Is there money in Garden Design & Construction

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finbarr

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Hi,

I am seriously thinking of entering the Garden Design & Construction business. I will be doing garden design (obviously!) as well as decking patios, water features and other such hard landscaping that you might see on the telly. Does anyone know anyone in Paving business for example are they busy? Are Decking guys flat out? Would you spend anything from €2000 to €22000 on your garden ?
All advice is welcome!

Thanks Finbarr
 
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yes!
there is a fair amount of competitors out there and also outlay as the diggers etc are not cheap but i know of one girl who paid €1800 to get her and neighbours back gardens (designed), guy dug out flowerbed at end of fairly small garden 4m*4mand planted cheap and cheerful shrubs and then rolled and put grass seed on the lawn, 2.5 days work for one guy and whatever outlay for the plants.
He calls roun each year to trim the shrubs.
Its a seasonal job for the most part and i don't think you will get rich quick but if thats what you would enjoy working at then go for it.
 
I think that there defininitely is a business there if you are good at what you do. there are a lot of cowboys out there & people will pay for someone who is good.
We were going to get our garden rotivated/reseeded & patio done & had a recommendation for a good landscaper - but he was charging €2k for that job (in a tiny garden of a 3bed semi!). I have to say when we heard the price we pulled out & decided to give it a go ourselves............but obviously he is getting the money as he was booked solid for 3 months.....
I guess everyone isnt as scabby as us!
 
Winnie.

2k sound ridiculous.
We recently had our half acre garden rotovated,levelled and seeded for 1800..
 
Finbarr, Have you any qualification and experience in garden design? If not, forget it. It’s more than knocking up a bit of decking and the odd water feature. You, e.g, need to know something about plants. Also I wouldn’t hire anyone who couldn’t show a portfolio of projects they had implemented or worked on. I tried to hire a garden designer about two years ago and to put it mildly none of them had any business sense, never showed up for appointments, etc. I eventually got one and it was worth it. I think there is a business there for professionals who can deliver not only the design but also the implementation, i.e. turn-key projects. If you have no qualification in garden design it might be better to contact garden designers and offer your services as someone who would implement their designs.
 
ZEGAR said:
Winnie.

2k sound ridiculous.
We recently had our half acre garden rotovated,levelled and seeded for 1800..
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I live in a 3 bed semi - we paid 12,000 euros to get our back garden done.(that includes a hot tub for 3,500 euros, decking for 3,000euros, lighting 1,000 etc.). My neighbours on the left paid 8,000 euros for their garden and my neighbour to the right paid 5,000. Decking people are always flat out - usually have a two month wait.Same with garden design fellas - costs a couple of hundred just for the design.There's definately good money in it.
 
purplealien said:
I live in a 3 bed semi - we paid 12,000 euros to get our back garden done.(that includes a hot tub for 3,500 euros, decking for 3,000euros, lighting 1,000 etc.). My neighbours on the left paid 8,000 euros for their garden and my neighbour to the right paid 5,000. Decking people are always flat out - usually have a two month wait.Same with garden design fellas - costs a couple of hundred just for the design.There's definately good money in it.
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OMG..........are you sure you are putting the comma in the right place! Well if so then the OP has nothing to worry about in terms of income if he chooses to go down that route!
 
Hi PMU,
I have qualifications and a reasonable portfolio. I will be able to provide complete turnkey service i.e decking, paving design planting water features etc as well as planting. My main aim is to get the public advice as its easy for me to become too inbedded in my own beliefs so I really appreciate your post
regards finbarr
 
I think this is essentially a business start up question so im moving it from Careers to Askaboutbusiness.

Finbarr, Do you have a business plan? In a business plan (among other things) you would identify who your potential customers are and how you would finance and operate your business. There are some (fee based) Accountants, Management Consulatants who specialise in business start ups and may be in a position to advise.

aj
 
purplealien said:
I live in a 3 bed semi - we paid 12,000 euros to get our back garden done.(that includes a hot tub for 3,500 euros, decking for 3,000euros, lighting 1,000 etc.). My neighbours on the left paid 8,000 euros for their garden and my neighbour to the right paid 5,000. Decking people are always flat out - usually have a two month wait.Same with garden design fellas - costs a couple of hundred just for the design.There's definately good money in it.
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I thought your numbers sounded mad until I read this months Irish Garden magazine. A landscape gardener writing in it said allow between 1.5 and 2k for design alone, for the work/materials etc. between 8 and 15k for a small garden , 15 to 45k for a medium size one and anywhere between 45 and 200k for a large one. :eek: Depends on what your putting in I suppose - I was in the Aboretum in Bagenalstown a few weeks ago and some mature rootballed trees were on sale at 600 euro each!
 
purplealien said:
I live in a 3 bed semi - we paid 12,000 euros to get our back garden done.(that includes a hot tub for 3,500 euros, decking for 3,000euros, lighting 1,000 etc.). My neighbours on the left paid 8,000 euros for their garden and my neighbour to the right paid 5,000. Decking people are always flat out - usually have a two month wait.Same with garden design fellas - costs a couple of hundred just for the design.There's definately good money in it.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't disagree with the figures posted by purplealien. Finbarr, could also consider joining GDLA, as being a member of a professional association is always a good selling point. As I said, based on my experience, getting someone who could deliver a turnkey service, i.e good design and implementation was a problem. I had a lot of problems with desginers, e.g. not returning phone calls, not keeping appointments, etc. So anyone with good design, a business like approach, and who can deliver a package should be able to make a fist of it. The main problem I think you will have is that a lot of people do not realise how much good design costs and will probably settle for something knocked up by the local patio centre.
 
I have a landscape gardener doing our back garden at the moment. He says that about 20-25% of his business is repeat mowing of green areas on a number of estates and that overall he's finding business is down by about 20% on last year, which is unusual with all the SSIA money coming on stream. His theory is that things are starting to get tight for people with mortgage, heating and petrol costs going through the roof. He's not getting as much business from FTB's as before.
A number of his jobs are remedial work on cowboy jobs and DIY screwups. He
 
(hit the post button accidentally !!). He has a good reputation, always turns up when he says he's going to, and consequently gets a lot of his business by word of mouth. I've already passed on his details to two other people.
If you can get some initial work, do a good job, and get referrred on I'd say it could be a good earner. Biggest problem will be building up the business initially, so make sure you have reserves of cash to keep you going for the first year.
 
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