are a work of art! She has an expert eye and created a garden that fits perfectly with the setting and old surrounding walls. Colour images of the plants she recommended were provided too which was helpful. We were also delighted with the hard landscaping company recommended by Sara – the whole project went very smoothly. Definitely worth every penny! Thank you, Sara.’
Vanessa and Chris/Kingston upon Thames
It has been an utter joy working with Sara and seeing our garden unfold under her creative eye. I have admired her work for a while, and was so delighted when she agreed to take on our London garden after we had built a garden room extension.
We wanted to feel the garden become part of our living space and Sara totally achieved this, creating a courtyard that gives privacy with pleached trees and also somehow suggests a sense of space. Sara was a huge pleasure to work with, guiding us creatively yet taking time and trouble to understand what kind of planting and colour palette appealed to us. She always had a clear concept of what would work in our space, and remained calm and unfazed by delays and challenges from our original building project. We felt guided through the process and everything was clearly explained, nothing was too much trouble. We were very happy with landscaping company chosen, and Sara kept a close eye on every aspect from initial design to hard landscaping and final planting, and we are absolutely delighted with the result.
Rashna and Jonathan/Kingston upon Thames.
After seeing Sara’s breath-taking garden design for our good friends, we knew that Sara would be the perfect garden designer to inject heart and soul back into our exposed garden and terrace. A recent renovation left it looking soulless as we had to remove some trees. We knew Sara in her previous life as an award-winning photographer so we knew her talents with colours, textures and composition would be used to great effect in the creation of our garden. From the meetings to the mood boards and the final planting, Sara was a rock – so knowledgeable on plants and planting – everything felt effortless yet exciting. We’ve learnt so much through the process of working with Sara. Our garden is now planted and in its infancy. We have every faith that it will be the opposite of soulless in years to come and we can’t wait to see it blooming and flourishing over time. That’s the other thing that Sara taught us about gardens – they are not instant. The same good friend shared a quote with me which summed up the process so well…’To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow’ (Audrey Hepburn). And Sara’s gardens make you impatient for tomorrow – with a promise that the best is yet to come.
Sarah and Martin/Tonbridge.
We had purchased the early Victorian cottage next door to us and our project involved converting the houses into a single dwelling and constructing a contemporary rear glass extension. Sara had been recommended to us and her brief was to combine the two rear gardens of the houses into one, whilst maintaining and developing the cottage garden character and using traditional cottage garden planting. We also wanted a terrace which would read seamlessly from the inside of the building, to the garden outside and views of the countryside beyond.
We knew as soon as we met Sara we could work with her and she produced a wonderful Master Plan which incorporated a sweeping terrace with integral planting beds, steps down to the lawn, together with new borders. Sara was always on hand to advise on decisions with hard landscaping materials which were key to the structure of the garden. The planting plans she produced were perfect incorporating traditional cottage plants in the colours we had chosen together, and a modern water feature which combine beautifully to create a stunning garden. Sara cleverly layered the planting on the terrace which allows us to enjoy the long-term views. Sara is highly professional, a very talented designer and always produced drawings when promised. She also helped us secure hardworking and efficient landscapers to implement the scheme and regularly checked the work in progress. We are absolutely delighted with our wonderful garden and we would not hesitate to recommend Sara.
Chris, Yalding.
‘Sara has created the kind of garden we wanted but couldn’t imagine. She’s great to work with, clearly explained the process and walked the journey with us and even put up with us changing our minds. She managed the project from start to finish, helping us find a great landscape contractor and ensured that everything went as it should. A really enjoyable and exciting experience. We’re so grateful.’
Rowena, Wadhurst.
Having decided that our much-loved Victorian walled garden was in need of some professional attention and enhancement it was to Sara that my husband and I turned having seen and admired her work elsewhere. A large, ugly concrete slab patio at the rear of the house required replacement and softening with some planting closer to the house and all the existing paths around the garden needed attention too. We had planned to incorporate a greenhouse and a covered but open sided loggia with fireplace for outside entertaining. A central water feature and raised vegetable beds completed our brief. From our very first meeting and walk round the garden Sara listened carefully to our wishes to enhance but not over complicate the space. With additional suggestions, one of which involved the removal of a topiary yew hedge (!) a plan evolved. We trusted Sara’s expertise and vision as a designer and were both impressed and excited with the result. The hard landscaping was carried out from November 2021 through to March 2022 and most of the planting was in place by the end of May in time for the summer. Materials arrived on time and the landscapers that Sara instructed could not have worked harder or with more attention to detail. We could not be more delighted with the end result and everyone who comes to see the garden seems genuinely impressed and delighted by it. Sara has helped us to realise our dream to create a magical space, paying respect to some of the older elements of the garden whilst opening up other areas that were hitherto unused. Sara was clear in her design and explanations and efficient, professional and on time with her delivery of them. We count ourselves very fortunate in working with Sara. The whole project has been a joy and we could not recommend her more highly.
Jane and Roger, Leigh.
‘We had bought a Victorian cottage in a lovely village. The house and garden all needed restoring to its former glory! We saw Sara’s website when we were looking for someone to design our garden and we loved the look of everything she had done. We wanted to recreate a cottage garden and she came up with some wonderful ideas about all the old-fashioned plants that there are for that sort of garden. Sara is highly professional and has a lovely way about her. She came up with a fantastic garden plan which in itself was a work of art. She was an absolute joy to work with and we are absolutely delighted with our garden, as are very many people in our village who lean over the garden fence and enthuse about how beautiful our garden looks! We could not recommend her more highly and we are so glad we chose her.’
