What we do
Everything a garden needs, one local team.
From full landscaping and new lawns to planting, fencing and the year-round maintenance that keeps it all right — Olive Tree Gardens covers the lot across St Albans and Hertfordshire.
01Service
Garden Design & Landscaping
When a garden needs more than a tidy-up, we take it back to the bones and rebuild it around how you actually use the plot. Groundwork and levels first, then hard landscaping, lawns and planting — one team carrying the whole project so nothing gets lost between trades. Clients tell us their garden ended up “like I've never seen it before.”
02Service
New Lawns & Turfing
A new lawn is only as good as the ground it goes on. We prepare the base, level it, and lay quality turf so it roots and lasts. “I just had a new lawn laid and couldn't be happier — the garden looks absolutely fantastic now,” as one St Albans client put it. Hardworking, professional, and a tidy job left behind.
03Service
Patios, Paths & Paving
Patios and paths set the frame for everything else. We lay natural stone, sandstone and porcelain to falls that drain properly, with edges cut clean and joints done right — surfaces built to sit level and look good for years, not to lift and rock after the first winter.
04Service
Planting, Borders & Tree Work
The planting is where a design comes to life. We set out borders to suit the soil and aspect, shape and maintain hedges and topiary, and plant or reshape trees — with honest advice on what will actually thrive where. Attentive work that clients single out again and again.
05Service
Fencing & Boundaries
Boundaries make or break how a garden looks and feels. We build fencing as part of the wider scheme — posts set properly, lines run straight, and the style chosen to suit the garden it frames rather than fought against it.
06Service
Garden Maintenance & Clean-ups
The service that brings clients back season after season. Thorough clean-ups that leave everything “neat and well-maintained,” plus regular grass-cutting, hedge-trimming, weeding and seasonal care for private gardens and commercial grounds alike. All green waste cleared and recycled, never left on your lawn.
The full list
Everything we take on, from mowing to a whole new garden.
Residential gardens and commercial grounds alike — regular upkeep, new landscaping, planting, and the handyman jobs that keep a garden sound. If it's outdoors and needs doing, it's worth asking.
Commercial grounds
Ongoing care and new outdoor spaces for businesses, developments and communal grounds — held to a standard that reflects on you.
- Grounds maintenance — Keeping commercial green spaces fresh, neat and healthy on a regular, ongoing basis.
- Soft landscaping & design — Creating brand-new outdoor spaces for commercial clients, from scheme to planting.
- Clearance, litter picking & handyman — Supplementary support for commercial grounds whenever it's needed to keep things tidy.
- Greenkeeping — Professional turf and grounds management for sports and leisure facilities.
Residential gardens
Year-round care and new outdoor spaces for homes — the same crew looking after a garden they often built themselves.
- Garden maintenance — Year-round upkeep — pruning, lawn care and bed maintenance to keep a garden right.
- Soft landscaping — New beds, lawns, sleepers and fences built into your existing garden.
- Plant expertise & design — A planting scheme crafted for a new or existing space, chosen to actually thrive.
- Holiday watering — Keeping plants watered and cared for while you're away.
Lawns & turf
From a first cut to a brand-new lawn — the work that keeps grass green, level and healthy.
- Mowing — Regular grass cutting and lawn mowing.
- Turf laying — Installing new lawns on a properly prepared base.
- Lawn treatment — Feeding, aerating and treating lawns to keep them strong.
- Scarifying — Removing thatch and moss so the grass can breathe.
Planting & borders
The living part of a garden — set out to suit your soil and light, and kept looking its best through the seasons.
- Floral displays — Planting and maintaining seasonal flower displays.
- Herbaceous displays — Creating and maintaining herbaceous borders.
- Rockeries — Building and planting rock-garden features.
- Potted plants — Planting and maintaining container gardens.
- Vegetable patch creation — Designing and setting up productive kitchen gardens.
- Soil improvement — Amending and improving soil quality before planting.
- Mulching — Applying mulch to beds and borders to lock in moisture.
- Composting — Setting up and managing compost systems.
Seasonal upkeep
The regular, hands-on jobs that keep a garden neat, healthy and under control right through the year.
- Seasonal clearance — Clearing gardens at the start and end of each season.
- Pruning — Cutting back trees, shrubs and perennials.
- Deadheading — Removing spent flowers to encourage more blooms.
- Weeding — Manual and chemical weed removal.
- Border clearance — Tidying and clearing garden borders.
