Areas we cover
Garden Design, Terracing & Landscapingin the South Hams: Totnes to Kingsbridge
Larger rural plots, real level changes and older stonework handled by one team from design to planting, built to sit with the property rather than against it, at a fixed price.
30 years' experience · 5.0 Google rating · Repeat clients
30 years
Building gardens across South Devon
5.0 rating
Average score on Google reviews
Fixed prices
Agreed in writing before we start
£2 million public liability
Fully insured, team covered
Rural and village properties across the South Hams, including Totnes, Ivybridge and the surrounding countryside.
Regular work across the South Hams
The South Hams starts just beyond Ashburton and Totnes, a short run from our Denbury base, and it's one of the four districts we cover as standard. Totnes, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, Dartmouth, Modbury, South Brent and the villages between them are all within our normal working area.
The work here tends to be bigger in scope than town gardens: larger plots, genuine level changes, longer boundaries and properties where the materials matter because the house has been there for a couple of hundred years.
South Hams property types
Stone and cob cottages in the villages, Georgian and Victorian houses in Totnes and Dartmouth, converted barns and farm buildings across the countryside, and modern housing around Ivybridge and South Brent.
Older properties frequently come with existing stone walls, established planting and boundaries that follow the land rather than a straight line. The right approach is usually to work with what's there, repairing and extending in sympathetic materials, instead of imposing something that reads as new.
What we're asked for here
Full garden design and renovation is the most common South Hams brief: a whole plot reworked as one scheme rather than piecemeal jobs. Terracing on sloping ground, substantial paving schemes, long boundary fencing runs, garden rooms and studios, and pergolas or covered seating all feature regularly.
Because these projects are larger, sequencing matters more. Groundwork, drainage, walls, surfaces, structures and planting are programmed in an order that means nothing finished has to be dug up again.
Towns we cover in South Hams
Each town below has its own page, with the local detail and the work we do there.
South Hams projects tend to be larger plots with real level changes, older stonework and a strong sense of place. Materials are chosen to sit with the property rather than against it.
Full garden renovations, terracing, garden rooms and substantial paving schemes are all regular work in this part of Devon.
Every job is priced as one fixed sum from the measured work and the labour it genuinely needs, and is covered by £2 million public liability insurance.
Services available in South Hams
Patios & PavingSubstantial patios, paths and rural driveways in materials that suit older South Hams properties, with drainage designed in.
Porcelain PatiosCrisp, low-maintenance porcelain laid to tolerances the material actually demands.
Indian Sandstone PatiosRiven sandstone laid so the colour, the coursing and the joints all read as deliberate.
DrivewaysA driveway built to carry a vehicle, shed water and still look sharp in ten winters.
Garden WallsTerracing and retaining walls on sloping rural plots, plus stonework that sits with existing walls rather than clashing with them.
Garden & Patio StepsEven risers, generous treads and a step you never have to think about in the dark.
FencingLonger boundary runs, post-and-rail and estate fencing for rural plots, alongside closeboard where privacy is the point.
DeckingHardwood and composite decking used to create level terraces on sloping ground and to take advantage of a view.
PergolasStructure and shade over a patio or deck, cut and jointed like joinery.
Garden RoomsInsulated garden rooms, studios and timber pergolas for larger plots, positioned after checking permitted development on the specific site.
Garden DesignThe core of our South Hams work: whole gardens designed on site with Phil and built by the same team from groundwork to planting.
Turfing & PlantingSoil prepared properly, so the lawn knits and the borders actually establish.Why choose PC Landscaping in South Hams
One team, whole scheme
Design, groundwork, walls, carpentry and planting by the same people, so the junctions between elements are decided once and built once.
Sympathetic to older property
Thirty years of working with Devon stone, cob and traditional boundaries means materials chosen to sit with the house.
5.0 Google rating and repeat clients
Our review average is 5.0, and a number of our larger projects are second and third jobs for the same clients.
Fixed price for the whole programme
One figure for the scheme, from measured work and labour. Hourly rates only for genuinely unforeseen work, raised at the time.
Insured for substantial work
£2 million public liability cover, with the self-employed tradesmen alongside Phil covered under the same policy.
What South Hams gardens throw at you
Steep and undulating ground
South Hams plots rarely give you a flat rectangle. Without terracing designed at the start, most of the garden stays unused and the design gets cut back later.
Old stone walls with no drainage
Existing retaining stonework is often historic and undrained. Rebuilding or reinforcing it properly, with free-draining backfill and an escape route for water, is what stops repeat failure.
Access for plant and materials
Narrow lanes, gateways and long drives limit what can physically reach the garden. That has to be established before pricing, not discovered on the first morning.
Heavy rainfall and run-off
Rural plots collect water from the land around them. Surface water routing, soakaways and land drainage are frequently part of the job rather than an extra.
Matching what's already there
New work that ignores the existing stone, levels and planting looks bolted on. Material choice here is a design decision, not just a cost one.
How the job runs
- Step 1
Site visit in the South Hams
Phil comes out to the property, measures the work, checks levels, ground conditions, drainage and access, and talks through what you want the garden to do. Site visits across the South Hams are arranged between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.
