If you’re reading this, you understand what a magical place a garden can be. Where some see little more than a patch of of fenced-in lawn with a shed at one end, you see possibility.
It’s a safe place for your kids to play, somewhere you can relax on a sunny afternoon, a party venue and loads more besides. All you need is the right pro to make your garden dreams a reality.
A quality landscaper will help you create the garden of your dreams. But, for many people, finding someone you can trust to get the job done right is easier said than done.
Well, that ends today. Here at Bark, we believe finding skilled local landscape designers online should be quick and easy. So right now, we’re going to show you how to find the right pro you.
How to work out your budget
Before we get started, let’s talk price. A good landscaper will usually tailor their plans to fit your budget, but there are a couple of factors that might affect their quote.
For one thing, if your garden sits on difficult terrain, you may need to pay more to get the end result you’re looking for. As one of our pros told us recently, it’s a lot harder to turf a sloping lawn than a flat one.
But, to help you work out a ballpark figure, we’ve created a handy tool to show you what fixing up your garden is likely to cost. We call it the Budget Estimator, and how it works is simple.
When you place a Bark on our site, it shows you a summary of what people with similar requirements are usually quoted. This should give you a ‘rough and ready’ idea of what a realistic budget is for your project.
What to look for in a landscape gardener
With the question of what your project is likely to cost out of the way, it’s time to start comparing quotes – and that’s what we do best.
From the moment you place your Bark, we’ll start contacting skilled landscapers in your area, and you’ll often start receiving quotes within a couple of hours.
Everyone you hear from will be ready and available to renovate your garden, so all that’s left is for you to choose your favourite. Here’s a few things to think about when making your decision:
- Do they have a solid reputation?
Reviews are a great way to gauge what to expect from a landscaper, which is why we assign our pros ‘star ratings’ based on how previous customers felt about their work.
Be sure to take a look at each pro’s Bark profile and website to see what people have been saying about them.
- What’s their portfolio like?
A smart company will only post their best work online, so don’t be surprised if every landscaper you find has a great portfolio.
But having said that, they’re still well worth looking at to get a feel for the kind of work each pro normally does. Check to see if they’ve done the sort of thing you’re looking for in the past and made a good job of it.
- Are you looking for specialization?
Many landscaping companies have teams of specialists to help with the different aspects of your project.
It can work out cheaper to hire individuals for each task separately, but generally people prefer the convenience of having one firm that can handle everything for them.
- Do they have local experience?
When it comes to gardening services, local businesses have a real edge. They know which plants are most likely to thrive in your specific microclimate and they’re familiar with local laws and regulations.
That’s why we believe it pays to find someone with local experience to fix up your garden, rather than going to a major chain.
When you find someone you like the look of, invite them round to take a look at your garden and give you an estimate. Most landscapers will provide free consultations, and it’s a great opportunity to ask a final few questions to iron out the important details:
How many years’ experience do they have? Are they fully insured? Are they certified by a UK Trade Association? What’s the breakdown of their quote? And does their work come with a guarantee?
Once you’re satisfied you’ve found the right pro, all that’s left is to get a written contract of works and get the ball rolling – job done!
Get FREE landscaping quotes today
Now you’ve seen how easy it can be to hire a landscaper with Bark, it’s time to get you the garden on your dreams.
Remember, we do all the legwork for you to find the best landscapers in your area, and send personalised estimates direct to your inbox. Simply click the link below to find skilled landscapers in your area today.
My husband and I just moved into a new home that we absolutely love, but the yard isn’t as beautiful as the home itself. I like how you point out that when you hire a landscape designer, you can have someone that has your budget in mind, and will make the most of the money you have to spend. I imagine that it will be beneficial for us to do our research to make sure that we find a landscaper who is reputable and has good reviews. Thanks for these insights!
As landscape gardeners ourselves we take pride in providing all the points you have mentioned above in your article! Especially the points about being insured & having a guarantee.
