frequently asked questions
general
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gee, thanks ;)
WILDEN is the garden design service on a mission to connect the world.
our goal is to help you live a healthier and happier lifestyle, outdoors because, if we all cherish our gardens, we might make our beautiful planet healthier, too.
bingo.
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the best way to start is with a 'discovery session'. this professional consultation will uncover your vision, understand you better, and what you need.
we’ll create your design brief and choose the perfect service with you.
next, we design! you’ll get one or two design workshops and after the design is completed we'll partner you with a contractor to bring it to life.
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your final design package includes everything a good contractor needs to price, detail and build your garden:
3D visuals, layout plans, planting selection, planting quantities, lighting design, and materials selection.
you get a bloomin’ brilliant landscape, designed only for you 👌
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curated gardens are created based on pre-selected materials and plants to create a certain look.
these ideas are tried and tested so you don’t need options, and we can deliver the design in less time too.
your layout is still designed (by lovely humans) to suit your space and needs.
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4 or 6 weeks in total…
sketch phase: 2 weeks (bespoke only)
draft phase: 2 weeks
final phase: 2 weeks
between phases you get to review and comment, so factor in that time also.
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there’s something you should know about us; the only thing about WILDEN that isn’t wild, is how we work.
expect it to be simple, structured, and clear.
we’ll set up a project portal for you. (how fancy) and this space has everything you need; resources, how we work, timeframes, payment schedule, and your wonderful designs.
we’re an online service. we limit WhatsApp and instant messaging because it’s intrusive for everyone. we use technology when it allows us to focus more on nature.
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a little.
curated gardens give you some defined choices from shortlisted materials, planting, and components. this reduces the time for sourcing, decision making, and coordinating with contractors, to save you money.
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the more information you provide the better the experience will be. ideally:
drawings showing the plot, villa, and garden as it is.
CAD and PDF files are perfect. if not, your developer plans are a good starting point.
no drawings? no problem. we'll arrange a professional survey for you. typically, AED 2,500 for average gardens.
your location pin (we study the area and sun movement).
photos showing the garden from many angles. include features like; mature trees, entrances, manholes, key views, and structures.
highlight issues... remember that annoying corner that collects rainwater, or the overlooking view from the neighbours? make sure you tell us.
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we like our data safe, so we treat yours the same way too. the people that use your data are WILDEN, our partners for surveying, creating visuals, and the contractor(s) that will build your project. by choosing any WILDEN service you give us your consent for us to do this. please let us know if you don’t want us to share your information and we’ll ask you to share it yourself.
budget
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yes, we aim to design to a budget.
to be realistic about costs we will discuss them openly with you in the discovery. the budget will guide the detailing and materials we choose, however contractors estimates do vary.
WILDEN gardens are not expensive, but they require appropriate investment. We avoid underpriced Contractors because they generally don’t build to our standards and often pay their staff unfairly.
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here’s some helpful stats for you:
small and simple gardens can be 40-100k.
small and complex gardens: 100-200k.
large and simple gardens: 300-500k.
large and complex gardens… 500k-1m, or more.
(all prices in UAE Dirhams / KSA Riyals).
Alternatively, allocate 5-10% of your home’s value as a budget for a good outcome, if you own the villa.
Renting? Allocate 2-5 month’s rent seems to be the sweet spot (based on 100+ villas we’ve designed so far).
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the service we offer are a great way to narrow down to your budget. generally speaking:
WILDEN curated gardens average 40,000 – 120,000 AED.
WILDEN bespoke gardens average 200,000 – 500,000 AED, excluding a pool.
*If you add a pool, this will increase the budget ~120-250k.
read our blog for more information on garden budgets.
construction
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we can suggest a contractor for you to partner with. we only recommend contractors that value landscape the way that we do. they will be responsible for delivering your project to our standards and provide maintenance too (strongly recommended).
WILDEN will visit at key stages during construction… see ‘Guardianship’ below.
Remember, a great design is just the first step!
