DCGD – Daniel Combes Garden Design

Who we are?

Daniel Combes Garden Design is a multidisciplinary team of Landscape Architects, Garden Designers, and Ecologists based in Wiltshire. We focus on the design of beautiful gardens and landscapes throughout the UK, working collaboratively with our clients to sympathetically enhance the beauty of their homes.

Dan’s understanding of the natural world, coupled with his experience as an ecologist and gardener, affords him a comprehensive approach to garden design. He believes it is the garden which differentiates a good house from a great house, Dan explains:

‘the garden creates the first impression of your home. It gives the house context, determining whether it feels a part of the landscape. The garden guides you to the front door. It frames and enhances the views out of the windows of the house. The garden greets you when you step out of any door and dictates your journey around the property. It leads you to key features; the dining terrace, the kitchen garden, the natural swimming pool or sauna in the woods. Ultimately, it determines how you feel and can be the difference that makes your home a sanctuary, the place you unwind and feel like you truly belong.’

As a team, not only do we help our clients imagine their perfect garden but we obsess over every detail, working out how to build every element of the garden so this dream becomes a reality. We have succeeded when our clients’ expectations are exceeded, and they are drawn ever deeper into their garden.

What we do?

Our aim is to work on ambitious projects with clients who have big dreams to create remarkable gardens. Our work focuses on the country house and estate, occasionally being drawn into the town and city to work on very special projects.  We see garden making as a partnership between our clients, the architects, landscapers and many other craftspeople involved in the project. It is these collaborations which make each of our gardens unique.

We achieve the best results when we are brought in right at the beginning of a project, to work with the architect to make sure the house and garden work in unison.

If it is a new house, we help determine where it should be situated on the site. We map the position of the drive so it works comfortably with the contours of the land and offers the best views of the house and landscape. When an extension or new structure is being built, we ensure it relates to the existing garden. We think about the position of a tennis court so it is hidden from view yet is easily accessible from the house. Likewise with a natural swimming pool or lake.  It is the landscaping around these elements which make them accessible, comfortable places to spend time in and determines how often they are used and enjoyed.

Often clients inherit gardens which have been poorly laid out in the first place or through lack of care, have lost their balance. Here our role is to see through the clutter, confidently edit that which no longer makes sense, and restore elements that have real value. We then think about how these elements are best integrated with our client’s wish list, carefully weaving the old and the new together.

For those with larger properties, we offer advice on land management, habitat restoration and water management. We work with clients to increase the biodiversity and health of their surrounding land. Not only does this improve the beauty that surrounds them, but it also opens the door to government grants to help with the process. Considered maintenance is a key element, and we work very hard to provide low cost but high impact solutions.

Our Process

All of our gardens start with a face-to-face meeting with our clients to determine that we are a good fit for each other. Garden making is an intricate process, and we pride ourselves on developing close and honest relationships with our clients. It is during these initial meetings that we determine the brief, a guide budget, and clearly communicate our process. We will also produce a design schedule, making sure we are able to meet both our client’s deadlines and the deadlines of other professionals involved in the project.

Then the master planning process starts. This is where the real magic happens. We consider every element of the property in detail and work out how all of the parts can be stitched together to create a cohesive whole. This is the blueprint for the garden, once this has been signed off we know where we want to end up.

The detail design process follows where the master plan is turned into a construction package and tender documents are completed with all the information needed for contractors to quote to build the garden. We are passionate about details. It is at this moment we work out how to build the garden. We think about what stone we want to use, what the latches will look like on the various gates, what filtration system we will use for any water features, and what surface materials will be used on the different paths and terraces. We think about water management, irrigation, and lighting. This is our opportunity to specify exactly how elements should be built to achieve a functional achievable outcome.

Dan trained as a botanist and is happiest when studying plants in their natural habitats. It is this constant process of observation that underpins our planting design. We carefully select plants suited to the conditions of the garden and that work together comfortably. Our planting schemes are characterised by a strong architecture of hedges and topiary offset by bold drifts of shrubs and perennials, breaking the formality of the architecture and adding romance and seasonality into our schemes.

From the detail design to the tender process, we will help find the very best contractors and crafts people to build the garden. We will make sure appropriate materials and construction practices are used. We will deal with planning and any other permissions required. We will monitor your build to make sure the design is brought to life as we imagined, the project is properly costed, budgets are adhered to, and the garden is delivered to a closely monitored schedule.

Ultimately it is our role to make sure that our clients always have all the information they need to make good decisions, confident in the knowledge they have an exceptional team working together to produce a great garden. Garden making is a hugely rewarding and enjoyable process. Each garden is an offering to future generations and an opportunity to leave a positive legacy on the landscape.