Services · What we design and build

Everything a Southland garden needs, from plan to planting

Most gardens use a few of these together, and one team looks after all of it. Each service below has what's included, a note on what's different down here, a usual timeframe and a guide price.

Close view of long, strap-like green leaves overlapping one another — Strappy natives like harakeke handle a southerly better than almost anything else.

Hand drawing on a large plan sheet with a scale ruler laid across it — Every design starts as a scaled plan, drawn for one section only.

Landscape design

A garden plan drawn for your section, not picked from a catalogue. We look at sun, shelter, soil and how you'll actually use the space, then draw it to scale with a planting list and a price.

What's included

Free site visit and a written brief
A scaled concept plan, usually with two layout options
Planting plan with plant sizes, numbers and spacing
Construction notes for walls, paving and drainage
An itemised build price, if we're building it

Southland noteWe place seating and patios for the low winter sun and out of the prevailing westerly. A spot that looks perfect in January can sit in shade from May to August.

Timeframe: Concept plan in 2 to 3 weeks
Guide price: Concept plans from $650; full design packages from $1,400

Ask about a design

Curved retaining wall of large rough-cut stone blocks beside a mulched bed and lawn, in warm evening light — Rough-cut stone retaining wall, Lumsden.

Paving, walls and retaining

Schist and stone walls, timber and block retaining, paths, patios and steps, all built on proper bases so they stay level through frost heave and wet winters.

What's included

Natural stone, schist and concrete paver patios and paths
Dry-stacked and mortared schist walls
Timber sleeper, block and gabion retaining
Steps, edging, mowing strips and gravel areas
Drainage behind every retaining wall, as standard

Southland noteFrost lifts badly prepared paving. We dig down to firm ground, lay and compact a proper basecourse, and build in falls so water runs off the surface, not under it.

Timeframe: Most patios and walls 1 to 3 weeks on site
Guide price: Paving usually $160 to $260 per m² laid; stone walls from about $900 per metre

Ask about paving or walls

Soil-covered hands pressing dark soil around a small seedling — Planted in autumn, settled in by spring.

Planting and native gardens

Planting that suits Southland: natives and hardy exotics chosen for frost, wind and wet feet, planted at the right time of year and mulched to hold the soil.

What's included

Native and mixed planting plans
Soil preparation with compost, and drainage where it's needed
Supply and planting, staked and mulched
Red tussock, carex, hebe, coprosma, pittosporum and harakeke
Watering and care notes for the first year

Southland noteWe plant mostly in autumn, from March to May, so roots settle in over the wet months. In frost pockets around Gore and Te Anau we choose plants that cope with minus 8 °C or colder.

Timeframe: Most planting jobs 2 to 5 days
Guide price: From about $45 per m², including plants, soil prep and mulch

Ask about planting

Freshly laid rolls of turf in slightly different shades of green — Ready lawn laid over a sand and topsoil base.

Lawns and turf

New lawns from seed or ready lawn, levelled and drained first so they don't turn to mud every winter.

What's included

Old lawn removal and weed control
Levelling, with topsoil and sand where the clay is heavy
Seed or ready-lawn turf
Mowing strips and clean edges
First-cut and feeding advice

Southland noteThe best sowing windows here are March to April and October to November. Ready lawn can go down most of the year, as long as the ground isn't frozen or waterlogged.

Timeframe: 2 to 6 days for most sections
Guide price: Seeded lawns from about $9 per m²; ready lawn from about $22 per m² laid

Ask about a new lawn

Tall clipped green hedge running alongside a lawn, with a tree and a dark shed behind — Clipped shelter hedge, three seasons after planting, Winton.

Shelter and hedging

Shelter belts and hedges that take the sting out of the wind, so the rest of the garden can actually grow.

What's included

Shelter planting plans for exposed sections
Griselinia, pittosporum, olearia and corokia hedges
Windbreak cloth and temporary shelter while plants establish
Hedge renovation and reshaping
Supply, planting and staking

Southland noteNear the coast at Bluff, Riverton or Otatara, salt wind burns many hedging plants. We use proven coastal natives, planted in a staggered double row for faster cover.

Timeframe: Most hedges planted in 1 to 2 days
Guide price: From about $35 per metre of hedge, planted

Ask about shelter

Round stone fire pit with dark outdoor chairs on a gravel pad, in front of an A-frame house with a deck and string lights — Fire pit circle and gravel pad, Te Anau.

