Find a trusted landscaper in Adelaide

Clay comes first

Clay is the first thing an Adelaide landscaper plans around. Across much of the suburban plain the ground is reactive clay, which soaks up winter rain and swells, then shrinks and cracks through summer, and that changes how a yard is built. Paving needs a well-compacted crushed rock base and a sensible fall, or pavers will rock and sink. New turf usually needs a layer of decent soil spread over the clay so the roots can take hold.

Garden beds deserve a second look too. Beds packed against the house and watered every evening can keep the clay under the footings wet while the soil around it dries out, which is a common cause of cracked walls. A good landscaper keeps beds and drippers back from the slab and makes sure water runs away from the house, not toward it.

Dry summers, slopes and the Hills

Adelaide’s hot, dry summers decide a lot of what goes in the ground. Waterwise planting, mulch and drip irrigation are standard requests, and synthetic turf has become a common answer for yards where a real lawn turns brown by late summer. If you’d rather have real grass, ask which variety suits full sun and how much water it will need from December to March.

Further up, in Belair, Stirling and the towns around Mount Barker, blocks are often sloping and rock can turn up close to the surface. Retaining walls, steps and drainage take a bigger share of the budget, and taller walls may need development approval and an engineer’s design. This is bushfire country as well, and the CFS publishes advice on keeping a garden that won’t feed a fire, such as spacing plants out and keeping fine fuel away from the house.

Landscaper licences in SA

No licence is needed in South Australia for planting, laying turf or general garden work. Paving, retaining walls and fencing are another matter: they count as building work, so the landscaper needs CBS building work contractors licensing for them. Search for them on the CBS Occupational Public Register, then check what the licence covers before agreeing to any hardscaping. Our page on checking licences in South Australia shows how the search works.

What landscaping costs in Adelaide

Landscaping prices here tend to sit a little below the east coast. Hourly rates usually fall between $50 and $100, day rates between $400 and $800, and anything sizeable gets a fixed quote. Per square metre, expect roughly $10 to $25 for new turf, $60 to $120 for synthetic turf or for paving, and $250 to $700 of wall face for a retaining wall. Small backyard makeovers commonly come to $3,000 to $10,000. Our landscaping price guide breaks these down further.

One Adelaide landscaper for your yard

Send us a few lines about the yard, what you’d like and roughly where you are. One Adelaide landscaper then gets in touch, after we’ve checked their insurance, ABN and reviews, and their CBS licence if the job includes paving or walls. We won’t hand your number to a stack of garden businesses, and homeowners never pay us. See more on landscapers, browse Adelaide trades or get a free quote.