Chris Garnons-Williams was born in the late 1940s in Egypt of British parents. After an education that spanned Gordonstoun and Brunel University, I worked for a number of years for a major defence contractor. I am married, and live in Kent (England) with my wife.

Eventually, realising that work in horticulture would improve my quality of life, I attended Hadlow College of Agriculture and Horticulture for a 1 year course in horticulture ( it should be noted that this course contained no garden design content) before setting up my own garden design, landscaping and maintenance business in 1991 as a sole trader.

Chris is a qualified horticultural gardener. I am a member of the Royal Horticultural Society, correspondent member of the Society of Garden Designers, member of the Henry Doubleday Research Association and the Medway Fair Trader Scheme.

I speak English, and when not engaged on other people's gardens or my own, I have enjoyed church candle making and DIY.

Just to make sure, that you reading this, understand about the Society of Garden Designers Correspondent Member's responsibilities when promoting themselves to the public, here are the written ones sent to me by the Society of Garden Designers on 5 September 2007:-

 

• 1. Correspondent membership category confers no professional status.
• 2. Correspondent membership must not be referred to in any advertising or promotion of design services.
• 3. Correspondent membership must not be mentioned in writing or conversation to prospective, present or past clients in a way that might mislead the client and without explaining the introductory nature of the membership.
• 4. Any mention of Correspondent Membership must be in full and not abbreviated, and should be accompanied by an explanation of the category of membership.
• 5. A link from a Correspondent member's website to the Society of Garden Designers website is not allowed. This is to ensure potential clients are not misled.

Email and postal contact details for the Society of Garden Designers are given after the Code of Conduct and Practice, who will then provide you with a list of the relevant qualified garden designers from the Registered Members and Fellow Members.

 

As a Correspondent Member of the Society Of Garden Designers, I accept the following Code of Conduct and Practice:-

 

Society Of Garden Designers

Code of Professional Conduct and Good Practice

 

Scope of the Code

The code, reprinted below was adopted by the Council of the Society of Garden Designers on 15th January 2003 under Clause 7 of the Society's Constitution.

This Code is binding on all members of the Society with effect from 15th January 2003.

Breaches of this Code may result in disciplinary action being taken under Clause 2.2 of the Society's Constitution.

 

1. Introduction

 

1.1 The purpose and scope of the Code of Professional Conduct and Good Practice is to:

 

a. inform members who are providing design services of the standard of professional conduct required of them in the exercise of their professional accountability and practice;

 

b. inform the public, other professions and employers of the standard of professional conduct that they can expect of a member of the Society.

 

1.2 As a member of the Society, you must:

 

a. act in such a way that justifies the trust and confidence the public have in you;

 

b. uphold and enhance the good reputation of the profession and the Society.

 

1.3 You are personally accountable for your practice. This means that you are answerable for your actions and omissions, regardless of advice or directions from another professional.

 

1.4 You must adhere to the laws of the country in which you are practising.

 

2. As a member of the Society, you must at all times act so as to uphold the standing and reputation of the Society and of the profession.

 

2.1 You must not make, support or collaborate in any statement, written or otherwise, which is contrary to your professional opinion, or which you know to be misleading or unfair to others, or otherwise discreditable to the profession or the Society.

 

2.2 Council members, officers of the Society and others representing the Society in any capacity must act in the interest of the Society and must not use their position as represntatives of the Society to benefit or further their business interests.

 

2.3 You must not misrepresent your category of membership of the Society.

 

2.4 Registered Members may use the Registered Members' Logo, as supplied by the Society, in their documentation and promotional material. The Society's logo may only be used by the Society itself.

 

3. As a member of the Society, you must act with integrity and avoid conflicts of interest

 

3.1 Before commencing any work for a client or employer you must disclose in writing any business, financial or personal interest of yours, or that of any partner, co-director or associate, the existence of which, if not declared, would or might be likely to raise either a conflict of interest between you and the client or employer or doubts about your integrity.

 

3.2 You must not (in a garden design practice) be a partner, co-director or take up employment with an unsuitable person. Examples of unsuitable persons are:

- A person whose name has been removed from the Directory of Registered Garden Designers by virtue of disciplinary measures

- A person disqualified from membership of a recognised professional body

 

3.3 You must refuse any gift, favour or hospitality that might be intepreted, now or in the future, as an attempt to obtain preferential consideration.

 

3.4 When you specify or recommend a product, contractor or any other service, you must ensure that your advice is based on your professional opinion as to the relative advantages and disadvantages of alternative products, contractors or services and is not based on commercial gain.

 

4. As a member of the Society, you must only undertake professional work for which you are able to provide adequate professional , financial and technical competence and resources.

 

4.1 This duty arises when a contract is enetred into, and continues throughout the term of the contract. The duty does not extend to designers taking part in competitions or otherwise engaged in speculative work.

