A Durrant-designed coastal garden at Waipatiki Beach

You’re possibly here to answer three questions.

Someone mentioned my name, or you’ve been searching online, and now you’re wondering: is he any good, does he fit my project, and how do I start. Fair enough. Here they are, in order.

Is he any good?

I’m Tim Durrant. I qualified in landscape design and construction in Wellington in 1998 and have worked in the industry ever since, in New Zealand, Denmark and the UK. I’ve designed gardens, built them, and maintained them, which has taught me what lasts, what dates, and what a garden needs to look right in ten years, not just on opening day.

The tools have changed a lot in that time. When I trained we drew in pen and ink; these days the technology streamlines the process. But the outcome is the same: a garden made from the site, the light, and the people who live there.

“Tim listened to the overall vision of our project and executed exactly what we wanted.” — Danielle Lowy & Tom Harper
“Tim is inventive and imaginative… We would have no hesitation in recommending him for his creativity and ability to bring a garden in on time and on budget.” — Bill Ralston & Janet Wilson

The rest of the answer is in the gallery. Have a look at the work. Each garden is different, but you may notice some themes. Your garden doesn’t have to look like any of these. Yours can be uniquely yours, a response to your property.

Formal — Poraiti homestead
Formal — Poraiti homestead
Wild coastal — Te Awanga
Wild coastal — Te Awanga
Green on green — Havelock North
Green on green — Havelock North
A hedged retreat — hill country
A hedged retreat — hill country

Does he fit my project?

Probably, and here’s why: I don’t arrive with a signature look. I’ve designed formal gardens for older homesteads, wild plantings you can barely tell were designed at all, courtyards, pools and everything between. Some projects are a single area: a shade solution, an entrance, one tired corner. Others are a full property, staged over a few years so the budget works. If you’re building or renovating, get me in early, while levels, drainage and access can still be got right cheaply.

How do I start?

With a consultation. We walk your property together and I ask questions: what you need, what annoys you about the place now, how you’d like to live in it, and how each space should feel and function. Simple things matter here, like where the morning coffee happens, the twenty minutes after work, space to be quiet, and room to have friends over.

Then I write your design brief: the areas, what each one needs to do, and what might be possible. Yours to keep.

A Durrant design plan

Initial consultation, project scope and design brief with options

$400, credited against your design fee if we go ahead.

Call 021 782 802   tim@durrant.co.nz

Industry Collaboration

And if you’re an architect, builder or industry professional looking for a landscape designer
to work in with your project team, get in touch.