These terms apply to all design, planting, consultation and build coordination services provided by Patchworks Gardens Ltd (“Patchworks”, “we”, “us”), and to every fee proposal, quotation and invoice we issue. Paying a deposit or invoice, or asking us to begin work, means you accept them. If your fee proposal or client agreement says something different, that document takes priority.
1. Our services
1.1 We are a design studio. We provide garden design, planting design, consultations and, where agreed, coordination through the build and planting.
1.2 The scope, stages and fee for each project are set out in your fee proposal. Anything outside that scope is extra work (see section 4).
1.3 We do not carry out landscape construction ourselves. Where we coordinate a build, the landscape contractor is engaged by, and contracts directly with, you.
2. Consultations
2.1 Consultation fees are paid in advance when booking.
2.2 You can rearrange a consultation free of charge with at least 48 hours’ notice. Later cancellations or missed sessions are not refundable, though we will try to offer another date.
2.3 Advice given in a consultation is general guidance based on a single session. It is not a survey, design or specification.
3. Fees and payment
3.1 Design work is charged as a fixed fee, agreed in your fee proposal before anything begins. All fees are subject to VAT at the current rate.
3.2 Half the design fee is payable on booking the brief meeting and survey, and the balance once the final design is approved, unless your fee proposal sets out different stages.
3.3 Invoices are payable within 14 days of the invoice date unless stated otherwise.
3.4 We may charge interest and compensation on overdue invoices under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and may pause work until overdue amounts are paid.
3.5 Fees don’t include outsourced topographical surveys, structural engineers or other specialists. Where these are needed we will tell you, and they are paid for separately. Other expenses are only charged where agreed in advance.
4. Design process and changes
4.1 Your fee includes the number of revision rounds stated in your fee proposal.
4.2 Each stage is treated as approved once you confirm it, or 14 days after we send it if we have heard nothing.
4.3 Changes to an approved stage, further revision rounds or a change of brief are charged as extra work, at our hourly rate or as a quoted addition. We will always tell you before carrying out chargeable extra work.
5. Information from you
5.1 You agree to give us accurate information about the site, including boundaries, services (drains, cables and pipes), access, trees, and any planning, conservation area, Tree Preservation Order, estate or covenant restrictions you are aware of.
5.2 Unless we are separately engaged to do so, we do not carry out structural, arboricultural, drainage, soil or utility surveys. Where we think these are needed we will recommend a specialist.
5.3 You are responsible for obtaining any planning permission, building regulations approval, party wall agreements, or landlord, freeholder or estate consents, unless we have agreed in writing to manage them.
6. Build coordination and contractors
6.1 Where we coordinate a build, our role is to advise on pricing, specification and design intent, and to visit site at the agreed intervals.
6.2 The contractor is responsible for workmanship, health and safety on site, construction methods, the materials they supply, and any guarantees for their work. We are not responsible for a contractor’s acts, omissions, delays or insolvency.
6.3 We recommend contractors and suppliers in good faith; the choice and the contract are yours.
7. Plants and planting
7.1 Plants are living things. Their growth, form and survival depend on weather, soil, pests and aftercare, which are outside our control.
7.2 Unless separately agreed, we do not guarantee plants after installation. Watering and aftercare are your responsibility once planting is complete, and we will give you guidance.
7.3 Plant availability changes. We may substitute a plant of similar character, size and quality, and will tell you where a substitution is significant.
8. Cancellation
8.1 If you are a consumer and the contract was made away from our premises or at a distance (for example by email or phone), you have 14 days to cancel without giving a reason. If you ask us to start work within that period, you will pay for work done up to the point you cancel.
8.2 After that, either of us may end the agreement by written notice. You will pay for work completed and expenses incurred up to the date of notice. The booking payment covers the brief meeting, survey and initial design work, and is non-refundable once that work has started.
9. Copyright and use of designs
9.1 We keep the copyright in all drawings, plans, planting schedules and other design documents.
9.2 Once our fees are paid in full, you have a licence to use the designs to build and maintain the garden at the address they were prepared for. They may not be used for any other site.
9.3 We may photograph the finished garden and use the images and drawings, without your address or personal details, on our website, social media and in publications. Just let us know if you’d prefer we didn’t.
10. Liability
10.1 We will carry out our services with the reasonable skill and care expected of a professional garden designer.
10.2 Our total liability to you for any project is limited to the fees paid for that project, except where the law does not allow liability to be limited.
10.3 We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss caused by contractors, suppliers or other consultants we do not employ.
10.4 Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud, or affects your statutory rights as a consumer.
11. Complaints
If something isn’t right, please tell us first at info@patch-works.co.uk and we will try to put it right quickly and fairly.
12. Your information
We use your details only to provide our services, invoice you and keep in touch about your project. We don’t sell or share them, except with contractors or suppliers where that’s needed for your project.
13. General
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. We may update these terms from time to time; the version in force when you instruct us applies to your project.