Find a trusted landscaper in Melbourne

Clay, sand and basalt under Melbourne gardens

What’s under the lawn decides a lot of the quote. Much of Melbourne sits on clay that turns to mud in winter and cracks open over a hot, dry summer, so paving needs a properly compacted base, and many yards need agricultural drains to stop water pooling against the house. Across the western and northern suburbs, basalt rock sits not far below the surface, and an excavator that hits it slows right down.

The bayside sandbelt, from Brighton through Beaumaris to Cheltenham, has the opposite problem. Sandy soil drains so fast that new plants need improved soil, mulch and regular watering to get established.

Inner-city courtyards in suburbs like Fitzroy and Richmond are a different brief again. Every square metre counts. There’s often no side access, so soil, pavers and plants come through the house by hand, and runoff from new paving should be piped into the stormwater system rather than left to drain toward the neighbours.

Lawns, planting and Melbourne’s water rules

Most Melbourne lawns are warm-season grasses like buffalo, couch and kikuyu. They handle summer well but slow down and lose colour through a cold winter. Tall fescue stays greener in the cooler months but wants more water when it’s hot. A good landscaper will ask how much sun the yard gets and how much watering you’re prepared to do before recommending one.

Melbourne’s permanent water use rules apply to every garden: hoses need a trigger nozzle, and automatic watering systems can only run between 6pm and 10am. A landscaper fitting drip irrigation should set the controller to suit. Hardy natives and thick mulch cut both the water bill and the weeding.

Retaining walls and registration in Victoria

Sloping blocks in the eastern and north-eastern suburbs mean plenty of retaining walls. In Victoria, a wall a metre or more high, or one that protects a neighbour’s land or supports a building, generally needs a building permit and engineering. Once structural landscaping passes $10,000, the person building it must be on the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) register, typically as Domestic Builder (Limited) in structural landscaping or retaining walls. Search their name on BPC Find a practitioner (builders). Turf, planting and garden care need no licence, and our Victorian licence checks page explains each lookup.

What landscaping costs in Melbourne

Melbourne landscaping prices sit close to Sydney’s. Labour usually runs around $50 to $100 an hour. Turf goes down for roughly $10 to $25 a square metre and pavers for $60 to $120, while a retaining wall costs $250 to $700 for every square metre of face, with timber sleepers at the cheap end and engineered block at the top. A concept and planting plan from a landscape designer typically costs $1,500 to $6,000. Rock, clay that has to be carted away and a narrow path down the side of the house all lift the price. The landscaping price guide goes into more detail; treat it as a guide, not a quote.

One landscaper, matched to your yard

Instead of sending your job to a list of businesses, needatradie matches you with one local landscaper. Before you hear from them, we’ve checked their insurance, ABN and reviews, plus their BPC registration if the job is big enough to need it. Read about what landscapers do, see more Melbourne tradies, or get a free quote to get started.