Lochside designs and builds gardens around Dalkeith, Bonnyrigg and Midlothian. From patios to full transformations — designed for how you actually use the space, planted to look beautiful year-round.
Design through to planting. Hard landscaping with proper foundations. Plants chosen for the Scottish climate, not the catalogue.
Full design service. We measure, plan, present in 2D and 3D, and you sign off the design before we touch a spade. Most designs include planting plans, hard landscaping detail, and a maintenance schedule.
Natural stone, porcelain, sandstone, granite. Proper base preparation, proper drainage. We won't lay paving onto sand — that's how patios fail.
Hardwood and composite decking. Substructure built to last, ventilation done right, finished with hidden fixings where the budget allows.
Closed-board, slatted, hit-and-miss, trellis tops. Posts concreted to depth. Bespoke gates designed and built in our workshop.
Plants that work for Scottish conditions and the soil you actually have. Mixed borders, hedges, screens, ornamental trees. Year-round interest planned in.
Block paving, resin, gravel, tarmac. Sub-base specified to actual traffic load — not the cheapest spec the merchant offered us.
Most landscaping work has a season. Booking the right time means better results — and avoiding the spring rush that adds months to lead times.
Real reviews from real customers, pulled live from Google.
Designed and built our back garden over two months. Three years later it looks better every season. Worth waiting for — and we waited four months for them to start.
New patio. Honest quote, real-life examples of previous work shown to us, finished a day ahead of schedule. No mess left when they finished.
Replanted the whole front border in autumn. The choice of plants for our north-facing garden has been spot on — interest from January through to December.
Most projects start with a site visit and a chat. No commitment — we'll tell you honestly what's realistic for your budget and timeline.
Start a conversation →Design through to planting. Hard landscaping done with proper foundations. Plants chosen for the Scottish climate, not the catalogue.
Full design service from initial measure through to detailed planting and hard-landscaping plans. 2D plans plus 3D visualisations. Sign-off before any work begins. Includes a maintenance schedule for the first three years.
Natural stone (Indian sandstone, slate, granite), porcelain, riven, sawn. Sub-base laid to British Standard. Permeable options for new builds where SuDS apply.
Hardwood and composite. Substructure built to last, joist centres specified to deck thickness, ventilation gaps maintained. Hidden fixings as standard on hardwood.
Closed-board, hit-and-miss, slatted contemporary, traditional picket. Posts to 600mm depth in concrete. Concrete spurs available for rotted-post replacement.
Mixed borders, hedges (formal & informal), screens, ornamental trees, ground cover, bulbs. Plants chosen for the orientation and soil of your specific garden.
Block paving, resin-bound, gravel and tarmac. Drainage and SuDS considered for new installs. Driveway gates designed in our workshop.
A selection of recent projects across Midlothian, Edinburgh and the surrounding areas. Every garden photographed three months after planting, so the gallery shows real establishment, not the day we finished.
Complete back-garden redesign. Sandstone patio, low retaining walls, mixed border with structural planting, lawn re-laid, new shed pad.
8 weeks · 2024 · Designed and built
Indian sandstone patio with sandstone steps connecting two levels of a sloping garden. Drystone retaining wall, integrated lighting.
4 weeks · 2025 · Hard landscaping
50m² mixed border designed for north-facing aspect. Year-round interest with structural evergreens, perennials and bulbs.
2 weeks · 2025 · Planting
Composite deck over uneven ground, oak pergola, integrated planting bed with raised beds for vegetables.
6 weeks · 2024 · Decking & joinery
Hello,
I started Lochside Garden Design in 2016 after twelve years working as a garden designer in Edinburgh. The reason was simple, even if it took me a while to get there: I wanted to design gardens and build them, in the same firm, with people I knew well.
Most landscaping outfits either design but don't build, or build to someone else's design. The good ones — the ones whose gardens still look right ten years on — are usually the ones who do both. The transitions, the planting choices, the small adjustments mid-build, all of it works better when one person has been thinking about the whole space from the start.
I'm RHS-qualified at Level 2, a member of the Association of Professional Landscapers, and a graduate of the Scottish Garden School. The build team is Iain (paving, drainage, decking — fourteen years on the tools) and Mike (planting, hedges, soft-landscaping — eight years). We've worked together since 2020.
We won't design or build a garden that doesn't suit how you actually use the space. The first conversation isn't about planting schemes. It's about what your kids do in the garden, where you'd put a coffee on a Saturday morning, what view you wish you could have from the kitchen sink.
If you're thinking about a garden project — even if it's a year out — get in touch. The good months in our diary fill early.
Emma Ferguson
Founder · Lochside Garden Design
Most enquiries start with a free site visit — about an hour, no commitment. We'll listen to what you want, suggest what's realistic, and follow up with a written quote.
Replies within one business day. Site visits booked in within two weeks.