Property services
Landscapers and garden designers in Edinburgh and the Lothians
Garden design, planting, patios and outdoor structures.
Landscaping runs from a tidy-up before viewings to full design and build: levels, drainage, retaining walls, paving, planting, lighting and garden rooms. The design half and the build half are separate skills and separate fees.
For a property about to be marketed, the return sits at the cheap end — clearing, edging, turfing and pruning — rather than a new terrace nobody sees in the photographs.
When Edinburgh owners call landscapers and garden designers
- A rear or front garden is overgrown before marketing the property.
- Water is sitting on a lawn or against the back wall of the house.
- A retaining wall or steps have moved and are unsafe.
- You want an outdoor space designed rather than patched.
Local context: Edinburgh and the Lothians
Edinburgh gardens are small, sloping, often north-facing and frequently overlooked by tenement windows. Levels and retaining structures are therefore a bigger part of local landscaping cost than planting is.
Clay subsoil and heavy winter rain make drainage the recurring problem. Any patio or lawn built without a drainage strategy will hold water by the second winter, and permeable surfacing rules apply where you are hardening a large area.
What this work typically costs
Published ranges are market context gathered from local jobs, not a quotation. We do not price work, arrange it or take a cut of it — always get your own written quotes.
| Job | Typical range | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-sale garden tidy and tip run | £250-£800 | One or two days with waste removal; the highest-return garden spend before a sale. |
| Turf a small lawn | £25-£45 per m² | Includes ground preparation; poor drainage adds cost. |
| Sandstone or porcelain patio | £120-£220 per m² | Sub-base, falls and edging included; steps extra. |
| Retaining wall, per linear metre | £350-£900 | Height and whether engineering design is needed. |
| Full design and build, small city garden | £15,000-£45,000 | Design fee is typically 8-12% of build cost. |
Tenements and common repairs
A tenement's rear drying green is normally common property shared by all flats, and no single owner can pave it, fence it or plant it out without agreement. This is a frequent source of dispute and occasionally of a failed sale.
If you have exclusive use of a section under the deeds, get that in writing from your solicitor before spending anything, and keep any agreement with the other owners on file for the buyer's pack.
What to check before you instruct
- Insurance
- Drainage and levels in the quote
- Waste removal and SEPA-registered carrier
- SEPA waste carrier registration
- Anyone removing garden waste commercially must be a registered waste carrier. Check the number on SEPA's public register.
- Drainage in the quote
- Ask what falls, soakaway or drainage the design includes. 'It'll run off' is not a drainage strategy.
- Insurance
- Public liability, plus cover for damage to neighbouring boundaries and services.
- Design fee separated
- Know what the design costs and whether you own the drawings if you use another contractor to build.
We publish factual detail supplied by each business. We do not rate, rank, endorse or guarantee anyone listed, and no business pays for placement. Checking registration, insurance and references is always your decision.
Questions to ask before you instruct
- Is this ground common property, and have you worked in a shared green before?
- What drainage is included and where does the water go?
- Are you a registered waste carrier and can I see the number?
- How will materials reach the garden and what will you protect?
- What is the maintenance requirement in year one?
- Is planting guaranteed and for how long?
Businesses listed
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Lothian Property is a property information and professional-introduction service operated by Maybury Scotland Limited. Lothian Property is not an estate agency. Where requested, we may connect homeowners with independent estate agents and other property professionals. How we work.
Read our guide on landscapers and garden designers
Landscapers and garden designers: common questions
- Do I need planning permission for a garden building in Edinburgh?
- Many small outbuildings are permitted development, but limits on height, position near boundaries and total garden coverage apply, and permitted development rights are reduced in conservation areas. Check with the council's planning service.
- What are the drainage rules for a new patio or hard surfacing?
- Surface water must not be discharged onto a neighbour's ground or overload the public sewer. Permeable surfacing or a soakaway is the usual solution, and it should be in the quote rather than an extra.
- Who removes garden waste and does it need a licence?
- Anyone removing waste commercially must be a SEPA-registered waste carrier. Ask for the registration number — you can be liable if your waste is fly-tipped.