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generally it’s taking 2-3 weeks to provide an initial price, then a few more weeks for revisions. more if you want to negotiate if that’s your style (we leave that last bit to you!).
we tender to one contractor to keep things quick and efficient.
if you require several quotes and want our professional feedback*, we can do that for you for a fee.
(*we call this 'tender analysis' and it can save you money, but takes time to do it properly).
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following completion of the design, the typical timeframes are:
2-4 weeks for pricing,
2-3 weeks for you to meet, agree scope and finalise the contract,
1-2 weeks for approvals and NOCs (4-8 weeks if you have a pool),
1-2 months construction (for curated gardens)
2-4 months construction (for bespoke gardens)
5+ months construction (with a new pool)
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avoid this, please!
we've had poor experiences when non-specialist contractors try to build gardens. it’s a bit like your plumber fixing your lighting for you. maybe, but best not.
our designs include lots of information and professional drawings - more than enough for contractors to build the design - and it still requires landscape expertise to build to a good standard.
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no - we will review the pricing from one contractor. both you and the contractor receive our feedback so if there’s anomalies or items missing, we’re all on the same page.
we don’t negotiate for you. we trust contractors and we can see their quotes are fair, on balance. rates vary because some contractors get materials cheaper than others, or they are more efficient at parts of the work.
we’re here to make great gardens and we support paying labourers a fair wage in that process.
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plants will always be growing. until they’re not growing, and then they’re dead. maybe?
seriously, we don’t grow gardens to achieve completion. Garden is a verb so the joy comes in participation and experiencing change.
(FYI - we don’t take pictures of built gardens for at least 12 months after the plants have been installed)
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your contractor.
during the build, WILDEN’s role is to monitor the quality, provide feedback, and suggest improvements, amongst other things. see guardianship below…
guardianship
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yes, and we call this ‘design guardianship’, because construction is the most challenging part, and we’ll help you get the best result.
90% of our customers choose to have Guardianship during construction.
the contractors we use are great but guardianship ensures you get a better finished product.
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there are tonnes of opportunities to improve the design during construction and we don't want you to miss out on those. they include; functional details, workmanship, layout, privacy, and practical matters like getting the perfect dimensions for your seating. details that could affect how much you use the garden, and how happy it makes you.
we look for cost savings along the way, too.
guardianship is a proactive service. projects require a weekly meeting, or more, for complex designs, plus studio time for coordination, reviewing drawings and sketches for improvements.
when we're called to a site to solve a problem it's often too late or costly to fix. for this reason, we don't take on guardianship on an 'as-needed' or hourly basis.
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no. guardianship ensures that your project is being brought to life faithfully. your Contractor is responsible for project management on a day-to-day basis.
WILDEN will monitor for quality, review drawings, find design improvements, cost savings, and assist with planting layout.
this combination keeps the costs manageable for you and the quality high.
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investment in guardianship starts from 5% of the build cost… it will ensure your garden is a million times better than without! plus, you’ll get access to the WILDEN community too 🫶
other
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we recommend that whoever builds the garden maintains it. we follow UK Landscape Institute practice which recommends a minimum of one year, ideally two. this ensures consistency by retaining the knowledge in the same team. it protects your investment too – contractors are more willing to change plants if they installed the garden. a 3rd party gardener may blame your contractor for plants that did not survive.
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your Contractor will obtain all necessary approvals.
if we’re building a new pool, it’s best that we check pool technical drawings before they’re submitted to authorities because once it's approved, it’s hard to change. ask your contractor to ensure we review and coordinate with them.
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we provide details of our preferred type of irrigation system. your contractor will review the site and recommend the detailed setup and engineering, depending on your budget.
if you need specialist irrigation design we'll work with a trusted sub-consultant, upon request.
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absolutely
we've completed over 150 designs and we've never had a client request a refund. it's a record we aim to keep forever. 2 weeks into the project we'll present the draft design. if you feel we’ve completely missed the brief we'll refund you the mobilisation payment.
full design copyright will remain as WILDEN's so the design can’t be used to reproduce, construct, price, or sell the garden that we created for you.
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hell yeah! best student 🏅
in all seriousness, you’re probably a dream client now you’ve read this. so, book a call and let’s groooow! 🌿