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Garden Landscaping Cost

By Melissa

Last updated 10th March 2025 - Reading time: 19 mins

At a Glance

The average cost of landscaping a garden is around £505.
Landscaping a garden will usually take between 2 to 4 days to complete.

In this landscaping costs guide, you'll discover the following:

A complete breakdown of the cost of garden landscaping, as well as various different types of landscaping jobs you might want done.
A look at how long landscaping jobs take, what's involved in the jobs, and a general overview of landscaping.
How to find and hire a professional landscaper near you.

Looking to find out what the cost to landscape a garden is in 2025?

If you'd like to get an idea of the average cost of landscaping, then you can expect to pay around £500.

We cover everything you need to know about the cost of garden landscaping in this comprehensive price guide.

It includes garden landscaping costs per m² for different types of projects, like laying turf and installing decking or patio. On top of that, we cover how much landscapers charge in 2025, additional landscaping costs you might need to budget for, and more!

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Average Cost of Landscaping a Garden:

Depending on the complexity of the job, it usually takes: 2 – 4 days

£505

How Much to Landscape a Garden?
- Garden Landscaping Prices
Cost of Garden Landscaping Materials
Additional Landscaping Costs
How Much Do Landscapers Charge?
How Long Do Landscaping Jobs Take?
What Impacts How Much Garden Landscaping Costs?
What's Involved in Garden Landscaping?
Can I Landscape a Garden Myself?
Building Regulations & Planning Permission for Landscaping
Types of Landscaping
Checklist: Hiring Contractors for Garden Landscaping Work
FAQs
Sources

How Much to Landscape a Garden?

So, how much does a landscaper cost in the UK?

If you want to hire a landscaper to lay turf, expect to pay about £260 to £300 for 20m², and between £650 to £750 for 50m²

As for artificial grass, the price rises to about £1,300 to £1,600 for 20m², and up to £3,250 to £4,000 for 50m²

Decking would cost approximately £600 to £750 for 6m², or £1,000 to £1,250 for 10m².

If you’d like to have a raised vegetable bed constructed, expect to pay £120 to £520 for 4m².

When it comes to installing a patio, the cost is about £360 to £480 for an area of 4m², or between £800 to £1,200 should the area be 10m² in size.

If you want to have a back garden pond constructed, it will cost roughly £260 to £530 for a 1m² pond.

The landscaping cost of any of these jobs can be influenced by the size of the garden, ease of access, and where you live.

The reason why property location is relevant is that landscapers, like contractors in general, charge different rates for different country regions.

Can I get an initial consultation with a gardener or landscaper before having a landscape garden drawn up and eventually constructed? Does this usually involve a fee, and if so, how much would it be on average?

"No fee should be charged for a quote or any advice given. There should be a no obligation quote put in place."

C & N Landscaping and Tree Surgery Specialist

Garden Landscaping Prices

Job Description	Cost Per M²
Laying Turf	£13 – £20
Artificial Grass	£65 – £80
Decking	£100 – £125
Raised Vegetable Bed	£30 – £130
Patio	£80 – £120
Garden Pond	£260 – £530

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Cost of Garden Landscaping Materials

Let’s now take a look at the garden landscaping cost based on the materials in particular. In this section, we’ll look at the supply costs for each of the jobs.

This will give you an idea as to how much you might spend to undertake this work DIY:

Turf Supply Costs

New turf supply costs vary depending on the volume you're buying. Let's look at some common amounts to give you an idea of supply costs:

£20 to £75 for a 20m² area
£30 to £85 for a 30m² area
£90 to £145 for a 40m² area
£120 – £175 for a 50m² area

Artificial Grass Supply Costs

When it comes to artificial grass, the supply cost is roughly:

£975 to £1,200 for a 20m² area
£1,460 to £1,800 for a 30m² area
£1,950 to £2,400 for a 40m² area
£2,440 to £3,000 for a 50m² area

Decking Supply Costs

As for decking, you can expect the supply cost to be approximately:

£390 to £490 for a 6m² deck
£520 to £650 for an 8m² deck
£650 to £810 for a 10m² deck

Raised Vegetable Bed Supply Costs

For a raised vegetable bed, the supply costs are likely to be between:

£100 – £460 for an area of 4m²
£160 – £720 for an area of 6m²
£220 – £980 for an area of 8m²

Lastly, the material cost of laying a patio would be about £40 to £60 per m². Building a pond will be around £155 to £320 per m².

