Business Details
23 Years
experience
Your Trusted Garden Design Partner in Leeds
Established in 2003, Earthworks Garden Design is led by Cheri LaMay, a qualified landscape architect with a BA Hons in Landscape Architecture, HND in Horticulture, and PGCE. Our expertise stems from over two decades of professional experience, including a 12-year career designing gardens and delivering RHS-certified courses. As a Registered Member of the Society of Garden Designers, we uphold the highest industry standards while offering bespoke garden design solutions across Yorkshire. Our process combines detailed topographical surveys, concept plans, and transparent tendering to ensure client visions are realised with precision. We specialise in creating functional, aesthetically pleasing spaces through tailored consultancy, master planning, and planting schemes.Our commitment to quality extends to supplying plants suited to specific garden conditions and providing ongoing construction consultancy. With a background in teaching and RHS collaboration, we bring both technical expertise and educational insight to every project. Our reputation for excellence is built on meticulous documentation, competitive contractor selection, and a focus on long-term client satisfaction. Based in Leeds, we work closely with clients to transform outdoor spaces into enduring personal sanctuaries.
Services
Garden Design Consultancy
Concept Plans
Master Plans
Planting Plans
Tender Documents
Details
- Year established: 2003
Highlights and features
- 20+ years of professional garden design experience since 2003
- RHS-certified course delivery experience
- Transparent tendering process with competitive pricing
- Detailed planting plans using climate-appropriate species
- Accredited by the UK's leading garden design professional body
Associations and certifications
- Society of Garden Designers
Services
Garden Design Consultancy
Offering expert garden design advice through hourly consultations. We assess your space, discuss lifestyle requirements, and create unscaled sketch plans during initial meetings. Our process includes detailed feedback sessions and preparation of formal design proposals with fixed pricing structures for subsequent stages.
Concept Plans
Creating scaled garden concept plans with visualisation sketches. These plans provide clear spatial layouts and design intentions through detailed illustrations. We conduct review meetings to incorporate client feedback before progressing to detailed master plans or tender documentation.
Planting Plans
Developing comprehensive planting schemes using climate-appropriate species. Our plans specify plant locations with Latin nomenclature and include schedules detailing quantities and sizes. We create custom plant palettes aligned with design aesthetics and maintenance requirements.
Tender Documents
Preparing competitive tender documentation using architectural standards. Our transparent process ensures like-for-like pricing comparisons through detailed specifications and contractual frameworks. We facilitate contractor selection and provide ongoing construction consultancy during implementation.
Master Plans
Producing comprehensive master plans with construction details and material specifications. These documents ensure quality control and form contractual agreements between clients and contractors. Plans incorporate client feedback and define exact implementation parameters for accurate project execution.
People
Cheri LaMay
Garden Designer
BA Hons Landscape Architect and RHS-certified tutor with 20+ years' experience. Former RHS Harlow Carr gardener and course leader. Accredited by the Society of Garden Designers, specialising in bespoke Yorkshire garden projects since 2003.
Questions
What garden design services do you offer?
We provide concept plans, master plans, planting schemes, tender documentation, and hourly design consultancy. All services are tailored to client requirements and budget.
How does your garden design process work?
Initial consultation creates sketch plans, followed by concept development, master planning, tender documentation, and implementation support with selected contractors.
Are you accredited by professional bodies?
Yes, we are a Registered Member of the Society of Garden Designers, maintaining the UK's highest professional standards in garden design.
Do you supply plants for designed gardens?
Yes, we supply climate-appropriate plants with planting plans, specifying Latin names, quantities, and precise positioning for professional installation.
Can you help with contractor selection?
We facilitate competitive tendering with pre-vetted landscape contractors and provide contractual frameworks to ensure quality and pricing transparency.
Videos
Reviews (6)
Alice Bagley-Harrison
Mar 20, 2021
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Cheri is really easy to work with and a true professional. She helped with some great creative solutions for our garden design and advised on placement and plant species. She took our needs and the garden setting into consideration and we are now embarking on using her design to slowly create our garden. We would highly recommend Cheri!
Helen Hanna
Nov 29, 2018
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I have recently been on the Introduction to Garden Design Course run by Cheri at Harlow Carr near Harrogate. I feel as though I have learnt so much in 6 sessions! Cheri is a very warm, knowledgeable tutor who made our sessions fun and interesting. The group was very friendly and Cheri helped us to get to know each other at the beginning of the course so that we felt like friends by the end of it. There were opportunities to share ideas and Cheri gave us 1 to 1 time on our own designs which was very valuable. Her advice was always creative and incisive. I would recommend this course to anyone
Mags Shevlin
Nov 24, 2018
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I recently completed the Introduction to Garden Design course at RHS Harlow Carr in Harrogate. Cheri is an excellent garden designer and tutor, really knows her stuff and has a very creative and engaging approach to teaching. I enjoyed the course and learnt a huge amount from it. It changed my thinking about what is possible in my garden and inspired me. I came away with a garden design that I feel confident to implement. Definitely recommended!
Jenny Hayward
Nov 12, 2018
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I recently completed An Introduction to Garden Design course at RHS Harlow Carr, taught by Cheri. It was a fantastic course, which Id highly recommend to anyone wanting to design their own garden, or just learn more about the garden design process. The course took us through the different stages of garden design, with the opportunity to apply them to our own garden designs. Cheri gave us very useful 1:1 advice, as well as the chance to discuss our burgeoning designs with the group. Cheri is an enthusiastic and inspiring teacher, who fostered a friendly and open-minded ethos within the
Jenny Shevlin
Nov 02, 2018
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My garden has been transformed by Cheri's design - it was just predominantly grassy slopes and a few random bushes, now it has a series of clearly defined spaces, each with it's own function and character. It is now a lovely garden full of colour and life.
Jackie Godfrey
Oct 02, 2018
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Having renovated our house in Harrogate, we decided the garden came next. We had an idea of what we wanted and had a design in mind, but felt the need for the reassurance of someone more experienced. I found Cheri's website on the internet, contacted her and she agreed to help us design our garden. She has been very professional in every way. She listened to our ideas, discussed the pros and cons of these at length and went about designing the garden. We are absolutely delighted. Although we had ideas of our own, she brought a fresh pair of eyes and experience to the garden and sorted these into
