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Testimonials
"Briony was the single best decision I made when renovating my small city garden and I highly recommend her. From the very first consultation, Briony listened carefully to my ideas and it was clear that she shared my vision and enthusiasm for the garden. She instinctively understood what I wanted to achieve, the plants that I was drawn to, and the overall feel I wanted my garden to have. She contributed so many wonderful, practical ideas to turn my garden into a space where I can relax and entertain surrounded by beautiful plants. Briony guided me through every stage of the design and the whole process felt very smooth and collaborative. The plans and mood boards produced were beautiful; both detailed and practical. The computerised 3D visualisation was very useful for picturing the completed garden and communication via WhatsApp, Zoom calls and site visits allowed me to ask advice, clarify information and discuss design ideas. I loved Briony’s wildlife conscious approach to gardening and the way she cleverly combined my existing plants with new planting, creating a cohesive, established look which provides year-round interest. Her artistic eye and enthusiasm for plants and design was infectious and working with her has really developed my interest in gardening. She has a comprehensive knowledge of plants and was able to provide lots of advice and practical tips on how to care for the new plants in the plan. My favourite feature is in the garden is the new Jurassic border which Briony cleverly designed to complement my existing Wollemi Pine. It has a beautiful Dicksonia antarctica Tree Fern in it which thanks to Briony’s advice and careful instruction I am now confident at looking after. I look out of my window every day and smile at my dream garden. I can’t wait for Spring!" Annalee T, Wolvercote. January 2026.
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"Briony of Bee’s Gardens worked on our project earlier this year. The garden really was a blank canvass consisting of little more than soil. The project included hard-landscaping, water features and planting. Her preparatory work was meticulous giving attention to the practical aspects of garden design as well as to the aesthetics. Plans were detailed as were the plant and trees lists supported by photos. The plants and trees reflected the kind of aesthetic and colour palette we were after. Briony had clearly listened carefully during our on-site meetings. We now have a garden which gives us enormous pleasure both in terms of its visual appearance and its wildlife attraction. It really is a Bee’s garden(and birds too)! Briony has a lovely team helping with the planting. Finally, she has proven organisational skills. We had several days of rather complex deliveries from various nurseries (almost a thousand plants). Everything ran smoothly and the off-loading and checking were quickly carried out by the team. No neighbours were inconvenienced!" Susan, Woodstock. August 2025.
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"I can highly recommend Briony from Bee's Gardens - I'm so glad we found her to help us make sense of our garden! We really needed an overhaul but were a bit daunted by all the options available and commitment to a big project. Fortunately Briony was just the person we needed to guide us gently (and very patiently!) through the process and we are absolutely delighted with the outcome! Briony makes a real effort to understand your wishes whilst being able to provide advice and recommendations when required. She has a really impressive knowledge of plants and was able to create a planting plan that has transformed our garden. We had previously struggled with knowing what to put where having one side of the garden in shade and the other in full sun. She also designed some seating/hardstanding areas within the planting so that we could fully immerse ourselves in it and we have really appreciated all the extra bees and butterflies and other insects that the planting has now attracted into the garden. It's my daily pleasure to have a cup of tea on the patio enjoying all this - thank you SO much Briony for creating our dream garden!" Sally & Paul T, Wolvercote, Oxford. April 2024.
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"Briony did a fantastic job of designing a garden for me - from scratch. I had a few ideas of how I wanted the garden to look and trees, shrubs and plants that I like, but only very impressionistic. Briony took these ideas, filled in the many blanks and created a garden design that has fulfilled my hopes and more. She took time to understand how I wanted to garden to 'feel' - from mood boards and draft concept through to to completed design and planting plans. Briony also worked very closely with the landscapers to bring the garden from design to reality. I'm delighted with my new garden!" David E, Banbury. May 2023.
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"Briony produced a lovely design for my "new build" garden, together with detailed planting plans. She also sourced many of the plants and accommodated a number of plants transported in pots from my previous garden. The brief was for a wildlife friendly garden that was manageable and included fruit growing opportunities. Although I am an experienced amateur with a fair knowledge of plants Briony was able to suggest others to make best use of the conditions and this exposed and windy site. I now look forward to the Spring when I can enjoy what has been created." Judith T, Haddenham. November 2022.
