Whether you got your inspiration from the BBC’s Gardeners World or Alan Titchmarsh’s landscaping videos, you are not alone if you want to give your outdoors a makeover. According to research, landscaping is more popular than ever, and the professional landscaping service industry has grown by 0.2 % yearly between 2017 and 2022.
Do you want to beautify and add value to your outdoors, but wonder how much landscaping costs? While valuing landscaping costs doesn’t have a given value, like in buying a house or having a mechanic fix your car, there are some pointers to help you budget for what you visualise for your outdoor space.
In this article, we will discuss the average cost for landscaping, factors affecting this cost, and other frequently asked questions on landscaping.
Average Cost for Landscaping
Landscaping costs will vary depending on several factors, including the size of your garden, the complexity of the project, and the amount your professional landscaper will charge per hour or day. However, we can estimate the average landscaping costs for various projects. These projects include turfing, levelling, decking, flooring, paving, terracing, fencing, hardscaping, and creating garden ponds and patios.
Levelling
Levelling is the first step towards creating an aesthetic outdoor space if your garden is sloppy. Garden levelling costs vary depending on the steepness. Other factors include whether the levelling requires terraces or retaining walls. On average, levelling a garden in the UK will cost £10-£60/㎡ for levelling only, £120-£350/㎡ for levelling with terraces and £80- £160/㎡ for levelling with retaining walls.
Terracing
In simple terms, terracing entails building flat areas of land on a sloppy garden. In most areas and especially medium to steep slopes, it goes hand in hand with levelling to divide your garden into flat pieces of land where you can plant flowers, grass and other plants.
A professional landscaper can divide your land into beautiful and useful parts using gabions, retaining walls built of concrete, wood or bricks or garden sleepers. Terracing a sloppy garden in the UK costs between £800- £1500 for a 10 by 1m terraces.
Turfing
A well-maintained turf, whether real or artificial, gives your garden a beautiful look and is the perfect place for hanging out with family and friends. Children can play on the green lawns while adults share fun moments like barbequing, card games and ball games.
Below are the estimated costs for turfing your outdoor space:
Artificial grass
Artificial grass is a great option for your garden because it is easy to maintain, unlike real grass, which needs watering and trimming. It will cost you between £30- £80/㎡ depending on the size of your garden and the quality of the turf.
Real grass
Laying natural grass on well-levelled ground is one of the cheapest ways to create an aesthetic outdoor space for your home. Moreover, you can do it on your own if you are a do-it-yourself (DIY) enthusiast. You only need to prepare your garden, buy the turf from a reliable dealer, lay the turf and water it appropriately to encourage grass growth. However, if you seek the services of a professional landscaper, it’ll cost you between £10-£30/㎡.
Patio
For some people, the best way to enhance the outdoor area of their home is by paving it with gravel or concrete. Patios are popular in the UK because they provide a sturdy and mud-free area to hang out with friends during the wet/cold season and a warm and dust-free outdoor space to relax during the warm season.
The cost of laying a patio in the UK is between £45- £100/㎡ depending on the complexity of the project and the cost of materials.
Decking
One of the most versatile materials in building and construction is timber because it can be designed in various ways. Decking is an excellent option if you have a busy lifestyle and want an easy-to-maintain outdoor space. Decks need no watering like turfs and require less cleaning than patios.
The decking cost varies depending on your garden’s size, the type of wood and the decking style. On average, you can expect to pay a professional landscaper between £50-£125/ ㎡ to lay a deck on your garden.
Creating a Garden Pond
If you are an ecological observation enthusiast, a garden pond allows you to transform your outdoor space into a haven for birds, bees, butterflies and other water-loving creatures. However, creating and maintaining ponds is no child’s play, and you should be prepared financially and psychologically.
It will cost you between £400-800 for an expert to build a pond with a 1.5-metre diameter. The price entails activities like digging the soil to create the sunken ground, adding water to the pond and planting garden plants and flowers.
Fencing
Fencing your garden with panels is a great way to improve its aesthetics, keep away intruders and increase your home security. Moreover, it can be an additional measure to keep your patio, garden pond or lawns separated from the outside world for privacy and discretion when holding private functions.
The best way to put fencing costs is per day, unlike the cost/㎡ for the other structures. You can expect to pay between £300- £400 per day to a professional fence installer.
Factors Affecting the Cost of Landscaping
When you ask a professional landscaper to give you a quote for their services, they consider various factors before giving you a figure. These factors include:
Site Conditions
The pre-existing site conditions are a significant factor in determining how much your project will cost. For this reason, a landscaper should inspect your garden before giving you a quote to check your soil quality, steepness, drainage, and other conditions. The pre-existing conditions also determine the best option for your land because not all gardens are suitable for ponds, patios, or decks.
Size of the Garden
Another obvious factor that influences the landscaping cost is your property’s size. The larger the garden, the costlier the landscaping process and vice versa. For instance, it will cost more to lay artificial grass in a 100㎡ garden than laying the same grass in a 50㎡ space.
Labour Costs
Think of labour costs as the rate card of different professionals based on their experience or company standards. A reputable firm with years of experience may charge more money per hour or day than a newly established company seeking clients to build its portfolio.
Landscaping Features
What do you want the landscaper to create in your outdoor space? Is it a patio, a deck, a terrace, a pond, or a lawn? The kind of features you want and the work that goes into creating these features will determine the cost of the whole project. For example, a hardwood deck will cost more than a simple real grass lawn.
The Type of Materials
The cost of materials and the subsequent cost of installing these materials on a property greatly affect the overall price of your project. For instance, terracing a garden with bricks costs a different amount from terracing the same garden with concrete.
Are There Any Hidden Garden Landscaping Costs
Yes. There is no one-size-fits-all pricing model for garden landscaping because each project has its features, requirements, and challenges. The best way to ensure you get value for your money is to research the cost of landscaping in your area and get quotes from several landscapers. Once you have decided on your preferred expert, you can contact them so that they can visit the site and give you the right figure.
Can I Save on The Cost of Garden Landscaping by Doing It Myself
Yes, if you have the skills. For example, if you want to lay artificial turf in your garden, you could save on the landscaping cost by clearing the ground of unwanted plants, objects, and roots and levelling the ground. After that, you can buy the fake grass from a trusted retailer and ask your family or friends to help you lay it down.
However, ensure you have the necessary skills to do landscaping projects yourself before working on them. Otherwise, you’ll get stuck midway and end up paying more to have a professional finish the job. To be on the safe side, do the easy activities such as clearing the garden of unwanted objects and leave the rest to an experienced professional.
FAQs
Do you need garden excavation planning permission?
No, you don’t need planning permission for garden excavation projects. These projects include turfing, patio building, terracing, decking, and creating flower beds and ponds.
What’s the difference between landscaping and gardening?
Gardening entails preparing the land and growing and maintaining plants, while landscaping is the beautification and adding value to outdoor spaces by designing, creating, and maintaining aesthetic features like patios, terraces, ponds, and flower gardens. Gardening is a constituent activity of landscaping which is an umbrella word for all activities that transform an outdoor space.
What is the least expensive landscaping?
Planting trees is the least expensive landscaping technique because you only need to dig a small part with a garden spade, buy a tree seedling, plant the tree and add compost. You also need to water the tree until it is well-established. You can do these activities yourself without needing to hire a professional landscaper.
