Allerton Landscaping has shaped nearly 2,000 Liverpool gardens since Dave Ardren started out in 1981. CAD design. 3D walk-throughs. No subcontracting — ever.
"I went computerised with CAD in 1997 — and immediately put my drawing board away. In 2008 I introduced 3D models. I can now walk you through any of my designs from any angle, even the views through your windows."
I started work at Grosvenor Garden Centre in West Derby aged 18. Aged 22, in 1981, I started out on my own — and quickly I found I had a talent for design.
Since then I've completed approximately 2,000 projects across Liverpool and the surrounding areas. In 1997 I went computerised with CAD and immediately put my drawing board away. In 2008 I introduced 3D models — now I can walk you through any garden I've designed and see it from any angle, even the views through your windows, before a single stone is laid.
I don't subcontract. Ever. Every project carries my hands-on involvement from the first sketch to the last paving slab. The green signboards and navy work shirts you've seen around Liverpool for over twenty years — that's me, on site, where I belong.
It sounds counter-intuitive. After a brief discussion about how you want to use the garden and any features you need, I design on a completely blank canvas. Then — and only then — I show you what I've imagined. More often than not, the customer is happy with what I've come up with.
We talk about how you'll actually use the garden — entertaining, children, pets, low-maintenance — and any non-negotiable features. That's it. No mood boards, no pinterest, no influence.
I sit down with the brief, your plot, and forty-four years of experience. The CAD drawing and 3D model that comes out is genuinely my response to your space — not a re-skin of someone else's Pinterest board.
I walk you through the 3D model from any angle — including the views through your windows. We discuss. We adjust. But more often than not, the first design is the one we build.
"Most landscapers nod along to whatever the client says they want, then deliver something forgettable. Dave does the opposite — and that's exactly why his gardens look like his gardens, not a catalogue."
— A note from a returning customer, 2024
Three commitments make Allerton Landscaping different from anyone else you'll quote. Each one is on the table from your first phone call.
Most landscapers hand you a back-of-an-envelope sketch and a price. We hand you a full CAD design and a 3D walk-through model. You can rotate the design, view it from any angle, and even stand at your living-room window and look out at the garden as it will appear.
Every Allerton project is delivered by Dave and a tight in-house team. We don't farm out the patio. We don't farm out the planting. We don't disappear after the design's signed off. If you see a green signboard on a Liverpool driveway, Dave is the one running the job — every day, on site, in person.
I design with natural materials. Indian sandstone, granite setts, oak sleepers, brick, slate. Real planting that establishes properly over the seasons. I'm not interested in modular plastic systems or pre-built products that look the same in every garden — yours should look like yours.
We've never paid for a review platform. Allerton Landscaping has grown on word of mouth, the green signboards, and Dave being on every job — for over four decades.
"Dave showed us a 3D model before he started. We thought it would be a sales gimmick. It was extraordinary — we could see exactly how the garden would look from our kitchen window. He built it exactly as designed."
"Third generation of our family to use Allerton. Dave did my parents' garden in the 1990s and my own in 2022. Same standards, same green signboards, same man on site every day."
"We had three quotes. Two told us what they thought we wanted to hear. Dave told us what he thought we should do — and showed us in 3D why. We're delighted we listened."
"No subbies. That's what sold it for us. The same crew that designed it built it, and Dave was here every single day. Forty-five years of doing it properly shows in every joint."
"Natural Indian sandstone, real granite setts, proper hardwood. Not a sheet of plastic decking in sight. The garden looks better in year three than the day it was finished."
"You see those green signboards all over south Liverpool — there's a reason. Dave doesn't advertise. The work is the advert. Honest, on time, on budget, on a level I haven't seen from any other contractor."
The iconic 4ft × 4ft green signboards with yellow lettering have been outside Liverpool homes for over four decades. Navy work shirts with the yellow Allerton name — worn for over twenty years. Blue vehicles. One man. One reputation.
It's not branding. It's accountability. If you see it on a job, Dave is on the job.
Grosvenor Garden Centre, West Derby, aged 18.
Started out alone aged 22. Talent for design discovered quickly.
"I immediately put my drawing board away."
See your garden from any angle — even your window views.
Still no subcontracting. Still Dave on every job.
Quotes are free and unhurried — no high-pressure sales call afterwards. Dave will come and see the site, talk about how you want to use the garden, and (eventually) sit down at the CAD machine.
No obligation. No pressure. Just an honest conversation.