In your article, you stated that if your garden sits on difficult terrain, you may need to pay more to get the end result you’re looking for. Do most landscape contractors have the tools and experienced to be able to work with any type of terrain? My wife does not like how our backyard looks and wants to add a garden, along with some other features. Hiring a professional landscape contractor might be our best option.
Thank you for informing me about how to find the right landscape designer. It is good to learn that a good service will offer to do the needed work for a price within your budget. Something to consider would be to hire someone local to make the job more convenient to complete.
I have finally put some money down to have my backyard redone. I want it to be a beautiful place that the family can hang out and enjoy the outdoors. After searching a little bit for a landscape contractor. I like what you mentioned about finding specialists to do each individual portion of the yard. I have an area that I want rocks, and another area of grass, so it might be a good idea to find two different specialists.
Liked the point about talking about the budget first – obviously every client does want to get a fair price for their grounds maintenance services, be it landscaping or just site clearance or whatever tree works, but they often do not have a budget in mind at all initially, and often are then taken aback by a quote for a more complex works (it’s pretty straight forward when one wants only a one-off fencing installation or whatever) and the prices can vary significantly when they want to order a long-term grounds maintenance solutions e.g. for a yearly contract.
Thanks for a great article, found this very informative
It is good to know that a landscaper will usually tailor their plans to fit your budget. I did not know that if your garden sits on difficult terrain, you may need to pay more to get the end result you are looking for. My sister recently had success with her landscape designer because her input was taken into consideration as well as their professional opinions.
Thanks for the tips for hiring a a landscaping contractor. I like how the first thing you mentioned was looking at their reputation. Looking online and asking people are two good ways to find someone with a good reputation.
I appreciate you talking about low a good landscaper would tailor their services to fit your style and budget. My parents just moved to a new house and it needs some landscape upkeep. Personally, I would want to choose someone that has experience with the terrain in my area and can provide useful advice on how to care for my grass and flowers.
Before hiring the landscapers, we should get all the information about their work and experience.We never hire any company without knowing their work experience.
My brother recently purchased a new home. The yard isn’t finished, so he’s looking for a good landscape designer to help him create a plan for a beautiful area. I didn’t realize how important it is to look at a professional’s portfolio to see if they’ve completed tasks similar to your own. I’ll be sure to share this tip with my brother.
Beyond the obvious advantage of a skilled and beautiful design, there are some garden projects that will require a landscape gardeners experienced input. Projects involving more skilled work such as tree planting, turf laying, and tree surgery will require an expert to ensure it is done safely and correctly – enlisting the help of a landscape designer will ensure these tasks are tackled correctly on your behalf.
Thanks for advising us that we check out reviews for different companies online to make sure they have a great reputation. My husband and I are planning on redoing our backyard, so we are looking for a great professional landscaping company to help us. We will definitely be looking at what reviews say about the different professional landscaping firms we consider.
My wife has been looking for a landscaper for our home, and I think that being able to get some tips would be nice. I’m glad you talked about looking at the reputation for a landscaper. I’m going to have to make sure we get a good landscaper for our home, and see what we can find!
I thought it was interesting that you talked about how a good landscaper will usually tailor their plans to fit your budget. My aunt is looking to get some landscape design done in her yard and needs to hire a professional. I’ll be sure to talk to her about hiring a professional who will work with her budget.
I have been wanting to improve my home’s landscaping lately. So, I liked that you pointed out that it would be smart to get a landscaper who has a local knowledge. Since I like in a mountainous desert the plants I can use will be a little limited and could be hard to care for.
A right and skillet designer will obviously suggest all the right method during gardening. They list all accurate plans like gardening fencing plan is one of the target of them and others.
I really like that you point out that hiring a local service to landscape is great because they know what will thrive in your area. My husband and I are wanting to get our yard redone and need to find the best landscaper to help us out. I’ll have to look into finding the right landscaper for us.
I agree, with the article when it says that reviews are a fantastic way to look for a landscape design company. In fact, you may want to even look at those reviews to get an idea of the services that the landscaper offers just to make sure that you’re getting what you need. For example, if you need the old turf on your lawn removed and replaced with some new stuff then you’ll want to make sure that the designer you hire can do that.