- Digging — Soil preparation and digging services.
- Hedge trimming — Cutting and shaping hedges.
- Small tree work — Pruning and managing small trees.
- Leaf blowing — Clearing fallen leaves from beds and lawns.
- Pressure washing — Cleaning patios, paths and hard surfaces.
Garden handyman & structures
The built side of a garden — decking, fencing, structures and the fixes that keep everything sound.
- Decking installation — Building new decking for outdoor spaces.
- Fence repair & installation — Repairing existing fences or installing new ones.
- Garden furniture installation — Fitting garden furniture and outdoor features.
- Exterior painting — Painting sheds, fences and outdoor structures.
- Guttering repair — Fixing dripping or clogged guttering.
- Water butt installation — Installing water-collection butts.
- Compost bin installation — Setting up compost bins.
- Pond maintenance — Ongoing care and upkeep of garden ponds.
- Greenhouse work — Erecting or repairing greenhouses.
- Pergola work — Erecting or repairing pergolas.
- Shed work — Erecting or repairing garden sheds.
Materials & finishes
Chosen to last, not just to look good on day one.
Good landscaping is as much about the base you don't see as the surface you do. Here is what we tend to reach for, and why.
Natural stone & sandstone
Riven and sawn sandstone for patios and paths with a warm, natural finish — laid to falls so water runs off, not back toward the house.
Porcelain paving
Hard-wearing, low-maintenance porcelain for a crisper, contemporary look — near-zero staining and colour-stable through the seasons.
Quality turf & lawn seed
Cultivated turf laid on a properly prepared base so it roots and establishes — the difference between a lawn that takes and one that patches.
Planting to suit soil & aspect
Borders, hedging and trees chosen for the light and soil they will actually live in, with honest advice on what will thrive where.
How we work
One visit, one team, kept right after.
01
A free, no-obligation visit
We come out, walk the garden with you and listen to how you actually use it — with a proper survey where the plot is awkward or sloping — then put a clear plan and price to it. No obligation to go ahead.
02
The same team, start to finish
From groundwork and hard landscaping up to lawns and planting, one crew carries the whole job. They turn up when they say they will, work to HSE standards, and clear the green waste for recycling rather than leaving it on your lawn.
03
Kept right, year on year
When the build is done we can keep the garden that way — regular maintenance, seasonal tidy-ups and lawn care. It is why so many clients have us back the following spring, and the spring after that.
Before you call
Questions we're asked most.
Do you charge for a quote or consultation?
No. Consultations and quotes are always free and come with no obligation. We come out, walk the garden with you, listen to what you want from it and then put a clear price to it — whether it's a single border or a full remodel. You're under no pressure to book anything.
Do you only do big landscaping projects, or smaller jobs too?
Both. We take on full garden remodels and new-build landscaping, but we also lay a single lawn, plant a border, clear an overgrown garden or come back for regular maintenance. Plenty of our reviews are from clients who started with one job and kept us on afterwards.
Which areas do you cover?
We're based between Harpenden and St Albans and cover the wider Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire area — including Radlett, Welwyn Garden City, Shenley, Watford, Northwood and Luton. If you're not sure whether you're in range, just call and ask.
Are you insured?
Yes — Olive Tree Gardens is fully insured, and we work to HSE health-and-safety standards on every job. That matters for both private gardens and commercial grounds, and it means you're covered while we're on site.
Do you work for businesses as well as homeowners?
Yes. We look after both residential gardens and commercial grounds — from private back gardens to communal and business landscaping — with the same team and the same standard of finish, on a one-off or regular basis.
What happens to the mess and green waste?
We clear as we go and take it away with us — clients regularly mention that we leave the garden neat and well-maintained rather than leaving piles behind. Green waste is recycled wherever possible rather than sent to landfill.
How long does a garden project take?
It depends entirely on the scope — a new lawn might be a day or two, a full remodel a couple of weeks. We'll give you a realistic timescale with your quote and keep every stage of the work clearly communicated, so you always know what's happening and when.
Can you maintain the garden after you've built it?
Yes, and many clients ask us to. Once a garden is planted it needs looking after to reach its best, so we offer regular maintenance visits — the same team that built it caring for it, season after season. It's the reason a lot of our reviews mention us working on the same garden for years running.
Not sure what the garden needs?
That's what the free consultation is for. We'll walk the garden with you, tell you straight what's involved, and put a clear plan and price to it.