 

4.2 Where advisable, you must obtain additional expertise and advice from apperopriately qualified individuals.

 

4.3 Where professional work is carried out on your behalf by an employee or by anyone else acting under your direct control, you are resposible for ensiuring that such person is competent to perform the task and, if necessary, is adequately supervised. You remain responsible for all work prepared and issued under your name.

 

5. As a member of the Society, you must only promote your professional services in a truthful and responsible manner and such promotion must not be an attempt to subvert professional work from another designer.

 

5.1 In advertising your professional services or otherwise drawing them to the attentiuon of a potential client, you must not make untruthful or misleading statements, nor claim to be better than other professional members. Special expertise, however, may be properly claimed and referred to.

 

5.2 Advertisements should conform, as appropriate, to the British Code of Advertising Practice and the ITC and Radio Code of Advertising Standards and Practice.

 

5.3 The business style of a practice should not be misleading nor be capable of being confused with another Practice or service.

 

5.4 In the knowledge that a client already has a contract for services provided by another member, you must not attempt to gain that contract.

 

5.5 Any advertisement or other promotional material that makes reference to the Society or uses the Registered Members' logo must clearly identify the Registered Member to whom such reference applies.

 

6. As a member of the Society, you must carry out your professional work faithfully and conscientioiusly and with proper regard to current technical and professional standards.

 

6.1 When acting between parties or giving advice, you must excercise impartial and independent professional judgement to ther best of your ability and understanding.

 

6.2 You must perform your work with due skill, care and diligence.

 

6.3 You must ensure that you maintain and continually develop your professional knowledge and competence.

 

7. As a member of the Society, in carrying out or agreeing to carry out professional work you must pay due regard not only to the interests of your client but also to anyone who may reasonably be expected to be affected by your work.

 

7.1 Whilst your primary responsibility is to your clients, you should nevertheless have due regard to your wider responsibility to conserve and enhance the quality of the environment and its natural resources.

 

8. As a member of the Society, you must organise and manage your professional work responsibly and with regard to the interests of your clients.

 

8.1 You must not undertake professional work unless your terms of engagement have been recorded in writing, these to include:

 

a. the scope of the work;

b. the fee or method of calculating it;

c. any limitation of responsibilities.

 

8.2 You must keep your client informed of the progress of work undertaken on their behalf and of any matter that may significantly affect its quality or cost.

 

8.3 You must observe the confidentiality of your client's affairs and must not disclose confidential information withoput the prior consent of the client or other lawful authority, for example when disclosure is required by order of a court.

 

8.4 It is essential that you are covered by adequate and appropriate insurance, in accordance with statutory requirements. It is recommended that you are also covered by Professional Indemnity insurance. You should ensure that contractors you recommend have adequate and appropriate insurances.

 

9. As a member of the Society, you must deal with disputes or complaints concerning your professional work or that of your practice or business promptly and appropriately.

 

9.1 Complaints should be at every stage be handled courteously, sympathetically and where possible in accordance with the following time scale:

a) an acknowledgement should be sent within 10 working days from the receipt of a complaint; and

b) a response addressing the issues raised in the initial letter of complaint should be sent within 30 working days from its receipt.

 

9.2 If appropriate, you should encourage alternative methods of dispute resolution, such as arbitration or conciliation.

 

9.3 If you are inable to rersolve the complaint to the satisfaction of the complainant, you should advise the complainant that any alleged breaches of the Code may be referred in writing to the Council of the Society. In such a case, the Council may invite you and the complainant to attend a hearing. After considering all aspects of the complaint the Council may make recommendations, failure to comply with which may result in expulsion from the Society.

 

Further Information

Enquiries about the issues addressed in the Code of Professional Conduct should be directed in the first instance to the Society Secretary at the address or contact details below:

 

Society of Garden Designers,

Katepwa House,

Ashfield Park Avenue,

Ross-on-Wye,

Herefordshire. HR9 5AX

tel: 01989 566695

Fax: 01989 567676

email sgd@assocmanagement.co.uk

 

 

PS.

Society Of Garden Designers (SGD) membership at the end of June 2005 is 1197 members:-

Registered
(Fellow of the SGD 21, Member of SGD 134)..155

FSGD/MSGD retired........................................6

Correspondent............................................660

Graduate.....................................................69

Student.....................................................242

Friend.........................................................57

 

I am a Correspondent member, but there are currently over 155 Registered Members spread throughout the UK who have more experience and better qualifications with more resources than my business as a Sole Trader.

 

I design, construct and maintain private gardens using the organic methods and companion planting techniques detailed in this website.

 

As a member of the Medway Fair Trade Scheme, which was created by the Trading Standards Officers of Medway Council, any dispute not resolved between myself and the client can be dealt with through arbitration with those Trading Standard Officers. If I do not carry out the results of that arbitration, then the Medway Council Trading Standard Officers will assist the complainant in taking me to court.