Existing Tree and Planting Questions Checklist

Walk the plot and write a numbered list of every tree and significant shrub, with a photograph of each and a note of where it stands.

A written record turns vague discussion about the big one at the back into something a professional can actually respond to.

Note which plants were deliberately planted and which have arrived on their own, as far as you are able to tell.

Self-seeded trees close to buildings and boundaries often behave differently and are worth flagging early in a conversation.

Photograph each tree from a distance and again close to its base, including anything unusual you notice on the trunk or at ground level.

Do not interpret what you see; describe it plainly and let a suitably qualified arboricultural professional assess condition.

Note the approximate spread of each canopy by walking the edge of its shade in the middle of the day and marking it on a sketch.

Canopy spread governs what can go underneath, and pacing it out roughly is far more useful than describing a tree as large.

Write down what you know about the age or history of the planting, including anything a previous owner or a neighbour has told you.

Fragments of history often explain why something is where it is, and they are lost as soon as the person who knew them moves on.

Record which plants you would be genuinely upset to lose and which you have no attachment to whatsoever.

Design conversations move much faster once the emotional priorities are written down rather than merely implied.

Photograph the same views in leaf and out of leaf, because a plot can feel like two entirely different places across the year.

Whichever state the designer sees first tends to dominate the design unless the other one is documented.

Note which windows the planting screens, looking from inside the house as well as from within the garden.

Screening that is taken for granted is usually only noticed once the planting providing it has gone.

Write down which areas receive direct sun in the middle of the day, which never do, and when through the year that changes.

This is the observation a visitor cannot make, and it is the one that shapes where anything can be planted or sat.

Consider what the planting does to wind across the plot, and note the corners that are always sheltered or always exposed.

Removing a hedge or a canopy can change exposure across the whole plot, not only in the space it used to occupy.

Note where leaf, needle, fruit or sap fall lands, particularly over paving, seating, a roof or a gutter.

Where debris lands tends to affect how pleasant a seating area feels and how often gutters need clearing.

Consider whether the planting shades a neighbouring garden or window, and note it as something to discuss rather than to judge.

Rights to light, overhang and boundary planting are legal questions to take to a suitably qualified adviser.

Note how close each tree stands to the house, a wall, a drive, a drainage cover or a boundary, in rough paced terms.

The significance of any distance is not something to work out yourself; it is a matter for a qualified professional to assess on site.

Record any lifted paving, cracked wall, blocked gully or soft ground near a tree without drawing a conclusion about the cause.

Attributing damage to a tree, or ruling it out, needs qualified assessment; your job is simply to document what can be seen.

Note what the soil is like wherever you can see it, whether heavy and sticky, sandy and loose, or full of stones and rubble.

Rough soil observation from a few spade holes tells a professional more than a general description of the area ever will.

Write down where digging is planned and mark which trees stand within reach of that work.

Marking this on a sketch turns a vague worry into a specific question that can actually be answered.

Ask whether anything is buried in the root area, such as an old supply, a soakaway or a drain run, and note what you cannot rule out.

Unknowns near roots limit both what can be dug and how it can be dug, so they belong in the conversation early.

Consider whether a proposed level change would raise or lower the ground around a trunk, and flag that as a question rather than a detail.

Changing ground levels around an established tree can affect it seriously, and that is a matter for an arboricultural professional.

Note which trees and hedges stand on or near the boundary, and what you actually know about who owns each of them.

Ownership of boundary planting and what may be done to it are legal questions for a suitably qualified adviser to answer.

Photograph the boundary from both ends and record where branches overhang in each direction across the line.

Overhang usually runs both ways, and a photographic record avoids the conversation becoming a matter of recollection.

Write down any conversation you have already had with a neighbour about the planting, together with the date it happened.

A dated note is far more useful later than a memory, and it helps keep a discussion from becoming a dispute.

Consider whether your plans would change light, view or root conditions on the other side of the boundary.

Anticipating the other side of the conversation is the simplest way to avoid objections arriving in the middle of the work.

Ask what notice or discussion a neighbour would reasonably expect before work near a shared boundary begins.

What is required rather than merely courteous near a shared boundary is a legal question for a suitably qualified adviser.

Note whether any hedge is currently maintained by one household or both, and whether access from the other side is needed to cut it.

Access arrangements that have worked informally for years often need restating once anything changes.

Ask what area around each retained tree would need to be kept clear of machinery, materials and spoil while work is under way.

The extent of protection needed around a tree is set by an appropriately qualified professional and cannot be judged by eye.

Note the only routes machines and deliveries could take across the plot, and which planting stands along them.

Damage during works usually happens on the access route rather than at the work area itself.

Write down where spoil, materials and containers would stand, and whether any of those places sit under a canopy.

Storage under a canopy compacts the ground exactly where it matters most, and it is decided casually unless someone raises it.

Agree in writing who is responsible if retained planting is damaged during the work, and what happens next if it is.

This is straightforward to agree beforehand and almost impossible to settle afterwards.

Ask how retained planting would be protected physically, and what would need to be in place before anything else starts.

Protection installed after the first delivery has already arrived is protection that came too late.

Consider whether anything stored or mixed on site could reach a root area or a pond, and raise it as a question.

Runoff from materials mixed on site is a matter for the contractor and the relevant authority; raise it rather than assume it is handled.

Separate your list into planting you want kept, planting you would move if it were practical, and planting you are content to lose.

Three clear groups let a designer test ideas quickly instead of checking each plant with you individually.

Ask whether anything on the move list can realistically be lifted and replanted, and what the honest chances of success are.

Whether a plant can be moved successfully depends on species, size, season and ground, and that is a question for a qualified professional.

Note whether anything you want removed is large, close to a building or near a boundary, and treat removal as a question rather than a plan.

Trees can be subject to local protection; confirm the position with your local authority before any removal is planned or agreed.

Write down what would replace anything removed, and whether you would accept a smaller plant that takes a long while to fill the space.

Owners often expect an instant replacement and are disappointed by the reality of how planting establishes.

Consider whether anything removed could be reused on the plot as logs, chip or a habitat pile rather than leaving as waste.

Material reused on site avoids handling it twice and often suits the garden better than anything brought in.

Ask what the removal of a tree would mean for the ground, the light and the neighbouring planting around it.

Removing one tree changes conditions for everything nearby, which is rarely considered until afterwards.

Write down what each retained plant currently receives in the way of pruning, feeding or clearing, and who does that now.

The existing pattern of care is the most realistic guide to what will actually continue.

Ask what attention the planting being discussed would need through the year, and be honest about whether you would do it.

A scheme designed for care that never happens looks far worse than a simpler scheme that is properly maintained.

Note which planting you can reach safely from the ground and which would need somebody with equipment.

Any work at height or with powered cutting equipment in a tree is for suitably qualified and insured people only.

Consider what happens to prunings and clippings, and how they would leave your particular plot.

Green waste handling is a practical constraint that shapes how much planting is realistic on an enclosed site with narrow access.

Write down whether you want the garden to look settled quickly or to be allowed to grow into itself over a long stretch.

This preference changes plant sizes, spacing and the whole feel of the first years, so it belongs in the brief.

Ask what would happen to the planting if it received no attention at all for a long stretch, and record that answer.

Every garden has a neglected period at some point, and knowing the consequence helps set the level of ambition.