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Original poster

Anyone had their entire garden redone/landscaped? Can I ask how much it cost?

78 replies

IHeartKingThistle · 01/02/2015 11:50

We have a disaster of a garden that needs professional help! It is very wide and wraps around the house at both sides (detached house) but is also very shallow - less than 4 metres from back of house to hedge. The hedge is massive, made of various trees and bushes, and backs onto a lane so needs to stay. It is full of brambles and nettles.

There is a crappy old patio in a place that gets no sun, so that needs removing. There is a massive old compost heap. The lawn is sloping and mostly made of moss. There are fences on both sides - one is broken and one is covered in old creepers. There are tree stumps and random gravelled areas that the previous owners put in.

Told you it was bad!

We would like to level it, add a small patio and a large deck, restrain then hedge somehow with a mowing strip or low wall, and just generally make it look less of an embarrassment. It's going to be a big job!

I've been saving for this for a while but have no idea how much I might need. Does anyone have any experience of doing a job like this?

OP posts:
Original poster
IHeartKingThistle · 01/02/2015 13:08

Bump?

OP posts:
JoanHickson · 01/02/2015 13:11

It will depend on where you live.

Original poster
IHeartKingThistle · 01/02/2015 13:16

I was meaning to put that! In Surrey (which won't help!)

OP posts:
Moniker1 · 01/02/2015 13:29

I had an area 60 square metres (very approx.) done for 17,000. Cleared and replanted, remember the plants cost a bit, plus a low edging wall built of loose stones.
Oh, another bed cleared and grassed. And a short gravel path put in.

I am in a v cheap part of the country.

I would advise getting a few people round to give suggestions/ quotes - they will probably come up with much better ideas than you have. Also you could ask maybe separate quotes for just doing the lawn or just trimming the hedge but that will work out more expensive. They will prob want to do it all.

Probably you should ask if there are examples of their work you can go and see because some designers are rubbish, I had someone clear a steep banking and a plant a few v expensive rhododendrons (his design), and that was it. 2 seasons later the ground was awash with dandelions and brambles. Had it redone again by someone who was a prof gardener but worked on the cheap at weekends.

Maybe there are gardeners around now looking for work, you could just get someone to clear the hedge/ old trees as long as they had a trailer. Then see how it looks. Ask around.

Original poster
IHeartKingThistle · 01/02/2015 19:31

17,000?

OP posts:
Apatite1 · 01/02/2015 21:21

I have 50 sqm to do and 10k was the bare minimum, more like 25k for something v special. It'll get done after the house, and not during!

bonhomme · 01/02/2015 21:28

OMGc- can't believe it would cost that much I would sort it out yourselves.

Original poster
IHeartKingThistle · 01/02/2015 21:39

Shock Shock Shock

I wish we could do it ourselves - it's gone beyond that! I have spent days out there in the past clearing brambles and nettles and hedge, and it's all back within weeks. The rest of it is a heavy machinery job!

OP posts:
RaphaellaTheSpanishWaterDog · 01/02/2015 23:01

Nothing's impossible OP - 18 years ago we bought a house that had been divided into four flats that had been let to tenants. Neither they nor the landlord gave a monkeys about the garden which, by the time we purchased was 200 sq m of shoulder-height brambles. It was so bad that when we viewed the house we literally couldn't get into the garden!

We - being young and poor (after investing all our cash in the purchase and internal work that we couldn't do ourselves such as rewiring) - had little option but to tackle the garden ourselves. It took a ton of weed killer and god knows how many years hours of digging, but eventually we transformed it from overgrown tip to manicured lawn and borders.

Along the way we even found a six-seater circular modular garden table and chairs set (chairs attached like spokes of a wheel!) buried unseen in the undergrowth.....oh, and an air raid shelter!

DS who was tiny then, had enormous fun hindering helping with the work.

Saved us a fortune in landscape gardener costs, it was extremely rewarding and we got fit too....

Even if you could do some of the labour yourself it would save you some £££

Original poster
IHeartKingThistle · 01/02/2015 23:20

I'm happy to start the clearing and get rid of the compost heap and patio. It might be easier to see what can be done then I suppose!

OP posts:
Moniker1 · 02/02/2015 07:36

I have a big garden and the first thing to do each year is weed kill in the spring when everything like brambles are coming through. And it will take several sprayings.

Perhaps if you have DCs do half the garden so there is half weed killer free area for them. Likewise shrubs, you can saw off a few branches and paint on tree stump killer. Trees really need removed now before the sap starts to rise.