Additional Landscaping Costs

When hiring a professional to perform any of these landscaping jobs, you may wish to pay for additional work such as garden waste removal or/and to have a fence installed.

Let’s take a closer look at some potential added costs:

Garden Waste Removal Cost

After landscaping is complete, there’s likely to be a significant quantity of garden waste that needs to be disposed of.

The average garden waste removal cost is between £15 to £300. You should expect to pay an extra £15 to have 100kg of waste removed.

For larger waste volumes, you can expect the following prices:

£60 to £90 if you want to remove 500kg of waste
£130 to £170 for the disposal of 1 tonne of waste
£200 to £250 for 1.5 tonnes of garden waste
£270 to £330 for disposing of 2 tonnes of garden waste

Skip Hire Cost

You may choose to hire a skip, in which case, for every yard of length provided by the skip, it will hold about ten bags of waste.

Skip hire costs about £80 to £90 for a 2-yard skip, with the price rising to £80 to £110 for a 3-yard skip.

These costs rise to £120 to £240 for a 4-yard skip, and £150 to £245 for a 6-yard skip.

For even bigger volumes, it'll cost between £180 to £350 to hire an 8-yard skip, and £200 to £380 for a 10-yard skip.

Lastly, you can expect costs of £240 to £420 for a 12-yard skip, and £250 to £430 for a 14-yard skip.

Of course, it’s possible that the landscaping contractor/company that you’ve hired will deal with the waste removal for you, albeit for an added fee.

Garden Fence Installation Cost

What about having your garden fencing replaced?

The average garden fence installation cost is around £1,500 in the UK. However, the cost depends on the number of fence panels required, the height of the fencing, and the type of fencing you're after.

When it comes to timber fencing, your panel costs are as follows:

£400 to £600 for lap fence panels
£500 to £700 for slatted fence panels or feather edge fence panels
£700 to £900 for decorative or trellis panels
£800 to £1,000 for venetian panels

If you’d prefer non-wooden fencing, expect costs of:

£1 to £4 per foot for split rail fencing
£6 to £11 per foot for picket fencing
£2 to £6 per foot of wire fencing
£2 to £8 per foot of electric fencing
£20 to £30 per foot of aluminium fencing
£30 to £40 per foot of wrought iron fencing
£30 to £40 per foot of steel fencing

Shed Installation Cost

Don’t have a shed? Or is your current shed worn down beyond repair?

The average new shed cost is around £500 to £700 to have a 6ft x 4ft shed installed.

Larger sheds of 8ft x 6ft cost between £700 to £900, or £1,000 to £1,200 if you’d like to have a 12ft x 8ft shed constructed.

The typical cost of a brick shed is qutie a bit higher, at around £3,000.

How Much Do Landscapers Charge?

Let’s now discuss the landscaping labour costs.

In terms of turf laying, the labour cost would be approximately £125 to £300 for an area of 10m² to 25m².

This rises to £300 to £500 if the area is between 25m² to 75m², or £500 to £600 for a 75m² to 100m² garden.

When it comes to the installation of artificial turf, the labour cost will land around £325 to £400 for a 20m² area.

As the size increases, so does the price, to between £490 to £600 for an area of 30m², £650 to £800 for a 40m² area, or £810 to £1,000 for a 50m² area.

As for new garden decking, it would cost about £210 to £260 for a 6m² deck.

This increases to £280 to £350 for an 8m² deck, or £350 to £440 for a 10m² deck.

Want a raised vegetable bed? Expect the labour cost alone to add up to about £20 to £60, depending on how long it takes to build and the number of labourers hired.

As for the cost of laying a patio for a 10m² area, the labour cost would land about £400 to £600.

This accounts to roughly £40 to £60 per m². To construct a garden pond would come with a labour fee of around £105 to £210 for a 1m² pond, or £155 to £320 for a 1.5m² pond.

The labour cost is part of the overall cost, along with the cost of supplies and, potentially, waste disposal. Landscapers generally charge £20 an hour.

How Long Do Landscaping Jobs Take?

Let's take a look at timescales now.

Laying turf could take anywhere from half a day to as long as three days, while installing artificial grass generally takes one to two days, and the installation of decking generally lasts for two to four days.

In most cases, a raised garden vegetable bed could be built in an hour or two. It would take approximately one to two days to lay a patio and roughly one to five days to build a garden pond.

However, it would take somewhere in the range of 6 to 10 days to construct a luxury pond with landscaping and water features.

