Tracy Foster Gardens

Very impressive, highly recommended - working with Tracy on our garden project was an excellent and fun experience. Throughout each stage – from initial design to final plans and during the construction and planting phases – Tracy was a pleasure to work with. She had bags of enthusiasm was well organised and proved the ideal guide and professional partner in achieving our vision in a stress-free manner. From the outset she proved very approachable and patient (no question was too silly), knowledgeable and full of constructive ideas which helped to hone our initial disparate thoughts into an innovative design, combining new pathways and steps, an assortment of borders, raised vegetable beds and a variety of seating areas. She produced a comprehensive planting plan (ultimately sourcing the plants herself) and provided advice on the best options for hard standing, fencing materials, water butts and architectural metalwork – an all-encompassing service. During construction Tracy visited site to ensure the landscapers adhered to the plans providing feedback throughout Tracy’s design and planting plan has transformed our garden from an uninspiring mish mash of difficult to manage sloping lawns, lack lustre flower beds, steep steps and under-utilised dilapidated patio area into a delightful, easily accessible, inviting space which is attractive to wildlife and a garden in which we can relax and enjoy at every opportunity. We are thrilled with the finished product which is beyond our expectations and have no hesitation in recommending Tracy if you require a safe pair of hands and a first rate, top quality garden designer.

I am so glad that I asked Tracy to come along for a consultation on a daunting new garden. She was so well informed and practical, and gave me excellent, detailed, advice on how to approach it. I would not hesitate to recommend her to others who are at a loss at how to tackle their outside space.

I cannot speak highly enough of Tracy Foster she is talented; she has vision and the ability to interpret ideas and she offers a very professional service. I first meet Tracy in 2007 when she designed my back garden in Leeds; producing a concept and layout plan, a planting plan which she planted and project managed the work. In 2013 Tracy helped change the layout of the back garden to complement remodelling work on the back of my house. In 2010 I was fortunate to have Tracy design, plant and project manage my front garden in the style of a French potager, a garden intermingled with vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs. The result was beautiful and certainly innovative for a front garden in the suburbs of Leeds. I now live in Northumberland and Tracy has again stepped up to the mark producing an inspirational design to help me create a French potager garden in my south facing front garden. We achieved the design/plans this time without having to meet, everything was done remotely. I am looking forward to getting the plan implemented this Autumn (2023) and cannot wait to see it all taking shape. Thank you, Tracy. Tracy is extremely knowledgeable and helpful throughout the design process and always values your opinion. She provides plans which are detailed and reflect what needs to be achieved. She works on time and to budget.

Tracy designed and planted my gardens in 2009 and 2010. From the start she was committed to delivering the garden I wanted, whilst taking on board my lack of knowledge re plants! That’s changed over the years, mainly through her ongoing advice and suggestions. I love my gardens and will continue to seek advice from Tracy, who is always very generous with her time. I would not hesitate in recommending her for any size or type of garden . She is the best!

Tracy really went above and beyond with comprehensive advice for a few different garden areas at our home. Really practical and helpful advice with a great eye for what works well in different locations. We highly recommend Tracy

After completing the renovation of the house, we knew that we wanted a garden space that gives us a sense of calm and peace, a sanctuary that connects well with the internal space and feels as an extension to the house. With the garden being overlooked, we also wanted the aspect from the house to feel more 'cocooned', connected but protected from overlooking. Tracy listened closely to our requests and came up with a garden design that echoed the style of the building and connected the garden and internal spaces perfectly. Tracy resolved the privacy issues through careful selection and positioning of new trees and shrubs. The planted beds define the seating areas, create interest and lead the eye through the garden. Tracy’s design showed us the value that a creative garden designer can provide. We get tremendous pleasure from the garden as does everyone who visit. Tracy's skilful, professional and creative approach has made it a pleasure to work with her. She is not only great at what she does, very helpful and supportive but also a nice person who is genuinely interested in creating beautiful spaces for her clients.

