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Ardan
Ardan
Studio Est. 2009

A small studio
that builds what it draws

Nine people in a yard outside Ballinhassig. We design gardens and then build them, which keeps us honest about what is actually possible.

A roof terrace planted with olive trees and grasses in raised stone beds

Most landscape practices either draw or build. Doing both is harder to run and produces better gardens, because the person who set the levels on paper is the person standing in the trench when the ground turns out to be different.

We take on around fourteen projects a year. That is deliberately fewer than we could, and it is why the same three or four faces are on your site from the first dig to the last plant.

210 +

Gardens completed

16

Years designing

9

People in the studio

10 yr

Workmanship guarantee

How we work

Design-led

Every build starts from a measured drawing, so the price is against something real.

One team throughout

The people who drew it are the people who set it out. No handovers to lose things in.

Quality materials

Named suppliers and specifications on the quote — you can look up everything we propose.

Project managed

A fixed programme, a weekly written note and one person who answers the phone.

Aftercare

Two years of establishment care on planting, and a maintenance round if you want one.

Guaranteed workmanship

Ten years on hard landscaping, in writing, transferable if you sell.

The team

Órla Brennan

Founder & lead designer

Trained in landscape architecture. Draws every scheme that leaves the studio.

Cian Doyle

Project manager

Runs the programme and the site. The person who answers the phone during a build.

Marek Nowak

Head of construction

Sixteen years on the tools. Sets out every level personally.

Aisling Kelly

Planting & aftercare

Specifies the planting and runs the two-year establishment care.

Team members shown are illustrative placeholder content for this demonstration build.

Our process
  1. 01 90 minutes, on site

    Consultation

    We walk the garden with you and talk about how you want to use it. No drawings yet, no pressure, and no charge.

  2. 02 Half a day

    Site survey

    Measured survey of boundaries, levels, drainage, services, soil and the trees worth keeping.

  3. 03 3–4 weeks

    Garden design

    Two concept directions drawn to scale, with materials, planting character and indicative costs.

  4. 04 1 week

    Visualisation

    The chosen direction rendered so you can see the garden from the places you will actually stand.

  5. 05 1 week

    Quote

    A fixed, itemised price against the drawings. What you sign is what you pay.

  6. 06 4–10 weeks

    Construction

    Groundworks, drainage, hard landscaping and structures, with weekly photographs.

  7. 07 1–2 weeks

    Planting

    Soil prepared, plants set out and adjusted on the ground, then planted and mulched.

  8. 08 2 days

    Lighting

    Fittings installed and then aimed after dark, with the scenes set alongside you.

  9. 09 One evening

    Final reveal

    We hand over the garden with a care guide, a plant schedule and the drawings.

Come and see what we would do with yours

Book a consultation