- Step 2
Fixed price and programme
You get one fixed price, calculated from the measured area and the labour the work genuinely needs, plus a realistic start window. An hourly rate only ever applies to unforeseen additional work, and we raise it with you at the time rather than at the end.
- Step 3
Groundwork, levels and drainage
Excavation, sub-bases, footings and water routing happen first. Getting these right is what decides whether the finished work is still level and dry in ten years.
- Step 4
Build and finish
Walls, paving, carpentry, structures and planting are built in a sequence that avoids disturbing completed work. The site is cleared at the end of each day.
- Step 5
Handover
We walk the finished work with you and explain any aftercare. If anything needs attention afterwards, Phil is the person who answers the phone.
Towns and villages we cover in the South Hams
Our coverage runs from the Dartmoor edge down toward the estuaries.
- Totnes: town gardens, Georgian property and the surrounding valley plots.
- Ivybridge and South Brent: modern housing and Dartmoor-edge properties.
- Kingsbridge and Salcombe area: estuary plots, exposure and level changes.
- Dartmouth, steep hillside gardens with views worth designing around.
- Modbury, Harberton, Diptford and the surrounding villages: rural plots and converted farm buildings.
Designing a larger rural garden
The design happens on site with Phil. You walk the plot together, talk through how you want to use it, and the awkward parts, the bank nobody uses, the wet corner, the boundary that doesn't work, get solved out loud. There's no CAD department and no drawing handed to a separate contractor to reinterpret.
Structure comes first: where the levels land, how machinery gets in, and where water goes. Only once those are resolved does it make sense to choose surfaces and planting, because that's the order in which a design either survives contact with reality or gets cut back.
Larger schemes are staged so the garden stays as usable as possible, and so groundwork-heavy phases don't run through the parts of the year when they'd do most damage to the ground.
Materials that suit the South Hams
Natural stone paving and local-looking walling stone sit well with older property here, where uniform, factory-perfect materials can look imported. Porcelain still has a place: usually close to a modern extension where the contrast is deliberate.
Timber work leans toward hardwood and well-detailed carpentry on properties where a decking area is a permanent feature rather than a quick fix. Composite is specified where maintenance access is genuinely difficult or the property isn't occupied year-round.
Boundaries often combine several systems along one run: stock fencing on the field side, post-and-rail through the middle, closeboard where privacy is needed near the house.
Nearby areas we also cover
Back to the PC Landscaping homepage, see all services, browse every area we cover or get in touch with Phil.
South Hams: common questions
Do you cover Totnes, Kingsbridge and Ivybridge?
Yes. The South Hams is one of our four regular areas, worked from our base at Denbury near Newton Abbot, including Totnes, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, Dartmouth, Modbury, South Brent and the surrounding villages.
How soon can you visit a property in the South Hams?
Site visits are arranged in the normal way: ring Phil on 07792 076673 and he'll give you a realistic date. We're on site 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.
How much does a full garden renovation cost in the South Hams?
Whole-garden schemes vary widely with plot size, level changes, access and how much structural work is involved. Phil designs the scheme with you on site and then gives one fixed price for the whole programme.
Can the work be done in phases?
Yes, and on larger rural gardens it often should be. The important thing is sequencing it so later phases don't require digging up earlier ones, that's decided at design stage.
Do you offer emergency or weekend work?
No. We work 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and don't run an emergency callout service. Ring Phil and he'll tell you honestly when we can start.
Can you work with existing stone walls and older property?
Yes, it's a large part of South Hams work. Materials are chosen to sit with what's already there, and existing stonework is repaired or rebuilt with proper footings and drainage where it's failed.
Is access a problem for rural plots?
It's a factor, not a barrier. Phil establishes what can physically reach the garden at the site visit, and the method and price reflect that rather than being adjusted later.
Do you handle the planting as well as the hard landscaping?
Yes. Soil preparation, turf, beds and planting are part of the scheme and done at the end so they aren't damaged during the build.
What deposit is required on a larger project?
On larger projects there's sometimes an initial deposit of around 10%. In all cases 50% is due once the job has started, with the balance on completion.
Client feedback
Reviews from across South Devon
“Fab job for my pathway around my house and patio… Phil's suggestion and explanation of the construction work was the most solid.”
Hung Alice
Pathway & patio · Google review
“Phil and his team provided some excellent service… The decking looks fab, love my new garden!”
Frank S
Decking & garden · Google review
“Phil finished the remainder of my featherboard fence. Started the job promptly, arrived on time and finished the job professionally.”
Big Steve
Featherboard fencing · Google review
“Phil and Nigel did a complete redesign of our garden, did a very professional job from start to finish… this is the second job they have done for us and we have another project for later in the year.”
Robert Down
Full garden redesign · repeat client · Google review
Planning a garden project in the South Hams?
Phil walks the plot with you, develops the design on site and prices the whole scheme as one fixed figure.
30 years' experience · £2 million public liability · 8am–6pm, Monday to Friday