Landscape design & planning

Plan it once, build it once

Most backyard budgets blow out on things nobody planned for: a level that doesn’t work, water with nowhere to go, a wall that needs footings nobody priced. A proper design finds those problems on paper, where they cost nothing to fix.

What we look at on site

• Slope, levels and how the block falls
• Where stormwater comes from, and where it can go
• Soil, sun, shade and wind in each part of the yard
• Existing trees, structures and anything that has to stay
• Access for machinery and materials
• How you actually want to use the space

What a landscape design covers

• Layout. Where the lawn, entertaining area, garden beds, paths and play or utility spaces go, and how you move between them.
• Levels and falls. Finished heights for every area, so steps, walls and paving meet cleanly and water runs the right way.
• Drainage. Where water collects, where the drains go and where they discharge. See landscape drainage.
• Walls and steps. Heights, materials and where an engineer’s design might be needed.
• Materials and finishes. Paving, stone, edging and wall finishes that suit the house and the budget.
• Planting. Trees, screening, hedging and garden beds chosen for each spot.
• Services. Irrigation zones, garden lighting and the conduits under paving, planned before anything is covered.

How the design process works

1. Site visit and brief. We walk the block with you, measure up and talk through how you want to use the yard and what you want to spend.
2. Concept layout. A first layout showing the zones, levels and main materials.
3. Refine it. We adjust it with you until it’s right: more lawn, a bigger terrace, less upkeep.
4. Final plan and quote. The agreed design becomes the scope for an itemised quote, so you know what you’re paying for before work starts.
5. Build. The same crew builds what was designed, in the right order.

Designing for Sydney blocks

Sydney backyards come with their own problems. Sloping blocks on the North Shore and Northern Beaches need terracing and serious drainage. Heavy clay in the Hills District and western suburbs holds water. Sandy coastal soils dry out fast. Summer storms dump a lot of water in a short time, and small Inner West and Eastern Suburbs yards need every square metre to work. A design that ignores these things looks good on paper and fails in the first wet summer.

Getting the most from your budget

A design lets you spend where it matters. Structure comes first: drainage, walls and levels are the parts that are hard to change later, so they’re worth doing properly. Finishes and planting can be upgraded over time. If the full yard is more than you want to spend at once, the design can be built in stages, with each stage finished and usable.

Designed by the crew that builds it

Our designs come from people who build landscapes every day, so they’re practical, buildable and priced in the real world. No hand-off between a designer and a contractor, and no surprises when the machines arrive. When it’s time to build, the same team does the landscape construction.