Both the labour cost and timescale will vary depending on the size of the installation, the number of labourers hired, ease of access, and the state of the work area.

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What Impacts How Much Garden Landscaping Costs?

We’ll now take a closer look at the various factors that determine the cost of landscaping, whether it be the size of the garden, ease of access, or property location.

Type of Landscaping

Of course, one of the most important cost factors is the type of work. For instance, laying turf or installing a patio would likely cost a few hundred pounds, but the installation of artificial grass is likely to cost thousands.

Size of Garden

The scale of your garden may or may not be directly linked with the cost. That obviously depends on whether or not the landscaping work is to cover the entire garden. However, as a rule of thumb, the bigger the garden, the larger the work is likely to be.

The larger the landscaping work, the pricier the supplies will be, and most likely, the higher the labour cost will be. Therefore, garden size often correlates with a two-fold increase in job price.

Condition of Garden

As for the condition of the garden, this is important because the better the state of the garden, the easier the work will likely be, and the lower you can expect your labour costs to end up.

Not only that but if the garden has suffered plenty of deterioration, naturally, there’ll be more waste to remove at the end of the work.

Ease of Access

To what extent this is relevant will depend on how easily accessible the job is.

All in all, though, the easier it is to access your garden and the areas of the garden in which the landscaping is taking place, the faster the job will take and the cheaper it will be.

Location of Property

As for where you live, labour prices tend to be higher in the southeast of England and London in particular but lower in regions such as Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the north of England.

What's Involved in Garden Landscaping?

We’ll now take a closer look at the steps involved in landscaping a garden.

Planning and Hiring a Contractor/Company

First and foremost, you’ll need to decide what type of landscaping work you’d like to pay for.

Then, it’s worth getting at least three quotes before deciding on a specific contractor or company.

You should also ask for some references too. This, of course, assumes that you don’t intend to undertake the work by yourself.

You should also think through some of your own garden landscaping ideas at this point.

Preparation

On the day of the work, the first step involves preparing the garden or/and setting up any necessary supplies and equipment.

Of course, they may also need to come by in advance to measure the area or survey the garden before any work can get underway.

Landscaping

Once everything is in place, it’s time for the landscaping to get underway. At this stage, the contractor(s) will begin to lay turf, install the decking, construct the garden pond, or get to work on whichever landscaping jobs are applicable.

This step of the work may be broken up into several phases (i.e. cut the decking boards, assemble the sub-frame, lay the boards out, add the solid composite deck boards).

Waste Removal and Wrapping Up

Once the work is complete, any wastage will be disposed of, and the area will be tidied up before the work concludes.

Can I Landscape a Garden Myself?

It is possible to undertake landscaping as a DIY job. However, you should only do so if you know exactly what’s involved and you have the skills and experience necessary to undertake said work. If you’re unsure about anything, it’s best to hire a professional.

Some jobs may need to be signed off, such as where planning permission approval is required or if a build control officer needs to survey your work. As with any DIY work, landscaping comes with a range of hazards and dangers.

For example, with sharp or heavy tools/equipment, there is always a risk of injury, and the same applies to carrying or dealing with heavy loads.

Further, there is also the less serious risk of doing the job incorrectly, in which case you’d need to pay a professional to come by and complete the work for you anyway.

I want to landscape the garden of my rented home without making permanent changes. What can I do to make the lawn and borders look less boring?

"Firstly, you need to check your rental agreement to see if you are allowed to make changes to the landscaping. To brighten up your garden, you could plant seasonal, annual plants in new borders you create or use tubs and planters so when you leave the property, you can take them with you. I would suggest making a plan taking into consideration the sunrise and sunset. There's a lot to consider, but container planting means you can move them around to suit."

Stewart Cormack

Building Regulations & Planning Permission for Landscaping

Building regulations and planning permission regulations vary depending on the specific job, and therefore you may or may not apply. More information can be found via Planning Portal.

Although, please note that these regulations are specific to England and Wales, so rules may differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland. You’re likely to pay somewhere in the range of £300 to £500 for a building regulations application and inspections.

As for planning permission, this may be required. Again, it will depend on the specifics of the job. More information can be found via the Planning Portal for those in England and Wales.

A planning permission application usually costs somewhere in the range of £200 to £500.

Usually, homeowners receive a response to their application with a decision made within 2 months. In some cases (e.g., if the project being proposed is especially large), it could take between 3 to 4 months to get a decision back.

Types of Landscaping

Let's break down the various types of landscaping in a bit more detail.

