# Landscaping & groundworks – what to charge in 2026 (UK)
For landscaping, you've got a wide spread: small garden jobs at £200–£400 a day, big makeovers in the tens of thousands. 2026 rates are strong, but so are material and labour costs, so pricing needs to be tight.
1. Day rates – landscaping in 2026
These are labour‑only bands, pre‑VAT, for landscape gardeners and small landscaping teams.
UK‑wide guides say landscapers charge about £150–£350 per day for labour. A 2026 regional guide breaks it down to around £180–£260/day for sole traders in the South East, with total project day‑rates (including labour for multiple workers and plant) reaching £320–£460/day or more.
Newly qualified / first year self‑employed
- London & South East: £160–£200/day
- Midlands: £140–£180/day
- North of England: £130–£170/day
- Scotland / Wales / rural: £130–£170/day
Experienced (around 3–5 years on your own)
- London & South East: £200–£260/day
- Midlands: £160–£220/day
- North of England: £150–£210/day
- Scotland / Wales / rural: £150–£210/day
Highly experienced / specialist (hard landscaping, design‑led)
- London & South East: £260–£350+/day
- Midlands: £200–£280/day
- North of England: £190–£260/day
- Scotland / Wales / rural: £180–£250/day
In London, 2026 price guides show hourly rates of £35–£70/hour and full‑day charges of £200–£350/day for a single landscaper, higher for teams.
2. Common landscaping jobs and 2026 price ranges
Typical labour + standard materials prices from 2026 guides; exact numbers move with spec and access.
New lawn (turf) install
- Typical price: £20–£50/m² including turf and labour.
- Includes: Basic ground prep, laying turf, initial watering.
- Price goes up if: Heavy levelling, removal of old lawn, poor access.
Artificial grass install
- Typical price: £45–£100/m² including grass, base and labour.
- Includes: Excavation, base, membrane, grass laying, jointing.
- Price goes up if: Deep dig, poor drainage, high‑end grass.
Patio installation (standard paving)
- Typical price: £80–£150/m² depending on paving type and ground conditions.
- Includes: Excavation, sub‑base, laying slabs, pointing.
- Price goes up if: Complex patterns, porcelain slabs, drainage, lots of cutting.
Garden redesign and planting
- Typical price: £1,450–£7,250 for a typical redesign and planting job.
- Includes: Design, bed prep, plants, mulch.
- Price goes up if: Large mature plants, complex schemes, irrigation.
Raised beds
- Typical price: £435–£1,450 per raised bed depending on size and materials.
- Includes: Construction, fill, basic planting.
- Price goes up if: Brickwork/sleepers vs simple timber, integrated seating.
Pergola plus planting
- Typical price: £2,900–£10,150 for pergola, planting, and associated works.
- Includes: Pergola structure, posts/footings, climbing plants, some hard landscaping.
- Price goes up if: Custom pergola, electrics, premium materials.
Full garden makeover (medium garden)
- Typical price: £4,350–£21,750 for full makeovers (patio, lawn, planting, paths, features) depending on spec and size.
- Includes: Soft and hard landscaping, typically a multi‑week job.
- Price goes up if: Lots of hardscape, levels, walls, drainage issues.
Garden design (plans only)
- Typical price: £725–£2,900 for design work on its own in London, lower elsewhere.
- Includes: Site visit, plan drawings, planting schemes.
- Often a separate service from the build.
Basic maintenance day
- Many landscapers also offer maintenance; typical day rates align with the lower end of their band, around £150–£220/day depending on region and scope.
These are the numbers homeowners are seeing in 2026 landscaping cost guides, so they won't clash with what they Google.
3. What landscapers actually earn (2026)
Employee landscaper earnings vary a lot by region and level.
One 2026 salary dataset shows average landscaper total earnings (incl. benefits) around £50,500/year, with a wide range from about £22,000 to £78,200.
By experience:
- 0–2 years: ~£27,400
- 2–5 years: ~£40,900
- 5–10 years: ~£53,300
- 10+ years: £60k+ average.
Those figures include benefits and are regional, but they show that experienced landscapers can justify solid incomes.
Self‑employed:
- On £200–£260/day, billing ~180–200 days/year, gross revenue is £36,000–£52,000.
- After van, fuel, tools, plant hire, waste, staff, and bad weather downtime, net profit can be significantly lower unless you price design and hard landscaping properly and use deposits and stage payments.
4. What's usually NOT included in landscaping quotes
Landscaping is full of extras if you don't draw a line. Common "not included" items:
Design and drawings Detailed plans, 3D visuals, planting plans – often charged separately from build.
Major groundworks and drainage Deep excavations, soakaways, large drainage systems – usually extra or a separate civil job.
Waste removal beyond a basic allowance Large volumes of soil, rubble, old patios, sheds – additional skips or grab lorries.
Ongoing maintenance Lawn care, pruning, re‑planting after the initial establishment period.
Services and utilities Running power/water to outbuildings, lighting wiring, plumbing for outside taps – usually separate trades.
5. How landscapers charge – day rate vs fixed price
Domestic landscaping
Most domestic landscaping is fixed‑price per project:
- New lawns, patios, raised beds, planting schemes, full makeovers – all quoted as a total figure.
Behind the scenes, landscapers use:
- A target day rate
- Expected productivity (m² of patio/turf per day)
- Allowances for plant hire and waste.
Day or hourly rates show up when:
- You're doing small jobs, odd days of help, or open‑ended maintenance.
- Scope is fuzzy and you've agreed "time and materials".
Commercial and larger projects
Bigger schemes often involve staged payments against milestones and may be priced as a mix of fixed‑price elements and day‑work for variations.
Domestic landscaping = mostly fixed project prices, built from day rates and per‑m²/linear numbers under the bonnet.
6. Materials and markup – landscaping (2026)
Hard landscaping materials are expensive and heavy; soft landscaping has plant risk. You need margin.
- On aggregates, timber, basic paving, soil, plants and consumables, markups of 10–20% are typical to cover ordering, delivery, storage and waste.
- On premium products (porcelain, hardwood decking, bespoke planters, specimen trees), markups of 15–25% are common because you're taking on product choice, damage risk and warranty issues.
- Many landscapers split quotes into: hardscape, softscape, and design, each with its own margin, rather than trying to hide everything in one blended rate.
Simple way to explain it:
"There's a margin on materials so I can cover the time and risk of ordering, delivering and handling waste. You still get my trade and bulk prices, which are usually better than buying bit‑by‑bit yourself."
What to do next
- Read: 14.2 – How to price your first job without underselling yourself
- Read: 14.6 – Pricing domestic vs commercial – different worlds
- Read: 14.10 – Cashflow and pricing – why a profitable job can still break you (weather and big material spends hit landscapers hard)
- Read: 14.1 – Day rate vs price work vs quoted
- Download: Payment schedule and deposit terms template
- Use: Late Payment Calculator – to see what "we'll pay on completion" is doing when you've paid all the merchants upfront
Sources (UK, 2026‑relevant)
- Checkatrade and NearbyTraders – landscaping cost guides 2025–26, day rates and per‑m² pricing.
- London landscaping cost guides – 2026 hourly and day rates, project price ranges for gardens, patios, planting.
- ERI / salary datasets – landscaper earnings by experience level and region.
- ONS – Employee earnings in the UK (ASHE) – construction and building trades.
- Contractor markup resources – typical materials margin ranges for small construction businesses.
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