Glenn and Sally, Edenbridge.
Our 450-year-old house came with a tired and largely derelict garden; one with little charm, a constrained drive and a limited outlook. We consider ourselves extremely lucky to have found Sara through her website. Right from the initial design meeting we had confidence that we had made a good choice. We then became very willing travellers alongside Sara’s very clear and sophisticated vision; one that varied little from the initial sketch plans to the final delivery drawings and planting plans. Sara then led and managed the selection of a landscape contractor, and a number of specialist suppliers, all of whom performed extremely well and enthusiastically. Sara procured all of the plants and arranged and led the planting program at the appropriate seasons. Sara also provided maintenance and plant care manuals set out month by month for a full gardening year and helped us find a skilful gardener who remains with us. Sara continues to help with ongoing advice and small changes. Sara’s approach is highly professional, extremely skilful, and imaginatively innovative, giving clients complete confidence in her ability to deliver an entirely satisfactory outcome. In the whole process Sara skilfully took us beyond our own expectations, leading us to a much better outcome than we could have anticipated. We now have a marvellous garden that we enjoy thoroughly, and one for which passers-by stop, photograph and pay great compliments.
Lyndsay and Giles, Smarden.
Our medieval house reputedly had a beautiful garden, but when we first arrived it was overgrown and in need of a fresh start. We were keen to develop a garden which was contemporary, whilst reflecting upon the historic nature of the property and made use of local /traditional materials. After searching for a garden designer, we chose to work with Sara as we found her straightforward & enthusiastic and we identified with her design aspirations. Sara had worked on similar projects previously and therefore quickly understood our brief. Sara clearly explained the process and once we agreed the outline design and plan, she prepared a brief for a tender to find the right landscapers to undertake the works, which were executed with care. Several years on, we are thrilled with our new garden, which provides a wonderful setting for our house and we can’t wait to watch it mature. We are already enjoying spending time in the garden and have found it a peaceful, calming space.
Sarah and Nigel, Langton Green.
‘We had to wait patiently for Sara to be free to help us with a change to our garden and she was definitely worth waiting for. Sara has designed a wonderful re-imagined garden with changes to the hard landscaping, in this case the terrace, to give a new aspect to the Kitchen Garden and a face lift for the greenhouse. With all new planting to the newly created borders as well as the existing ones throughout the rest of the garden it was, for us, a significant project. Sara’s approach has been one of great enthusiasm, creativity, professionalism and an abundance of patience. Every part of the project has been enjoyable from the design, through the build and finally the planting. The result has exceeded our expectations and we enjoy the fruits of Sara’s labour every single day. We are very thankful and happily have a little bit more to do.’
Henny and Eoin, Tunbridge Wells.
Just to say again – a huge, huge thank you. We adore the garden! It has been so lovely seeing all the plants grow so much over the last few weeks. The garden is looking gorgeous – we really love it, and it has been great being able to enjoy it so much over the last couple of months. You must come and see how it all looks once lockdown is over.
Susie and Matt, Penshurst.
‘We loved working with Sara! We bought a house with fabulous views but a rather neglected and dated looking garden. Sara produced a wonderful design. Creating a new courtyard garden and new planting schemes for the existing beds including herb borders along the side of the house. The planting schemes incorporate structure and softness with a contemporary feel using a variety of grasses, verbena, alliums, stachys, hebes and cherry trees. It has been transformational and we can’t wait to see it all grow and mature.’
Ginny and Martin, Canterbury.
‘We moved to a house with a challenging, steeply sloping, back garden which had never been properly landscaped or cultivated. Sara was positive and enthusiastic from the beginning which provided us with some reassurance! She listened carefully to our own ideas and suggested plenty of others for our consideration. We were able to supply a list of favourite plants, many of which Sara incorporated into her design, along with others which were new to us. There were regular consultations and discussions – the plans presented were beautifully drawn and really helped us to visualise what the finished garden would look like. Sara is easy going, friendly and professional. We always felt able to ask questions and she was patient and understanding when we wanted to make a few changes along the way. We now have a beautifully landscaped, totally transformed rear garden with terracing, gravel paths and thriving flowering plants which provide yearlong colour and interest. It’s an absolute pleasure to wander around the garden this spring and spend time just sitting and admiring it all! We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Sara to anyone considering a garden design project.”
Fi and Antony, Chiswick London.
‘Sara designed and oversaw, from the soil upwards, the installation of my long-desired courtyard garden in Chiswick which now attracts praise from all who step in it. I found her to be a delightfully sunny, intelligent and professional person to work with who patiently drew out what exactly it was that would make a stunning garden for me personally and filled the many gaps in my vision with lovely, classy ideas. All the consultation I needed was swiftly followed by stylish drawings and a planting storyboard to think about before the work got underway. Not only is Sara full of talent and motivation but she also manages, in her good-natured way, to execute the sometimes delicate trick of ensuring landscapers fulfil their brief to the highest standards. I recommend her to anyone longing for an enduringly beautiful garden but unsure how to create themselves.’’