Laying Turf Cost

Turf laying involves choosing where to lay it, how to store and deliver it, preparing the ground, fertilising, adding the topsoil, and then adding the turf itself.

Next, the turf must be watered before it can be mowed for the first time. In terms of supply costs, budget lawn turf costs about £2 to £4 per m².

Hard-wearing turf costs roughly £5 to £7 per m, premium lawn turf would set you back between £7 to £10 per m, while you’d need to pay £15 to £20 per m for wildflower turf.

Pros:

✔ Authentic grass
✔ Less expensive than artificial grass

Cons:

✖ Requires quite a bit of maintenance
✖ Prone to damage and disease over time

Artificial Grass Cost

It may interest you to have artificial grass installed. Unlike with the laying of real turf, artificial grass does not require much maintenance, presuming it doesn’t experience much noticeable damage over time.

On average, artificial grass costs about £72.50 per m².

Pros:

✔ Durable
✔ Long-lasting

Cons:

✖ Not as cheap as real turf
✖ Laying artificial grass will not offer an authentic appearance

Decking Cost

Installing decking is a great way of creating a social fixture in your garden. It also acts as a raised platform and a focal point.

There are a range of decking materials to choose from, including hardwood and composite lumber. On the downside, decking can become hazardous after wet weather. The average cost of decking is between £80 to £90 per m².

Pros:

✔ Social fixture
✔ Quicker to install than paving
✔ Focal point

Cons:

✖ Can become slippery

Which is better for a family garden, decking or a patio?

"In my opinion, a patio would be better. Decking looks good, but in wet weather and the winter it is extremely slippery and near impossible to walk on. Also, it does need a little more looking after than a patio."

V Bennett Gardening Services

Patio Installation Cost

Installing a patio is an alternative to decking. Like with a deck, a patio can create a nice social spot that is especially valuable during the summer months in the UK.

There are various patio materials (e.g., concrete, tile, brick, and granite) and styles to choose from. The average cost of laying a patio is between £100 to £110 per m².

Pros:

✔ Popular option
✔ Great for the summer
✔ Many materials and designs available

Cons:

✖ Can be expensive in terms of the cost of landscaping a garden

Planting Cost

Landscaping often involves plenty of planting. Whether that means adding new plant pots, fresh flowers to a small plot of land, creating a raised garden bed, installing crawlers, or strategically adding plants to attract pollinators like bees.

All in all, the options are practically endless when it comes to planting. Of course, the costs will simply depend on the specifics of the job and thus could vary significantly. The typical gardener cost is between £14 to £25 per hour in the UK.

Pros:

✔ Decorative
✔ Aesthetic value
✔ Many options

Cons:

✖ May take some time to find the right choices for you

I need to have two raised beds put in on level ground, but DIY is beyond me. Should I be looking for a landscape gardener or a carpenter for this job?

You need a tradesman skilled in both. For example, the wood or material used to build the raised beds must not be chemically treated lumber etc. Lastly, the raised beds need to be constructed in a way that will permit you to easily manage and access them.

Treesoflife

Checklist: Hiring Contractors for Garden Landscaping Work

There are a range of points you should consider when hiring a professional landscaper. Here's what we suggest:

Gather at least 3 quotes from different landscape gardeners near you to get an idea of the range of prices in your area.
Find out their experience and if it aligns with your project needs.
Take a look at their previous projects and read past customer reviews to get a feel for their work style and ethic.
Ensure all quotes are in written format with itemised breakdowns of all costs. Be sure to ask if waste removal is included in the quote or is separate.
Make sure they are insured in the event of any accidents during the project while on-site.

How do I go about getting a build quote for a landscape garden? Who should I contact, what is involved, and what might the cost be for just this stage alone?

"To get a quote about a landscaping job, you should contact the traders who do this kind of work, and they will give you a price for the job. You can find people on MyJobQuote if you post a job."

Lura construction

FAQs

What Plants Are Best for Gravel Landscaping?

Plants that are drought-tolerant are the best options, such as lavender, santolina, phlomis, euphorbias, and cistus.

What Is Hard Landscaping?

As the title suggests, this involves using harsh, heavy, and jagged materials. In essence, it’s an aesthetic characterised by materials like brick, stone, gravel, and concrete.

What Is Soft Landscaping?

Soft landscaping involves the use of natural, biological decoration, whether with plants, trees, hedges, and so forth. If hard landscaping is the Grand Canyon, then soft landscaping is a flourishing forest.