As they left, however, Trish picked up a card for Oasis Garden Design owner, Alison Bayly, from the counter.

"We got her round and she was just marvellous," Tony says. "She sat down and listened to what our needs and wants were in terms of easy care, hardiness, ability to take the salt. Basically if we can't kill it it's got to be good.

"Alison stomped around the section and had a good look a couple of times, then came back with a plan. The planting plan she gave us was just fantastic. It gave us precise locations where to put plants because again, we didn't know how big plants would grow," he says.

As well as the planting plan Alison ensured the Lloyds knew what each plant would eventually look like.

"She gave us pictures of plants saying 'this would look really good there, it's shady, it grows well, its got this tree to go with it like the bromelaids out the front'. We knew what we were getting without knowing a lot about plants. She was excellent to deal with. She knew what we were trying to achieve with the structure of the house.

"We wanted a simple elegance, understated but quality, and she followed that through," Trish says.