Outdoor living

Decks, pergolas, fire pits and sheltered courtyards that get used for more than three months of the year.

What's included

Hardwood and pine decks, including steps and balustrades
Pergolas, including louvred roofs
Fire pits and fire bowl terraces
Seating walls and built-in planters
Low-voltage garden lighting, wired by a registered electrician

Southland noteWe build in shelter first. A screen or planted windbreak on the westerly side can add weeks of evenings outside every year.

Timeframe: Decks and pergolas usually 1 to 3 weeks
Guide price: Fire pit areas from $4,500; pergolas from $7,500

Ask about outdoor living

Long trench running through a lawn, part-filled with gravel and stones, with dug soil alongside — A rubble drain going in across a wet back lawn.

Drainage for wet sections

Boggy lawns, ponding and soggy clay, sorted properly, with drains that keep carrying water away for years.

What's included

A site check after rain, so we see where the water really goes
Rubble and slotted-pipe drains, wrapped to keep silt out
Soak holes and rain gardens where the soil allows
Swales and dry stream beds that look like part of the garden
Connections to stormwater by a certifying drainlayer

Southland noteMuch of Invercargill sits on heavy silt and clay, and the water table can be close to the surface in winter. We test how fast your soil drains before choosing a fix, so you don't pay for the wrong one.

Timeframe: Most jobs 2 to 5 days
Guide price: Most section drainage jobs fall between $2,500 and $9,000

Ask about drainage

Gardener in green work clothes wheeling a barrow across a lawn — Seasonal care visits keep new planting on track.

Garden care

Seasonal visits to keep a new garden on track, or to bring an older one back into shape.

What's included

Pruning, weeding and mulching
Hedge trimming
Lawn renovation, feeding and moss control
Replacing plants under our 12-month guarantee
Spring and autumn tidy-ups

Southland noteMoss loves our damp winters. A spring scarify and feed, plus fixing the drainage or shade that's causing it, works far better than spraying every year.

Timeframe: Monthly or seasonal visits
Guide price: From $65 per hour, or a fixed seasonal price

Ask about garden care

Guide prices include GST and are a starting point only: every section is different. After the free site visit you get a written, itemised price before any work starts.

FAQ Gardening down south

Questions we get asked a lot

Southland gardens have their own rules. If your question isn't here, ring us on 03 218 3249 and we'll talk it through.

Which plants survive Southland frosts and wind?

Plenty, if you choose well. Natives such as red tussock (Chionochloa rubra), carex, coprosma, hebe, olearia, pittosporum and harakeke all handle hard frosts and strong wind. Hardy exotics like lavender, salvia, hydrangea and many ornamental grasses do well too.

We steer clear of frost-tender plants, such as many succulents and subtropicals, unless there's a warm, sheltered, north-facing spot for them.

Our section is wet clay. Can a garden still work?

Yes. Start with the water: rubble drains or slotted pipe to carry it away, raised beds where it makes sense, and plenty of compost worked into the topsoil. Then choose plants that are happy with wet feet, such as carex, harakeke and many coprosmas.

We never lay a lawn or a patio over wet clay without sorting the drainage first.

When is the best time of year to start?

Design and hard landscaping can happen most of the year, though deep winter can slow down earthworks. For planting, autumn (March to May) is best and spring is a good second.

If you'd like to plant in autumn, talk to us by late summer so the design, walls and paving are finished in time.

Do retaining walls need building consent?

Often not, but it depends on the wall. As a general rule, a wall retaining more than 1.5 metres of ground, or one with extra load above it such as a driveway, a slope or a building, needs consent and engineering.

We check every wall against the rules and handle the paperwork with the council when it's needed.

Can you just design, or just build?

Both. Some clients take our plan and do the planting themselves; others bring us a plan from someone else to build. Either way you get a written, itemised price.

How much does a new garden cost?

Small planting and lawn jobs often start around $3,000 to $8,000. A full back garden with paving, walls, planting and lawn is more commonly $25,000 to $80,000.

After the free site visit we can give you a realistic range before any design work starts, so there are no surprises.

Do you guarantee your plants?

Yes. Plants we supply and plant are guaranteed for 12 months, as long as the watering and care notes are followed. If one fails, we replace it.

Not sure where to start?

That's what the free site visit is for. We'll walk the section with you, talk through what's possible and give you an honest idea of cost.

Book a free site visit Call 03 218 3249