Autumn 2026Garden design & careBramhall, Stockport
Gardens that feel calm, and stay that way.
Fernlea is Tom, a trained horticulturist, and a small, careful team. We design gardens around the way you actually live, plant them for every season, and look after them so you get to enjoy them.
- 45-minute visit, no charge
- Fully insured
- Peat-free, wildlife-friendly
In the garden now
What we're doing this season
Planting spring bulbs
Tulips, alliums and narcissi in drifts, so March doesn't arrive to bare soil.
Oct – NovScarifying & feeding lawns
Raking out thatch, aerating and an autumn feed while the ground is still warm.
Sept – OctLifting tender plants
Dahlias and cannas lifted after the first frost, dried and stored for you.
After first frostLeaves into leaf mould
We clear lawns and paths, and bag the leaves so they come back as free mulch.
Nov – Dec
Winter pruning
Apples, pears, wisteria and shrub roses, pruned properly while they're dormant.
Dec – FebBare-root hedging
Beech, hawthorn and hornbeam planted bare-root, at a fraction of the pot-grown price.
Nov – MarDesign season
The quiet months are the best time to draw up plans, ready to build for spring.
Jan – FebPatios & paths
Hard landscaping booked in dry spells, so the borders aren't disturbed in spring.
Weather permitting
First cut & edging
A high first mow, crisp new edges and a spring feed to wake the lawn up.
Mar – AprMulching borders
A thick layer of peat-free compost to lock in moisture and keep weeds down.
Mar – AprDividing perennials
Lifting tired clumps, splitting them and spreading them round for free plants.
Mar – MayNew planting schemes
Our busiest planting window. Design clients from winter go in the ground now.
Apr – May
Deadheading & staking
Keeping roses and perennials flowering for weeks longer than they would alone.
Jun – AugHoliday watering
Away for a fortnight? We'll keep pots and new planting alive while you're gone.
Jul – AugHedge trimming
Once the birds have finished nesting, hedges get their main shape for the year.
Late AugEvening garden walks
We visit new design clients in summer to see how the light falls through the day.
Jun – Aug
Autumn planting slots for November are filling up.
Book a free visit before the frosts →Our approach
Most gardens don't need more work. They need the right work, at the right time of year.
Tom, horticulturist & founder
We started Fernlea in Bramhall because too many gardens round here were being "done" once and then left to fend for themselves. A new patio, a skip full of shrubs, and two summers later the bindweed is back and the lawn has given up.
We work differently. Every garden starts with a walk round with you, a look at the soil, and a proper conversation about how you want to use the space: a place for the kids, somewhere quiet with a coffee, or a border you can be proud of from the kitchen window.
Then we plan it, plant it and, if you'd like, look after it month by month. The same faces, every visit, who know your garden as well as you do.
We garden peat-free, avoid chemical weedkillers wherever we can, and leave room for the birds, bees and hedgehogs. It looks better, and it's easier to live with.
in SK7 & around
or looked after
on every plan
Services & prices
What we do
From a single afternoon of advice to a full redesign and a garden looked after all year. Every job starts with a free visit and a written quote.
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i.
Garden design consultation
from£95Two hours with Tom in your garden: what's working, what to move, what to plant and in what order. You get written notes and a planting list to keep, whether you do the work yourself or not.
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ii.
Full garden design
from£650A measured survey, a scaled plan, planting plans and a costed build schedule. We'll talk through two layout ideas before settling on one, and the design fee comes off the build if we do the work.
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iii.
Planting schemes
from£350New borders or tired ones brought back to life. We prepare the soil properly, plant for colour from February to November, and choose plants that suit a shady Cheadle Hulme plot or a clay Poynton one.
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iv.
Patios, paths & edging
from£2,400Sandstone, brick and gravel laid on a proper sub-base, with drainage thought through. We'd rather build a smaller patio well than a big one that moves in two winters.
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v.
Lawn care
from£45per visitMowing and edging through the growing season, plus scarifying, aerating, overseeding and feeds in spring and autumn. Or we'll help you swap part of the lawn for a meadow patch.
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vi.
Maintenance plans
from£120a monthRegular visits from the same gardener, doing the right jobs at the right time. Pruning, weeding, feeding, deadheading and the odd bit of replanting, all planned a season ahead.