Scrape moss off the patio and mop on bleach diluted in water on a dry day, maybe 1:3, once it is cleaned up it will look better whether in the right place or no. You never know in really hot weather you might be glad of a shaded patio.

Have you just moved in? If you have then wait a year at least, the old fence covered in creepers might be a spectacular rose and clematis covered feature in the summer.

TheUnwillingNarcheska · 02/02/2015 07:57

My friend had a flat boring garden made into a raised bed borders garden with a small patio area and it cost £5k. I was shocked.

My own garden was 10ft high shrubs about 8-9ft deep all the way round and every 4th plant was a prickle bush. I had a 3 year old at the time and I just went at it methodically. We bought a decent shredder so that when we cut stuff down we shredded what we could and burnt the rest in a brazier thing. You have to keep on it though. It is better in summer as you can go at it for a good few hours every evening.

Maybe you could find a landscaper and find out how much they charge per day. I am in Yorkshire and paid for a tree surgeon to remove 2 unstable trees (taller than 2 storey house) and then chain saw my entire side garden down to a decent level about 20m in length and it cost me about £700. Welcome to the North Grin

TheUnwillingNarcheska · 02/02/2015 07:58

I second the stump killer. Stops you wanting to face plant when you see the damn thing has started to grow back.

engeika · 02/02/2015 09:10

Mine cost £6k. Small London garden roughly 4m X 6m. Levelling, paving, two raised brick flowerbeds, a small set of steps, drainage. No fencing - that was in place. Worth it though.

Comito · 02/02/2015 09:31

Complete landscape and redesign. £16K but they did an amazing job and we always get compliments on how lovely the garden is. Size-wise, it's about 50 feet long and about 20 wide.

Pufflemum · 02/02/2015 09:35

I'm also in Surrey and have just received plans and a quote for a partial garden redesign. £16,000 inclusive of VAT. It's around three weeks work for three people and includes all materials, hire of mini excavator to do the new lawn and flower beds, but does not include plants. These are expected to be around £1000 at cost. It's an expensive business!

Original poster
IHeartKingThistle · 02/02/2015 09:52

This is really useful, thanks. I've saved 2k so far and thought I was well on the way! I guess it might take a bit longer!

OP posts:
kaymondo · 02/02/2015 10:16

We paid £10k this summer to do our garden which sounds a similar shape to yours - quite shallow but wraps around the house. We had lots of old patio, trellis and shed removed, about 10 trees taken out, garden levelled and new lawn put in, then new patio down. They put in a chip bark play area for the kids where we've now ht a big wooden climbing frame. We also had lots of new plants and some new trees. It was expensive but for us was worth every penny as with young kids you do spend a lot more time in your garden.

Original poster
IHeartKingThistle · 02/02/2015 10:45

Thanks kaymondo - are you in the SE?

OP posts:
MrSimms · 02/02/2015 10:52

I go a local one man band to do it for around £8k, including a new shed and all materials for some raised beds and hard lanscaping. It took about 8 weeks and I'm very happy with the results. I did know more or less what I wanted, he didn't do any plans etc, just contributed a few ideas to my own.

I did consider having a garden design company it to do it, but they want £100s just to come and have a look, £1000s to do the drawings and then you start thinking about what the work will cost.

LBOCS · 02/02/2015 21:48

We did our 6x12m garden last year, it was horrendous when we moved in. We had the ground cleared and rotovated for about £1500, spent £2100 on fencing (plus installation) for both lengths of the garden, plus the creation of two raised beds (made from hardwood sleepers). We turfed the majority of it, have filled up the raised beds with bulbs and plants (mostly bought from Thomson and Morgan on clubcard deals) and cleaned off the patio area. I think it has cost £4000 in all. It's nothing special but it has created space we can use with the kids and our friends.

Greencheese · 02/02/2015 22:35

I'm shocked at the amount of money it costs! Does it cost as much to just to get it de-weeded and just rotavated so you can just plant grass seed etc?

LBOCS · 02/02/2015 22:45

No, it was just £1500 (less even) to get it clear and rotovated.

LondonGirl83 · 02/02/2015 22:49

6k for a 36sqm garden

MoreBeta · 02/02/2015 22:50

I am having mine done right now.

The plan is to establish a rose garden. Its a complete clearance front and back, repaving in reclaimed victorian bricks on paths, patios and back yards, building planters, repointing walls, relaying lawns, gravel, reshaping beds, planting 50 - 60 roses and hedges.

DW doesn't know what its costing.