Garden landscaping costs between £3,000 and £15,000 for most UK projects in 2026, with a national average of around £8,000. A small tidy-up with new turf starts near £1,500, while a full redesign with a patio, fencing and planting on a medium garden typically runs £8,000 to £20,000. Priced per square metre, a professionally finished garden works out at roughly £80 to £250.
That is a wide span, and it is wide for a reason. Two gardens of the same size can differ by several thousand pounds depending on ground conditions, access and how much of the existing garden has to come out before anything new goes in. The tables below break the figure down by garden size and by individual element so you can build a realistic budget rather than a guess.
Garden Landscaping Cost by Garden Size
Garden size is the single biggest factor in the final bill, because almost every element of a landscaping project is priced by the square metre or the linear metre. The table below shows typical 2026 ranges for a refresh compared with a full design and build.
| Garden size | Tidy and refresh | Full redesign | Typical property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 40 square metres | £1,500 to £4,000 | £4,000 to £10,000 | Terrace or small semi |
| 40 to 100 square metres | £3,000 to £7,000 | £8,000 to £20,000 | Standard semi detached |
| 100 to 200 square metres | £5,000 to £12,000 | £18,000 to £35,000 | Larger semi or detached |
| Over 200 square metres | £8,000 to £18,000 | £30,000 and above | Detached with large plot |
A refresh means clearing the garden, repairing or relaying the lawn, tidying the borders and replacing tired fence panels. A full redesign means taking the garden back to soil and rebuilding it, which usually includes excavation, a new patio, drainage, new boundaries and a planting scheme.
Landscaping Prices UK 2026 by Element
Landscaping prices in the UK for 2026 are usually quoted per square metre for surfaces and per linear metre for boundaries. Building your budget element by element is the most reliable way to sense check a quote, because it shows you where the money is actually going.
| Element | Typical installed price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Garden clearance and skip | £300 to £900 | Depends on volume and access |
| Ground preparation and topsoil | £10 to £25 per m² | Rarely itemised but always needed |
| Turf laid, including prep | £15 to £30 per m² | Around £18 per m² is common |
| Grass seeding | £3 to £10 per m² | Cheaper, but six to eight weeks to establish |
| Artificial grass | £40 to £100 per m² | Higher upfront, lower yearly upkeep |
| Patio, concrete slabs | £50 to £80 per m² | Budget option |
| Patio, Indian sandstone | £80 to £130 per m² | Mid range, most popular |
| Patio, porcelain | £100 to £180 per m² | Premium, low maintenance |
| Timber decking | £50 to £120 per m² | Lasts 12 to 18 years treated |
| Composite decking | £120 to £200 per m² | Lasts 25 to 30 years |
| Gravel paths and borders | £40 to £70 per m² | Cheapest surfacing option |
| Fencing installed | £80 to £160 per linear m | Concrete posts add £15 to £25 each |
| Brick or stone garden wall | £200 to £450 per linear m | Retaining walls cost more |
| Garden levelling | £20 to £120 per m² | Depends on the slope and spoil removal |
| Planted borders | £600 to £2,500 | Varies hugely with plant size |
| Garden design fee | £600 to £3,000 | Some builders include a basic plan |
Two of these deserve a closer look before you commit. Artificial grass costs more upfront than turf but removes most of the yearly upkeep, and we cover the full sums in our guide to artificial grass cost. Boundaries are the other line that often surprises people, so it is worth reading up on garden wall cost before you decide between a wall and a fence.
Garden Makeover Cost vs Full Redesign
Garden makeover cost usually falls between £2,000 and £8,000, while a full redesign on the same garden commonly costs two to three times that. The difference is not the finish, it is how much groundwork sits underneath it.
A makeover works with the garden you already have. The layout stays roughly the same, the existing patio is cleaned or partly relaid, the lawn is repaired or returfed, fence panels are swapped and the borders are replanted. It is the right choice when the bones of the garden are sound and it simply looks tired.
A redesign changes the layout. That means excavating, moving levels, taking out old foundations, laying new sub bases and often improving drainage before a single slab is set. Excavation and spoil removal alone can account for a fifth of the budget on a sloped or heavily built-up garden.
The honest test is whether your frustration is with how the garden looks or with how it works. If the patio is in the wrong place, the lawn is unusable for half the year or the levels do not suit how you want to live outside, a makeover will not fix it. Levelling a sloping garden is a good example, because it always needs proper structural work rather than a surface tidy.
