Charlotte Rowe Garden Design

One phone call with this ‘lady’ was enough to put me off. My garden is over 100sq m (1100 sq ft) and she told me it is too small to consider having ANY shed. When I said it should be big enough (come on, it’s a big garden for London!), she scoffed. Yes, scoffed! She asked my budget, which considering it is 20k as a start point, I don’t think is that tiny (see bbc’s my perfect garden budgets), to which she replied that absolute bottom would be 50k and promptly ended the conversation. Let me get something straight. Clearly she is an up market designer, good on her. I appreciate she wants big project, fair enough. But scoffing and making people feel inferior is just not polite. You want to be big money, have some class for gods sake!

Charlotte Rowe Garden Design exceeded our exceptions on every level. Charlotte and her team turned a small, unattractive, unloved London garden space into a tranquil, mediterranean haven. Our brief and our ideals were considered in great detail, she was practical and applied out-of-the-box thinking with any potential barriers that came up. We were involved throughout the whole process and understood the plans in detail as we requested. Our garden is a very special space and probably the most impressive room in the house! Thank you.

I don't normally write reviews but I'm afraid I have to agree with the review below. Called to simply ask some questions and get an idea but the person who answered the phone was extremely abrupt , no greeting whatsoever- also cut me off. wont be calling her again. She may have been very busy but no excuse for rudeness.

I wish I had read the reviews before contacting Charlotte Rowe as I would have avoided losing 15 minutes of my life being spoken to by what I can only describe as the most rude and patronising professional I have ever had a conversation with. Within about 2 minutes of the conversation I was about to politely end the call because of her patronising manner and her complete inability to demonstrate any evidence of listening to anything I was saying. However, the pandemic has taught me patience and regretfully, I allowed the conversation to continue. She went on to ask whether "I had 'even looked at [her] website" when I said I didn't want a garden full of right angles and when I talked about the materials in an attempt to convey the type of feel I wanted for the garden she dismissed this as "details" when, as someone who has worked and taught with qualified architects, I would have thought it was clear I was trying to help her visualise a design concept for our garden. Of course, everything became clear (including the reason why she asked how long we had lived in our house - presumably to guess my age and income) when she asked about our budget and said we would need to spend at least 4 times as much. I have no shame in saying that I am not prepared to spend 40-50K minimum on a 35sq.m garden but I would also say the idea that "you couldn't build a patio for less than 10k" suggests that she needs to speak with some of the many excellent architects that I know. If I were a potential client for whom money were not a concern, I would suggest finding a garden designer who is generally interested in what you want so together you create a garden that is beautiful and uniquely yours. Interestingly if you google her 5 star reviewers, most of them seem to professionals in landscaping and gardens rather than clients. In the spirit of generosity I would like to give Ms Rowe some professional advice: 1. The foundation of good design is empathy with your client - this requires genuine listening so that you understand your client's priorities and dreams and not just their bank balance 2. Many architects cannot afford to spend 40k on a garden but they are likely to have many clients for whom money is not an issue 3. Treating your potential client with respect is a basic requirement of professional behaviour. Everybody's time is valuable. If you only work for high value clients that is fine, but I suggest you politely explain this by email rather than wasting other people's time as though yours was the only time that mattered.

If you don't have at least 80k to spend on your garden, don't even bother contacting them, you will get an abrupt end to your phone call. They won't even consider you. Pretentious and rude.

Working with Charlotte was a once and a lifetime experience! Being immersed in her team made me understand how well she dealt with clients through communication and compromise. She also taught me so much about working in an international team of brilliant designers who collaborate together to build something extra-ordinary. Charlotte Rowe has made me discover my passion in life and I would recommend her to any one who wants to have a brand new garden because you will not regret it!

Charlotte and her team welcomed me on an internship. Working in this company was so an interesting experience. They taught me so much. They are professional and helpful, benevolent, and attentive. I highly recommend Charlotte Rowe Garden Design!

As an architect I have really appreciated Charlotte and her team's input on my latest project. She has recognised the value and design potential in an unloved rear plot and her use of planting and levels has added enormously to the overall concept. We should be finished mid-year and I think the results will be amazing. Can't recommend her highly enough. Alex McMillan RIBA

Can I award zero stars? What a horrible phone call, after finding out the budget she basically ended the conversation. No manners whatsoever, quite happy to take my money elsewhere. I would have been happy to go over budget if the plans she suggested where good enough but she didn’t even let me finish. Left me feeling very disappointed. Maybe hire a sales team who can speak to your potential clients. I will be telling people to stay away.

Our companies have worked together for many years and Charlotte and her team are always a pleasure to deal with.

Her design is accurate and refined. Real professional team, with very long experience!!

Friendly, professional and helpful. Recommended.

Charlotte is a multi-talented and hugely imaginative designer. As a Chelsea exhibitor for more than ten consecutive years I know just how exceptional it is for a designer to win a coveted gold medal: everything - the hard landscaping, the planting, the context - has to be truly exceptional. The other thing about Charlotte id the breadth of her talent: she can work equally well with a difficult space in London and broad country acres; an unusual trick to pull off in my experience. Highly recommended.

Great studio, fantastic design and execution

A simple phone conversation with this lady put me off for life. She was constantly asking questions about my wealth, if I rented or owned the space trying to establish my net worth so she could sting me on fees. Not doing it for the love or passion of design but for profit hunting. Bad news. Reading the reviews I notice a few people had this reaction from her.

Charlotte Rowe’s team always design beautiful and often very detailed gardens. We enjoy the challenge of working on them and collaborating with her and the team. Charlotte always listens to the clients and really understands what they want. She is highly creative and an expert problem-solver, looking at situations from every angle. We can thoroughly recommend her and her design team.

Charlotte has designed an exceptional garden for the family, focused on the brief of abundant and imaginative planting. The team has been a pleasure to work with. Juliet is a huge asset and has a wonderful eye, adding flair to the overall composition. Charlotte has a strong team and pays close attention to the overall budget. She sets realistic expectations from the outset and delivers.

We are currently renovating a house and I found Charlotte's website whilst looking for a garden designer. She clearly has a great eye, and her completed gardens look fantastic, however my experience is very much similar to that of Abdul. On making an enquiry I found the response to be very rude and abrupt. We have a considerable budget but it really put us off using her services. With such a poor first impression it's hard to see how it would have been an enjoyable experience should we have engaged her.

Charlotte Rowe Garden Design always deliver stunning gardens to an exceptional standard. Charlotte and her team are truly inspiring, which meant that working together was an absolute pleasure. Highly recommended!

Charlotte Rowe Design created and planted the award-winning Encompass Furniture trade stand at the Chelsea Flower Show. Charlotte and her team are consummate professionals with an eye for detail, and are a pleasure to work with.

Charlotte Rowe and I have worked on a number of projects together - she and the team are great to work with and the results are always stunning.

Charlotte Rowe and her team design really lovely gardens and are great to work with. We have worked with them over the past three years and it has always been a pleasure.

Charlotte is clearly an extremely talented garden designer and we've much enjoyed working with her and the team.

I enquired about garden design and landscaping for my new home and i was treated to a rude arrogant lady dealing with me as though i was not worth the time. None of my questions were answered and all i was asked ws how much money i had and that i need to spend more money. Money Money Money, it does not buy you class. I have been left extremely angry and disgusted by this experience.

Charlotte's garden design was beautiful, imaginative and perfectly executed