Maintenance plans
A garden that's looked after, every month
Monthly visits, booked a year ahead, with a short note after each one telling you what we did and what's coming up. No contracts: stop or pause with a month's notice.
TidySmall courtyards & low-fuss gardens
1 half-day a month- Weeding, deadheading and tidying borders
- Seasonal pruning of shrubs
- Green waste taken away
£120a month
TendedMost family gardensMost popular
1 full day a month- Everything in Tidy
- Lawn feeds, edging and autumn renovation
- Hedge trimming twice a year
- Bulbs and seasonal pots replanted
£220a month
Cared-forLarger & established gardens
2 days a month- Everything in Tended
- Fruit trees, roses and climbers pruned
- Annual planting refresh, designed by Tom
- Priority booking for extra work
£380a month
Prices for gardens in Bramhall, Cheadle Hulme, Poynton and Hazel Grove. Plants and materials charged at cost, never with a mark-up.
How it works
From first visit to first bloom
A free garden visit
Tom comes round for 45 minutes, walks the garden with you and listens. No hard sell, and no charge.
Within 10 daysIdeas & a clear quote
A written proposal with options, a fixed price and a realistic timeline that works with the seasons.
Within a weekWe design & build
A small, tidy team on site. We protect your lawn, clear up every evening and keep you posted.
Booked with youThen we look after it
Optional monthly visits so the garden matures the way it was planned. Most clients stay with us.
For years, we hope
The person behind it
Hello, I'm Tom. I'll be the one in your garden.
I trained in horticulture and spent six years as a gardener on a large historic estate in Cheshire, looking after borders that had been planted a century before I got there. It taught me patience, and that good gardens are made over years, not weekends.
I set up Fernlea in 2016 from my own back garden in Bramhall. Today there are four of us, and I still visit every new garden myself, draw every design and plan every maintenance year.
- Trained horticulturist, 15 years in gardens
- Fully insured, with written quotes
- Peat-free compost & British-grown plants
- Green waste composted, never tipped
TomFounder & head gardener
Kind words
From gardens nearby
We'd lived with a muddy rectangle for eight years. Tom redesigned the whole thing, and now it's the room we use most from April to October. The planting looks better every single month.
Same two people every month, they know exactly what they're doing, and the little note afterwards is lovely. Our lawn has never looked like this.
The consultation alone was worth it. Two hours, a page of notes, and I finally know what to do with the shady side.
Our sandstone patio was laid beautifully, and they left the place cleaner than they found it.
Where we work
Based in Bramhall, gardening nearby
We keep our patch small on purpose. Less time in the van means more time in your garden, and we can pop back if a storm brings down a fence panel.
- Bramhall
- Cheadle Hulme
- Poynton
- Hazel Grove
Just outside, in Woodford, Heald Green or Adlington? Ask anyway, we often can.
Questions
Good to know
Anything else, ring Tom on 0161 496 0712. If he's up a ladder, he'll call you back the same day.
Is the garden visit really free?
Yes. Tom spends around 45 minutes with you, talks through ideas and gives you a feel for costs. If you'd like detailed written advice to keep, that's our paid consultation, but there's no obligation either way.
When's the best time of year to start a new garden?
Autumn and winter are ideal for designing and building, so planting can go in during autumn or early spring when roots establish best. Get in touch now and we can have plans ready before the busy season.
Do I need to be home when you visit?
Not for maintenance visits. Most clients leave the side gate open for us and get a short note with photos afterwards. For the first visit and design meetings, we'd love you to be there.
Can I pause a maintenance plan over winter?
You can, though winter is when a lot of the important pruning and planting happens. Many clients drop to a lighter plan from December to February instead. There's no contract, just a month's notice.
Do you take garden waste away?
Always. It's included in every plan and quote. Green waste goes to a composting site, and leaves can be bagged up as leaf mould for your own borders if you'd prefer.
How far ahead are you booked?
Free visits are usually within ten days. Build work is typically booked six to ten weeks ahead, and maintenance places open up a few times a year, so it's worth getting on the list.
Book a free garden visit
Let's take a walk round your garden
Tell us a little about it and we'll be in touch within one working day to find a time that suits you.
- 1.Tom visits for around 45 minutes, at no charge
- 2.You get honest ideas and a rough idea of cost on the day
- 3.A written quote follows within a week, if you'd like one