What Affects the Cost to Landscape a Garden
The cost to landscape a garden is driven by six things: size, access, ground conditions, how much has to be removed, the materials you choose and how much structural work sits below the surface. Size and materials are obvious. The other four are where quotes diverge.
Access
A back garden with no side access means every barrow of spoil goes out through the house or over a fence, and every tonne of aggregate comes in the same way. On a terrace with rear alley access only, this can add one to two days of labour to a job that would otherwise be straightforward.
Ground conditions
Clay holds water and moves with the seasons, so patios and lawns both need deeper preparation than they would on free draining ground. On clay, a lawn needs 100mm to 150mm of good topsoil above it or the roots hit the clay pan and the turf thins within two growing seasons.
What has to come out first
Old concrete bases, tree stumps, buried rubble from a previous build and Japanese knotweed all cost money to remove before anything new starts. None of it shows in the finished garden, which is why it is the part most often left out of cheap quotes.
Drainage
If water sits on the lawn after rain, that has to be dealt with before you lay anything over it. Adding drainage retrospectively costs far more than building it in at the start.
Structural work
Retaining walls, raised terraces, steps and anything holding back a change in level are engineered elements rather than decorative ones. They carry the highest cost per metre of anything in a typical garden.
Season
Landscapers are busiest between March and September. Booking outside that window can improve both availability and price, and most hard landscaping can be carried out through the winter provided the ground is not frozen.
Landscaping Costs in Trafford and Manchester
Landscaping costs across Trafford and Greater Manchester generally sit at or slightly below the national average, because labour rates in the North West run lower than in London and the South East. Expect a skilled landscaper day rate of roughly £200 to £320, and £350 to £500 for a two person crew.
Two local factors push the other way. The first is ground. Much of Trafford sits on clay, which means deeper excavation and more sub base than a sandy site would need, and it is the main reason a patio quote here can look higher per square metre than a national guide suggests.
The second is rainfall. Greater Manchester is wetter than most of England, so drainage is not an optional extra on a garden project here. Building it in properly at the start is far cheaper than digging a finished lawn back up two winters later.
Property type matters as well. The Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis common across Sale, Stretford and Urmston tend to have narrow rear gardens with restricted access, while the larger detached plots around Hale and Altrincham allow machinery on site and often work out lower per square metre despite a higher total.
You can see completed work and the finishes we use on our recent landscaping projects page, or read more about landscaping in Sale and landscaping in Altrincham.
How to Keep Landscaping Costs Down
The most effective savings come from the design stage rather than the build stage, because reducing the area of hard landscaping cuts both material and labour at the same time.
- Reduce the paved area. A smaller, well placed patio with a larger lawn costs less than paving the whole garden and usually looks better.
- Phase the work. Hard landscaping and boundaries first, planting and finishing in a later phase once the structure is in.
- Choose mid range paving. The jump from budget concrete to sandstone makes a bigger visible difference than the jump from sandstone to porcelain.
- Keep existing levels where you can. Changing levels means excavation, spoil removal and retaining structures, all of which are expensive.
- Book outside the March to September peak if your timing is flexible.
- Use smaller plants. Young stock costs a fraction of mature specimens and catches up within two or three seasons.
One thing not worth saving on is preparation. Ground work, sub base and drainage are what decide whether the garden still looks right in ten years, and they are the hardest and most expensive things to put right afterwards.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a small garden makeover cost?
A small garden of up to 40 square metres typically costs £1,500 to £4,000 for a tidy and refresh, or £4,000 to £10,000 for a full redesign with a new patio, boundaries and planting.
How long does a garden landscaping project take?
A refresh on a small garden usually takes two to four days. A full redesign on a medium garden commonly takes two to four weeks, depending on access, weather and how much groundwork is needed.
Do I need planning permission for garden landscaping?
Most garden landscaping does not need permission. You will normally need it for a wall or fence over two metres, or over one metre where it sits beside a road, for decking raised more than 300mm above ground level, and for tree work in a conservation area or on a protected tree.
Is landscaping cheaper in winter?
Availability is better and prices can be more competitive outside the March to September peak. Most hard landscaping can be carried out through winter, though turfing and planting are usually better left until conditions improve.
Should I pay for a garden design first?
A separate design costs £600 to £3,000 and is worth it on a complex or sloped garden where levels and drainage have to be resolved before building. On a straightforward rectangular plot, many landscapers include a working plan within the project quote. Ask which applies before you pay for a design separately.
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