We have a modest north west facing garden and though we had some ideas of what we wanted to achieve struggled to translate this into a cohesive plan. As soon as we met Tracy we knew we’d found the right person to help us. She was patient and supportive and encouraged us to think about aspects we hadn’t considered. She was very easy to work with and delivered what she promised on time and to budget. The process was simple, we decided what level of help we required, for us that was a design including planting and lighting, there was on site visit with some follow up phone calls after which we agreed the design. A land survey is required at a separate cost but Tracy had advised us of this in advance. Tracy was also able to suggest suitable landscapers and helped with quotes. It really was a breeze and so enjoyable….. We’ve now had 3 seasons in our beautiful garden; it has given us so much joy and tranquility and we can’t wait to see the garden grow and mature. We can’t envision leaving but if we did we’d love to use Tracy again.

As experienced gardeners, we wanted to have the fun of designing our new garden for ourselves. But the site was complex, with multiple levels on three sides of the house, and we knew we couldn’t manage it alone. Tracy was the perfect partner. She helped us split the garden into separate projects (to be tackled over three years) and showed us where to start for quick wins and maximum impact. She listened to our ideas, gave us tips on how draw up our plans and then advised us as we developed our ideas. The main concepts were ours, but Tracy helped us make key changes, altering angles and levels and showing us how things could be improved. As the garden was built, Tracy helped us articulate our needs for the landscapers and came to our rescue when we realised we’d not planned our levels properly. Most important of all, she gave us the confidence to see our designs through and helped us hold our nerve when we doubted ourselves. Our first projects are now complete, and we are starting to plan the next phase. We will definitely be working with Tracy again. She is incredibly generous with her knowledge and has helped us deliver a garden we could never have imagined possible

Tracy has done an excellent job with our garden planting and design. From the initial consultation, her visits, recommendations to help us and her sourcing and planting of everything has all been top class and we are extremely happy with our garden which has had such a transformation which would not have been possible without Tracy's help and efforts.

After extensive renovations on the house, it became clear that professional input was required to realise the potential of the very large and neglected garden. Tracy helpt to transfer the vision that I had into hard landscaping and planting plans. She supervised the project and gave practical support to a very novice gardener. The service was over and above of what I had expected and the garden is a dream come true.

We thought that we had a good design for our garden and just needed some help with plant selection as we are not very experienced gardeners. We signed up Tracy for the planting design and supplied her with some photographs and the measurements of the garden to enable her to draw up a plan. She quickly came back to us with a number of excellent suggestions to improve the design (e.g. size, shape and position of beds and paths) before it even came to the plants! At the commissioning stage we had already told Tracy that we wanted a low maintenance cottage style garden. Once the shape of the garden was agreed, we had a videoconference with Tracy to establish our preferences - for example, plants we liked or loathed, colours, scents etc., not to mention the all important budget! We used Pinterest to provide examples of plants and of "look and feel". Tracy provided us with a planting plan, "shopping list" and photographs of the selected plants. Her plan had two layers - in addition to the herbaceous perennials, she showed suggested locations for bulbs that could be planted in the autumn in a second phase. We were delighted with the work that we had commissioned and decided to take an extension of Tracy's service. We live in the same part of the country as Tracy and the first Covid lockdown was being eased, So we paid Tracey to source and plant out the garden. Our reasoning was that (a) she would know suppliers of plants in good condition, (b) buying plants at trade price would offset some of the cost of her time, (c) she could make a judgement call if the specified varieties became unavailable in the patchy post-lockdown supply conditions. She was also able to adjust the disposition of plants if the work of the landscaper did not exactly match her plan. On the agreed date she arrived shortly before delivery van from the suppliers and the planting was swiftly and efficiently completed. She took the time to advise us on how best to care for the new beds and answer any gardening queries we had. She remained in contact after the planting was completed to ensure that we were happy. Overall an excellent job from start to finish. It would not be fair to post photos at this stage as the plants are not yet established but it already looks great and has prompted compliments from passers-by!

We would like to say how much we love the garden Tracy created for us. It is just right and we are enjoying watching it settle in and develop. It is a peaceful, attractive space with interesting things happening from pergolas to flower beds not forgetting the amazing pond and the stepping stones. Her plans and communications were clear and she was never precious about changing and adapting them so we felt fully involved. She always came when she said she wouldl! Tracy is inspirational and a pleasure to work with. We felt safe in her hands. Debra and Steve