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Slopes, walls and where the water goes

A lot of Brisbane landscaping starts with a hill. Blocks in Bardon, Ashgrove, The Gap and Kenmore can drop several metres from the street to the back fence, so terracing and retaining walls are often the first part of the job. Brisbane City Council’s guidance is that a wall doesn’t need building approval only when the wall plus the fill or cut it holds is no more than 1 metre high, it sits at least 1.5 metres from a building or another retaining wall, there’s no extra load like a driveway or shed near the top, and it isn’t part of a pool fence. Anything else needs building approval and, in most cases, an engineer’s design.

Drainage is the other half of a Brisbane yard. A summer storm can drop a lot of water in a very short time, and paving or a new wall that changes how a yard falls can send it under the house or onto the neighbour’s place. Ask the landscaper where the water will go: agricultural drains behind walls, a swale across the lawn, or a pit connected to the stormwater. If your yard sits in an overland flow path, check the council’s flood mapping before raising any levels.

Growing things in a subtropical yard

Brisbane gardens grow fast. Warm-season grasses like buffalo, couch and zoysia are the usual lawns, and they establish quickest when laid from spring to early autumn. Plants need to cope with steamy summers, heavy rain and a dry spell through winter, and a good landscaper will steer you toward species that suit your soil and how much shade you have.

Think about trees early. Some fast-growing species planted close to the house end up lifting paving and finding their way into drains, and big existing trees need a check before anyone fires up a chainsaw. Some vegetation in Brisbane is protected under council local law, and pruning or removing it may need a permit. A landscaper who works locally should know to check first.

Structural landscaping and the QBCC

In Queensland, a gardener laying turf or planting out beds doesn’t need a QBCC licence. The line is structural work: once retaining walls, paving, pergolas, decks or fences push the job past $3,300 in labour and materials, the landscaper must hold a QBCC Structural landscaping licence. Search the business on the QBCC licensee register and check that the class matches the work. Our Queensland licence checks page explains the other lookups.

Landscaping prices in Brisbane

Brisbane is mid-range for landscaping. Turf is the cheap part, at about $10 to $25 a square metre laid, while pavers typically cost $60 to $120 a square metre and a retaining wall $250 to $700 for every square metre of face. A small backyard makeover usually lands between $3,000 and $10,000. On a steep block, excavation, drainage and walls can be the biggest lines on the quote. The landscaping price guide has the full list, all of it indicative.

One landscaper for your Brisbane yard

Describe the yard, how steep it is and the result you’re after, and we’ll find you one local landscaper whose licence, insurance, ABN and reviews we’ve checked. It’s free, and we don’t hand your number around. Read how we match landscapers, see more Brisbane trades, or get a free quote.