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"It has been a great pleasure to have the expertise of Briony Doubleday of Bee’s Gardens to design a planting plan for our garden. Although we have lived in our house for over 30 years, I always felt that it was a difficult space, partly because a large section of the garden was very overshadowed by a number of mature trees in the neighbouring gardens. Taking into account that there were already some plants we wanted to save and incorporate in the plan, Briony designed two borders for us, one a shade border, which is now planted with an attractive variety of shade-loving specimens, some of which I had never heard of. The other border, which gets much more sun and light, previously occupied to a large extent by a fruit cage (now transferred to our allotment), is now a colourful herbaceous border. Although we did all the planting ourselves, Briony came to our house on the day the plants were delivered and set them out in the appropriate spaces, at the same time giving us useful tips and advice. If you are seeking to create a habitat for wildlife and valuable pollinators, as well as an oasis where you can relax, I feel sure that you will be highly satisfied by Briony’s wealth of experience and knowledge." Gisèle E, Summertown, Oxford. July 2021.
"After redesigning and landscaping our garden, we were looking for someone to help us develop a planting plan as we were not confident in our own ability, skills and knowledge. We were lucky enough to find Briony, who helped us through the process remotely during lockdown, we felt fulling engaged and informed throughout with regular online meetings, chats and plenty of information and guidance. We also used Briony to source the plants which were excellent quality at a very reasonable price. The garden is now fully planted up and we are thrilled with the result and are really looking forward to seeing it develop and flourish. Would not hesitate in recommending Briony." A&MC, Swallowfield. July 2021.
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"I asked Briony from Bee's Gardens to help me create a town garden from scratch. I had a good idea of the kind of design I wanted but needed someone to create a working technical landscape plan for the builders. With her designers eye Briony took my ideas and sympathetically altered them to come up with a brief which suited and enhanced the space much more than the original sketch. I found it very difficult to envisage a garden in a space where nothing existed and the 3D plans were a huge help in making everything come alive. I didn't need a planting plan but Briony's beautiful mood boards were an inspiration which fed into the final plant and tree choices. We have been delighted with the garden as it has settled in this summer and the design has been much admired. I never thought the project would turn out so well." JE, Summertown, Oxford.
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"Briony’s knowledge of planting and design is second to none. She has an intuitive flair for creating schemes that are both visually effective and hit the client brief. She is very personable and easy to talk to, and really cares about creating a space that goes above and beyond expectations. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Briony to anyone, and have already passed on her details to several friends." JW, Bicester
"Bee is a warm, considerate and enthusiast garden designer. She spent time with us understanding our needs and shared a selection of ‘mood boards’ to help identify our preferences. She is calm and patient a which is positive when there are lots of back and forth trying to finalise the plan. She took her time on site making sure the measurements were accurate. Bee goes above and beyond and it is clear she has a real passion for garden design, plants and wildlife. We loved our plans however made a few last minute tweaks when it came to installing the raised beds for our veggies. Being novice gardeners we didn’t want to over commit so opted for a small more manageable raised bed with a view to adding more in the future of our fingers turned particularly green." DM, Deddington. April 2020.
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"Briony steers a perfect course between listening to the client's brief and expanding on it. Plus her knowledge of plants is enviable!"
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"Briony has done some beautiful work in our garden. One of the projects was to source and plant a group of planters to provide year round serenity to patients visiting my clinic. She has an exceptional ability to understand the client's requirements and you will enjoy the results of her careful, joyous planning for years to come." Mary K, Benson. May 2018.
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"My garden needs a complete redesign but I can't do it now as I'm having building work done later in the year. I needed advice about what to do with the plants that are already in the garden to save them during the building work and to have them in good places for when I can start work on it properly in about a year's time. I'm quite new to gardening and Briony was fantastic - our 90 minutes in the garden were at exactly the level I needed. I'd completed her well designed, pre-visit questionnaire which meant that we could get down to practicalities straight away. Briony was focussed on what made sense for me and was practical and supportive. She also made very helpful suggestions on the draft garden layout I had drawn. As she left I felt really enthused to get back out into the garden! Her follow-up email contained so much helpful information that I haven't yet finished reading it. It provides me with information for well into the future." Rachel W, Oxford. March 2021.
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