Design + build
Concept, planting plan, and materials before any digging — then patios, decks, walls, lighting, and irrigation built by our own crew.
Design · Build · Care
From bare yard to garden.
Design-led landscaping for people who want to live outside more. Free walk-through, fixed written quotes, and a care plan so it still looks designed in year five.
Designer-led builds
Fixed written quotes
Our own crew, no subcontractors
Licensed + insured
01The studioDesign-led since 2009
- 15
- Years designing gardens
- 240++
- Gardens designed + built
- 92%%
- Build clients on a care plan
- 2
- Season plant guarantee
02ServicesDesign through care
What we do
One team from the first sketch to the fifth spring.
Planting
Native-first plant palettes chosen for your soil and light. Beds prepped, mulched, and guaranteed for two full seasons.
Lawn + seasonal care
Pruning, edging, lawn renovation, irrigation tune-ups, and the spring + autumn resets that keep a designed garden designed.
Prices
One-off work, and what design costs
Not everyone starts with a plan, and not everyone should. These are the numbers for individual visits and for the design stage itself — the part of this trade that usually hides behind "contact us".
One-off garden care
- Spring or autumn reset visitHalf day · Prune, edge, weed, mulch top-up$185
- Hedge cut, per linear metrePer metre · Arisings taken away$18
- Lawn renovation, per 100 m²Half day · Scarify, aerate, top-dress, overseed$240
- Bed weed + re-mulch, per m²Per m²$14
- Irrigation check + tune-up~2 hr$160
- Green-waste removal, per loadPer load$95
Design stage
- Walk-through consultation~1 hr · No obligation, and honest about the budgetFree
- Concept plan + plant palette2–3 weeks · Credited against the build if you proceedFrom $1,200
- Full construction drawings4–6 weeksFrom $3,400
- Planting plan only2 weeks · For clients building it themselvesFrom $850
Build elements
- Paving, per m² laidExcludes the stone itselfFrom $180
- Timber deck, per m²From $320
- Garden lighting, per fittingLow-voltage; transformer quoted separatelyFrom $210
- Raised bed, per linear metreFrom $240
- New lawn, turf, per m²Includes soil prepFrom $28
Indicative only — not a quote. Access, levels and soil decide most of the real number, which is why the walk-through comes first and the fixed written price after it.
03Sketch before shovel
How a garden happens
The walk-through
An hour in your space, free. We listen to how you want to use it, look at soil, light, and drainage, and tell you honestly what the budget buys.
Design + fixed quote
A concept plan with plant palette and materials — plus a fixed written price. You approve every line before we break ground.
The build
Our own crew, not subcontractors. Most gardens take two to five weeks. We leave the site clean every single evening.
Seasonal care
A care plan tuned to your planting. Same faces each visit, photos after every one, and a garden that gets better every year.
Gardens
Five years on, still designed
Care plans
Maintenance packages
A designed garden needs a designer's maintenance. Cancel any time after the first season.
The planting promise
If a plant we chose and planted fails inside two full growing seasons, we replace it — which is exactly why we are so fussy about soil preparation before anything goes in.
- Soil tested and prepared before planting
- Native-first palettes chosen for your light
- Fixed written quote before we break ground
- Site left clean every single evening
Covers plants we selected and planted. It does not cover drought, neglect or damage — if a summer goes badly we would rather talk about watering than argue about a replacement, and usually we can save the plant.
What clients say
4.9·184 reviews
04Straight answers
Before you call
What does a full design + build cost?+
Most projects land between $15K and $80K depending on hardscaping. The walk-through is free and we quote a fixed price — the number you approve is the number you pay.
When should we start?+
Design in winter, build in spring is the dream calendar. But we design year-round and the build waitlist is usually 4–8 weeks.
Do you guarantee the planting?+
Two full seasons. If a plant we chose and planted fails, we replace it free — that's why we're fussy about soil prep.
Can you work with our architect or an existing design?+
Yes — we regularly build from other designers' plans and collaborate with architects on new builds.
Do you remove trees?+
Selective removal and structural pruning, yes. Anything large or near a structure goes to a qualified arborist we work with rather than being attempted with a chainsaw and optimism.
What if I only want the design?+
That is a real option and we price it as one — concept plan, planting palette, or full construction drawings, yours to build with whoever you like. Plenty of clients build it themselves over three seasons, and the plan is what stops that becoming three unrelated gardens.
Will it look bare when you finish?+
Honestly, a little. We plant at sizes that establish rather than sizes that impress on handover day, because a garden crammed to look finished in year one is a thinning-out job in year three. Expect it to read properly by the second summer.
Do you work in small city gardens?+
Often — courtyards, side returns and balconies included. Small spaces are harder, not easier, and they are where a considered plan makes the most visible difference.
Service area
Where we design and build
Design and build across the metro; care plans stay closer to home, because a monthly visit only works if the drive does.
Live outside more.
One free walk-through is where every garden we've built started.
Free · no obligation · fixed quotes only
Hours
Studio and site
HoursChecking
- Monday – Friday
- 07:00 – 17:00Crews on site
- Saturday
- 09:00 – 13:00Walk-throughs by appointment
- Sunday
- Closed
Design work runs all year; the build waitlist is usually four to eight weeks and longest in spring. Winter is the quiet season for drawing and the best time to start if you want to plant in March.
Book a free walk-through
Tell us a bit about the space and how you want to use it — we'll come out for a no-obligation hour and follow up with a proposal.
- Phone
- Email
- Service areaMetro + 20 miles
- HoursMon–Fri 7am–5pm · Sat by appointment