Average Cost of Landscaping Design

Last Updated on October 2, 2023 by Kyle Whitley

We all know that the average cost of landscaping design will vary depending on the type of work required. However, one thing remains constant: For any landscaping project, you’ll need to consider costs for materials, permits, installation, and labor. Let’s look at the average cost of landscaping design and see how much you need to budget to get the landscape you desire.

What is Landscape Design?

Landscape design is the process of combining elements in a garden or landscape, such as plants, hard surfaces (such as paving slabs), structures (such as walls and pergolas), to make an attractive or functional whole landscape. Plantings may be grouped into formal or informal layers in the landscape. The hard landscaping and structures are created to give year-round visual interest, such as adding a water feature to a garden.

A landscape designer would provide lots of services that could help you plan and make your landscape. For example, they would advise the homeowner on planting design, constructing areas for specific plants and structures (such as water features, patios, or walkways), and installing shrubbery.

How Much Does Landscaping Design Cost?

The average cost of landscaping design depends on the type of work required. For a simpler project, the costs will come to less than $100 per hour for verbal consultation from a landscape designer. On average, for more complex projects, you’ll need to plan on a minimum budget of around $1,800 for materials, material labor costs as well as permit fees, and installation costs.

A professional design created by a landscape architect can cost as much as $5000 to $10000.Landscape designers will charge an average cost of $1,500 to $2,000 per project based on its size and complexity. To get a professional design, you will have to pay more.

Landscaping design costs can be a little tricky to calculate. Many variables need to be taken into consideration before coming up with an estimate. Some examples of variables that need to be considered in designing your landscape are the size of your garden or yard, what type of plants you need, the types and quality of materials used for construction, and possible municipal codes that will need to be adhered to.

If landscape design has water requirements and irrigation is required getting water lines installed could factor into the cost. Adding electricity for landscape lighting could affect the cost as well.

 

Steps to Estimating Landscape Design Costs

• Estimate the size of your garden or yard or area to be landscaped and the scope of work required.
• Calculate how much square footage you need each day for material and labor costs
• Calculate the cost of your materials for installation (plants, hardscape materials, and structures)
• Determine the cost professional team of landscapers do the installation. If you are up to the task, do it yourself to save some money.

So What Comes With the Price of Landscape Design

One of the most important parts of landscape design is planning.  A landscape designer will analyze the property before they even make a design. They will take into account the soil type, sun exposure, and water drainage patterns to create a design that fits your yard’s specific needs.
It really is all in the details.  Making sure the design works for your landscape is the most important factor.

A landscape designer will consider the climate, the natural topography, and the specific requirements of a client. They will also have to consider the desired style and what can be grown in an area. So essentially, you are paying for expertise in getting the correct landscape plan for your specific situation.

What does the landscape designer provide to you?

Generally, the landscape designer will provide a detailed plan with the information below to you with your design:

• Municipal code research
• Computer-generated design and possibly a 3D rendering of the landscape
• Materials list (products being used), and specific construction plans for the design
• Project cost estimation
• List of permits needed for construction

This comprehensive plan should cover everything you need to help complete your design.

3 Tips to Save Money on Your Landscaping Design

Landscape design work can become expensive. Here are a few tips that will help make the design work a little less expensive.

1. Do the work in phases – If you need to redesign your entire landscape, break up the redesign into several projects instead of one big project.  Breaking up will lessen design, material, and labor fees. For example, instead of redoing the entire garden or yard, install a water feature and plants.

2. Keep what you have – instead of ripping everything up and replacing it, having a designer incorporate some of the existing landscape design into the new plan is a great way to minimize disruption and save money.

3. Do it Yourself – to really keep costs down, you can do the design yourself.  There are software products on the market that can help design your own landscape design if you are not up to paying a professional landscape designer.

 

Landscape Design Cost FAQ

What is the average cost of a landscaping design?
According to costhelper.com, the average cost of hiring a professional landscape designer to create a landscape plan for you is between $300 – $2500.

How much does it cost to hire professional landscape designers?
If you were to hire them by the hour, landscape designers would charge between $50 – $100 per hour. However, they usually charge by the project, which has an average price of around $1800.

What factors may influence the cost of a landscaping design?
Some of the factors to consider are the scope of the design, your geography, the size of the landscape, types of plants and materials used, municipal codes, and post-install maintenance costs.

The Bottom Line: Average Cost of Landscaping Design

The cost of a landscaping professional design varies depending on the size and scope of your project. Particularly, if you want a more complex landscape, you’ll need to budget for materials and labor costs as well as permit fees and installation fees.

The costs could be offset by handling some of the work yourself as well.  Either having a professional design the plan for your or doing it yourself, the design will help you get your desired landscape.