What does a landscape design actually cost in New Zealand? An honest breakdown
Most people picture the finished garden first. The evening light across the planting, a glass of something in hand, the kids worn out on the lawn. That part’s easy to imagine.
Then comes the question nobody quite likes to say out loud: what’s all this going to cost me?
We were involved in a project once where the client was pretty sold on running a concrete path between the house and a new glasshouse. It sounded great in their head — but the moment we put it on the landscape plan, it was obvious it was in completely the wrong place. Had they gone ahead without the plan, that’s a $10,000 concrete path ripped up and re-laid in the right spot, plus the cost of shifting the glasshouse. Instead, they saved themselves the money and the headache — by investing in a design first.
So let me answer the cost question the way I’d want it answered myself — plainly.
What does a landscape design cost?
For a residential garden, we start here:
- Concept plan — from $1,800. Includes 3D visuals and full planting details, so you can see and feel the garden before you commit to a thing.
- Full construction plans — $4,500. Everything a landscaper needs to price and build it properly.
Larger gardens, pool designs and more complex sites are extra — but you’ll have a firm number before we start, never a surprise at the end.
What’s the difference between a concept plan and construction plans?
Think of it as the dream versus the instructions.
The concept plan is the vision made real — the layout, the spaces, the planting — brought to life in 3D so you’re not squinting at a flat drawing trying to picture it. It’s where most people fall in love with their garden.
The construction plans are the technical set — levels, materials, setout, specifications. The document your landscaper actually builds from, so what gets built is what you signed off, not someone’s best guess on the day.
Some clients take the concept and stop there. Others go the whole way through. Both are fine.
What happens in the free consult?
Before any money changes hands, we have a free 30-minute Teams call.
It isn’t a sales pitch. It’s two things: an honest conversation about budget, and a run through your wish list — everything you’d love the space to be. By the end, we both know whether the dream and the budget are in the same postcode, and what it’ll take to bring them together.
Do I get to see it in 3D?
Yes — 3D renders are included in both residential packages, not bolted on as an extra.
This is the part clients tell us changes everything. A flat plan asks you to imagine. A 3D visual lets you stand in the garden before it exists — see the levels, the materials, where the morning sun lands — and catch the things you’d never spot on paper.
I’m not in New Zealand — can you still design my garden?
Yes. We design gardens for clients anywhere in the world, at the same rates, invoiced in NZD.
The whole process runs remotely — the consult, the concept, the 3D visuals, the plans. Distance stopped being a barrier to a properly designed garden a long time ago. All we need from you is lots of site photos, house plans if you have them, or a site measure. If it’s a sloping site, we can arrange a professional site survey for you.
Is it actually worth it?
Here’s the honest case. A design is a small number sitting in front of a much bigger one.
The build is where the real money goes. The design is the cheap insurance that the big spend lands right the first time — that the pool’s in the sun, the planting suits the site, and you’re not paying a digger to undo a decision a pencil could have fixed.
Spend a little to get it right on paper. It’s a lot dearer to get it wrong in concrete.
If you’ve got a project on the horizon — a new build, a renovation, or just a blank lawn and a head full of ideas — book a free 30-minute consult and let’s see what’s possible.