"Fiona was recommended by another garden designer for our very extensive garden project which was to completely clear, make over and modernise an entire outside space. This was after the total renovation of a 1970s bungalow we had purchased. Fiona’s previous civil engineering qualifications and experience were invaluable as the hard landscaping part of the design came with many structural and practical challenges.
Fiona researched and listened to our ideas, gave valuable advice and then designed and created a truly fabulous outside area. The different designated zones of drives, patios and planted areas maximise the sunshine, privacy and view from the house. The mix of colours and varieties of plants are a true delight. The planted areas are low maintenance so we are now able to enjoy practical gardening without the sore backs!
Fiona was wonderful in her dealings with us. We found her very professional, patient, conscientious, reliable, knowledgeable and meticulous in everything from paperwork to the final planting. Her vision and attention to detail has meant that we are absolutely thrilled with the result. The garden is constantly described as ‘stunning’ and is very much admired.
We are very grateful to Fiona for all her hard work, effort and commitment and cannot thank her enough for this dream garden.
We would highly recommend Fiona for any gardening project – large or small. "

 M. Tweedie, Limekilns, 2015

"If you are looking for someone to design your garden with you at the centre, someone who offers a professional service, keeps you in the loop at all times and is a stickler for attention to detail, then Fiona is your lady.  

As we moved into our seventies and eighties our garden, though small, was getting too much for us and although we loved the house we felt we would have to move to a flat. Then we wondered if the garden could be totally redesigned to cater for our needs, both now and in the future. 

We contacted Fiona, who listened very carefully to our concerns and uncertainties and took into account our need for an easily maintained, level garden now and into the future, to accommodate one person with mobility problems and the other with macular degeneration.

She asked many questions, listened well and then came back with a couple of great designs. After we had chosen one she organised the landscaper and then we decided to take 2 additional packages from Fiona (costed separately) to do firstly site visits and then later plant up the new garden. From start to finish costings were transparent, so no nasty shocks.

Being older, we found having a digger in to rip up our old garden quite stressful, but Fiona was wonderful and dealt with any problems related to the new build during her site visits. She was so professional, friendly and supportive and nothing was too much trouble. She even handled our episodes of indecisiveness with such grace and patience. 

The whole process from initial enquiry to planting up took time, but was well worth it and the upheaval is but a distant memory. What a transformation. We now have a beautiful, practical, restful garden which is way above anything we asked for, or imagined and we would not hesitate to recommend Fiona to anyone, but especially to older people."

E. Kelly and H. McDonald, Glasgow, 2018

"Though our garden is sunny and South-facing, a combination of poor drainage and a boisterous spaniel had taken their toll and it was virtually unusable.  We had no idea how to improve it, so we thought the obvious thing to do was to contact an expert.

From the moment we met Fiona we knew we had made the right decision.  We didn’t really know what we wanted, except to get rid of the grass and have a beautiful space where we could sit and relax.  Fiona was so patient with all our vagueness and somehow managed to come up with a design that was perfect for our needs.

Because we were on a tight budget we decided to do a lot of the work ourselves, and Fiona took account of this in her plans.  They were so accurate and easy to follow that even we were able to build complicated structures such as raised beds with built-in seating.

Still being novice gardeners, we also asked Fiona to do a planting plan, which was again really easy to follow.  The result is beyond anything we could ever have dreamed of – we have a stunning family (and dog!) friendly garden that is the envy of our neighbours and so easily maintained that we still have plenty of time to enjoy it.  Even without grass our garden is much greener than it ever was before.

From start to finish, Fiona’s service was fantastic, and we really felt she cared about our garden as much as we did.  We would thoroughly recommend Glen Rosa Garden Design.”

Andy and Lynda Clark, Linenfields, Cumbernauld, 2013

We had a challenging project due to the nature of our garden.  We are very grateful to Fiona for designing our garden and project managing the work.  Fiona was calm, professional and extremely patient with us during the planning stages, asking pertinent questions and listening carefully to what we thought we would like.  She would then consider options and come back with ideas which helped us make the final decision. During the construction stage of the garden, Fiona managed proceedings and we always felt confident that the landscaping was under control. 

We also asked Fiona to draw up a planting plan and to plant the shrubs etc.  She did offer to do this with us but due to work commitments we felt it better for Fiona to do this for us.  Fiona took charge of the delivery of the plants and planting was done successfully.  We decided that it would be best to use Fiona’s expertise and ask her to come back in the autumn to plant the bulbs we wanted as she would know exactly where they would be best suited.  We are now, hopefully, looking forward to a delightful display of colour in the spring.

E. Forrest, Paisley, 2017

"Fiona helped us plan and design our garden from the start.  We only had a broad idea of what we wanted to achieve, but Fiona’s patience and creativity in the design stage was very helpful in coming up with a plan which suited us and also introduced some good ideas from Fiona herself.  We were very impressed with her attention to detail to ensure everything we agreed was included, and she kept in regular contact with ourselves and the contractor as we approached the start of the work.  Fiona created a good impression from the outset of someone who was reliable and professional, and because of this we also asked her to do some site visits during the building of the garden to work with the contractor and ensure the design was fully implemented.  We are delighted with our garden, and could not have achieved it without Fiona’s skills.  We would highly recommend her.”

S. Black, Glasgow, 2010

“ I would highly recommend Glen Rosa Garden Design. Fiona was able to transform my ideas and vague plan into an attractive, interesting and environmentally appropriate design for my garden. She recommended the landscaping company who did an excellent job. She then produced a planting design following consultation with myself which incorporates colour, variety of texture and shape and year round  interest. We planted the shrubs, plants and trees together which was an enjoyable and useful learning experience for me. I am very pleased with the end result, am looking forward to seeing the garden mature and develop and have no hesitation in recommending her services.”

