EDIT: thank you all very much for your offers of help and ideas. I will reply properly tomorrow. Today has been a looong day.

I hope this is the correct place to request this.

I’m looking for someone who is able to help me plan/re-design my garden please. It’s not been looked after much over the last few years for reasons I won’t bore you with.

My kids (9y & 17y) have experienced some pretty horrendous trauma and, since lockdown, I have found that our garden is a calming space for them. It’s a mess though and it’s just there and not very practical.

I’ve looked online for ideas, advice and inspiration and, whilst I have an idea of what I would like to do, I’m finding I really could do with someone to say this would work, this wouldn’t, have you tried this, put that there etc.

If anyone is able to help, I can discuss in more detail with you but in a nutshell my youngest is using their imagination and play a lot to process everything so I’m looking on advice for how to take the next steps in the semi-plans/ideas I have. For my eldest they need a chill area to sit in the sun and read or listen to music. It’s how to make it cozy, calm and welcoming for them, what to plant where, what sort of garden furniture to use etc etc. All 3 of us would love a small pond/water area as we find the sound of running water calming.

I have very little money (who doesn’t) as, prior to lockdown, I’ve been carer to my youngest. My aim is to go back to uni in September as a (very) mature student but basically what I’m saying is that I understand it will take a while to get things how I would like but if I can show my kids there is a plan and hopefully involve them in the process, the garden can become a calm and healing place for them. I’m also totally up to up/re-cycling stuff and finding out how to make things on YouTube.

Apologies this is so long and thank you for reading it all.

EDIT: to say I’m in the U.K. but could do this online with photos etc