Such an informative blog. Keep it up
I really appreciate your tip to focus on who you trust at the end of the day. My wife and I have been thinking of getting a landscaper to help us out with some of the issues that are arising with our back patio. I will be sure to tell my wife that we should focus on finding a landscaper that we trust!
I like the tip that you gave to choose a landscaper who will match your budget. My wife and I have been talking about finding a landscaper, and it would be important for us to know that we can afford who we choose. If we choose to find one, I will be sure to check if they will match our budget beforehand.
Ensure that you have the capacity to read the critiques of shoppers of the
preferred sites before you choose to register.
I like the tip that you gave to look for a landscaper who has a positive reputation. My wife and I have been talking about finding a landscaper to help us if we were to get help with our garden this summer, and it would be important for us to know that we could find one who we could trust in. If we decide to find a landscaper, I will be sure to look for one who has a positive reputation.
I like the tip that you gave to choose a landscaper who has a good reputation and ratings. My wife and I have been talking about finding a landscaper to help us keep our lawn green this year, and it would be important for us to know that we could find one who we could trust in. If we choose to find a landscaper, I will be sure to look for one who has a good reputation.
I like the tip that you gave to choose a landscaper who has a good reputation. My wife and I have been talking about finding a landscaper to help us keep our yard in good condition this year, and it would be important for us to be confident in who we choose to hire. If we decide to find a landscaper, I will be sure to look for one who has a good reputation.
Thanks for sharing the ideas. And blog also containing informative content. Keep sharing more.
Thank you for stating that reviews are a great way to gauge what to expect from a landscaper. The house I just moved into has a yard and garden that haven’t been maintained in years. I will definitely take all of your great advice and information into consideration when looking for a suitable landscaper to fix up my yard and garden.
very informative blog about finding the right landscape designers.. these can help to find anyone the best landscape designers
It was really helpful when you mentioned that reviews are a great way to know what to expect. Last week I decided that I wanted to start a garden in my backyard and I wanted to hire a landscaping service to help me with designing it. Thank you for these tips on how to find a good landscaper!
Thank you for stating that you should look at a landscaper’s portfolio before hiring them. I want a landscaper to help fix up my garden. I will definitely utilize all of your great tips and information when hiring a landscaper.
It’s interesting to know that a good landscape company will plan his work to fit your budget. My husband and I are thinking about remodeling our garden, and we are looking for advice. I will let him know about the benefits of hiring a landscape contractor to help us with our project.
I think it is great that you mentioned that a great landscaper will cater their work to go with our budget. My wife and I have been talking about hiring a landscaper to help us if we decide to get help with our yard, and it will be important for us to know that we could find the right one. When we look for a landscaper, I will be sure to consider our budget, and how they will work around it.
Proper planning is the only authentic way to hire right landscaper for your garden moreover you need to decide things like your budget and their previous work portfolio and their experience level which maters in this filed more.
You made a good point when you said that it is beneficial to hire a local landscape designer because they know what type of plants would thrive in our climate. Moreover, they would be more familiar with local laws and regulations. My husband and I recently moved to a new house, and we want to have the backyard renovated and redesigned. I’ll follow your advice because we’re currently looking for the right landscape designer to hire.
Great article on how to be selective. Really appreciate it!
ALWAYS ask to see their portfolio. Not only will you be able to quickly find out if they have experience working with jobs like yours, you may get some great ideas for the project. Thanks for the article!
You make some good points on how to find a good landscaper. I agree that you want to consider what kind of reputation they have by checking their portfolio and website. I’m looking for a landscaper to install a new stone walkway, so I’ll have to check their portfolio.
I was amazed when I got your blog, it really provide clear information regarding how to hire the right landscape designer for your garden and the tips you have shared with us are awesome. I liked and it is wonderful to know about so many things that are useful for all of us! Thanks a lot for this amazing blog!!They offer same information here Yardscape.co.nz one must check them also.