A. Watson, Cumbernauld, Oct 2019

"We are delighted to recommend Fiona of Glen Rosa Garden Design.  We posed a difficult task for her as the clay soil and varying levels were impossible for us to achieve a workable result.  Fiona came back to us with a choice of solutions to fit our requirements, answering questions we had not even thought of.  Her designs were meticulous and she made sure we even understood them!  Throughout the work Fiona kept in touch by phone and did several site visits, taking many photographs at every stage.

The result is a beautiful garden we actually want to spend time in and is manageable for us.  We can not thank her enough for her vision, transforming a soggy, hard to work garden where no amount of effort showed any results, into an easy to manage and useful outside space.

THANK YOU FIONA, we can not recommend you highly enough.”

Allison and Mike Ogden, Cumbernauld, 2012

"We had an awkwardly shaped garden at the front of our house which had been neglected because we did not know what to do with it.  Fiona visited us and listened to our ideas.  She came up with a plan which met our needs and provided lovely, detailed drawings.  The drawings enabled us to get proper quotes and specified exactly what was required of the landscaper.  The finished job looks very good and we are delighted.”

Andy Price, Kilsyth, 2011

I can’t speak too highly of the great work that Fiona put into my garden. It has been much admired by all my family and friends. I even had a garden party in July in celebration of my mum’s 102nd birthday. It was a great success. I highly recommend Glen Rosa. Each month, since May, the garden has produced lots of joy and surprises.

Diana Cadger, Kirkintilloch, Aug 18

"Fiona provided a fantastic service for us – I will definitely call on her again and be more than happy to recommend Glen Rosa to friends.  Our project was quite drawn out as we were doing the hard landscaping ourselves and we got to know Fiona quite well.  She is very diligent and has patience in abundance and takes a lot of pride in her designs.  The level of customer care is fantastic. Front garden next year Fiona!”

F. Gillespie, Falkirk, 2013

"We enjoyed working through designs with Fiona.  Our tiny garden posed a number of challenges but she asked intuitive questions and the resulting design was perfect.  Our garden is now transformed and doesn’t look so tiny anymore!  Thanks for making the process very easy.”

Michelle and Peter Watt, Glasgow, 2009

"On buying our new home in May 2009 we were faced with a very poor outlook to the front and side of our house.  At the bottom half of a converted villa we had a tarmac strip to the front and a rubble yard to the side of the property.  We contacted Fiona Buttenshaw, who had been recommended to us, to help us in planning and designing a special garden area to the front and a smaller courtyard to the side.  Fiona visited us on a number of occasions and listened carefully to our ideas of what we envisioned on the outside areas and came back with carefully drawn plans and new ideas for us to consider.  The combination of her careful listening and her own design creativity produced a garden plan which we were delighted with.  Further to the garden design plan, Fiona provided a planting plan which specified all the plants which would complete our special garden and courtyard areas.

The garden and planting plans complemented the architectural features on the outside of the house including an ornamental area at the front of an oriel window and a more informal grassed and shrub area leading from this.  At the side of the house, an intimate courtyard was designed to maximise the potential for light and atmosphere and to provide a very different aspect for us to enjoy.  At the beginning of November there was great excitement when the hard landscaping was laid and an array of beautiful plants, shrubs and trees were planted.  Since that time we have had the delight of watching our garden grow and have received numerous complements from our neighbours in turning a visually poor area into one which is really beautiful.

We had never before owned a garden and knew little about where to start, although we had ideas!  Thanks to Fiona we now have truly lovely areas to tend and to sit in and enjoy.  We are very appreciative of Fiona’s design and planting knowledge which has made our new home so special.”

J. Dorby, Glasgow, 2009

I didn’t initially think that we needed a garden designer, I’m so glad that we contacted Fiona.  I knew that I wanted something a little different but didn’t know where to start. 

Fiona listened carefully to our vague notions of what we thought might work, and developed a stunning garden design.  She then created a planting plan for the garden including beautiful plants that bloom at different times of the year, she also sourced and planted the plants. 

Fiona’s perceptiveness and creative vision have created a garden that impresses all who see it. She designed a beautiful space that we love.  It’s a wonderful environment to be in and a stunning view to enjoy from the house in good weather and bad - a garden with the wow factor!  Thank-you Fiona.

K Kerrigan, Cumbernauld, 2017

We made contact with Fiona to discuss a project to revitalise our front and rear garden areas.

From the outset Fiona was a real pleasure to work with. Passionate, professional and knowledgeable about the subject but took us with her every step of the way and always kept a watchful eye on project budget and was extremely transparent on the likely costs with ‘no surprises ‘ along the way. How Fiona approached the assignment was very clear and we felt in control and that we had a great partner for our project. Fiona produced very impressive designs for the garden areas and then reviewed these very thoroughly with us to ensure that we were going to achieve exactly what we had hoped for.

The knowledge that Fiona had of the plant types available and their suitability for our garden was very impressive. When we saw the listing of plants to be procured from the nursery we absolutely realised that Fiona was bringing an expertise and insight that truly was invaluable to us.

Fiona attended the delivery of the plants and prepared and planted out our gardens. Fiona gave us the option to do this ourselves or to tutor us for a few of the plants - but we decided that we wanted to get the fullest benefit possible from Fiona's expertise.

We are delighted with how our front and rear garden areas now look. It has transformed the look of our house.

We are very grateful to Fiona and would recommend her to anyone. Passionate, professional, knowledgeable and fun to work with.

Maurice and Maureen Barr, Shotts, 2017