How much does landscaping cost in South Africa?
A basic garden makeover usually starts somewhere around R15,000, and mid-range projects with some hard landscaping run R50,000 to R150,000. The split between planting and built work decides most of the bill.
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Get exact prices: compare up to 3 quotesLandscaping prices at a glance
Instant lawn costs roughly R30 to R110 per m² depending on the grass, automatic irrigation for a medium garden about R10,000 to R25,000, and a basic garden design R2,000 to R5,000. A small refresh can cost under R15,000, while a basic makeover runs R15,000 to R40,000 and bigger projects with paving, walls and lighting pass R150,000.
| What | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic garden makeover (small refresh to new beds and lawn) | R5,000–R40,000 per project | The low end is a planting refresh. Around R15,000 and up you're usually paying for soil work, new lawn and several beds. |
| Instant lawn (rolled turf) | R30–R110/m² | Kikuyu and Cynodon sit at the bottom of the range, LM Berea and buffalo at the top. Some prices include laying, others are supply only. |
| Automatic irrigation, medium suburban garden | R10,000–R25,000 per project | Pop-up sprinklers for lawn and drip lines for beds, with a timer. Smart controllers and boreholes are extra. |
| Garden design: consultation and concept plan | R2,000–R5,000 per project | A full planting and layout plan costs roughly R8,000 to R25,000. Landscape architects may charge 10 to 20% of the project value. |
| Soil preparation and levelling | R30–R60/m² | From a single Johannesburg price guide. Topsoil is extra at about R450 to R700 per m³ delivered. |
| Irrigation priced by area (sprinkler or drip) | R20–R55/m² | Micro-spray at the low end, drip irrigation at the top. |
| Retaining wall, concrete block or brick | R800–R1,500 per m² of wall | Stacked natural stone runs to about R2,500 per m². Engineering, where needed, adds roughly R5,000 to R12,000. |
| Shrubs, supplied | R40–R400 per plant | Small shrubs from about R40, large hedging plants up to R400. A 20-litre indigenous tree costs roughly R350 to R600. |
Estimates only. These ranges come from published South African prices, listed under sources below, and were last checked on 28 October 2026. Your price depends on your site and the specification. Get quotes for an accurate price for your job.
Landscaping has no single unit price. A quote is the sum of several smaller jobs: clearing, soil, lawn, plants, irrigation and any built elements such as paths, walls or a braai area. Each is priced in its own way, per m², per plant, per metre or per project. That's why one landscaper might quote R18,000 for a garden and another R45,000. They may simply be pricing different amounts of work.
As a rough guide, published 2025 and 2026 South African price guides put a basic makeover at about R15,000 to R40,000, a mid-range project at R50,000 to R150,000, and a full outdoor makeover with paving, braai area, irrigation and lighting at R150,000 and up. Planting and lawn are the cheap part per m². Hard landscaping is where the budget goes.
The figures on this page come from contractor price guides and an online cost aggregator. None of them states whether VAT is included, and some lawn prices include laying while others don't. Use them to plan a budget and to test the quotes you get, not as a fixed price.
What moves the price
Pushes the price up
- Hard landscaping. Paving, steps, retaining walls and braai areas cost far more per m² than lawn or beds.
- Poor soil or rubble. Builder's rubble, clay or compacted ground means digging out, carting away and buying topsoil by the cubic metre.
- Mature plants. A 100-litre feature tree can cost R2,000 to R5,000, against a few hundred rand for a young one.
- Shade-tolerant lawn. LM Berea and buffalo cost two to three times as much per m² as kikuyu.
- A full design. A detailed plan or 3D render can run R15,000 to R40,000 before any work starts.
- Slopes and poor access. Everything carried by hand or barrow takes longer, and sloped sites often need walls.
Brings the price down
- Kikuyu or Cynodon lawn in sunny areas. Both cost roughly R30 to R55 per m² for the grass.
- Smaller plants. Young shrubs and trees grow quickly in most climates and cost a fraction of mature stock.
- Less lawn, more mulched beds. Mulch is cheap per m² and cuts the irrigation you need.
- Phasing the work. Do the soil, structure and irrigation now and fill in planting over a season or two.
- Keeping existing healthy plants. Moving or reusing established shrubs saves on stock and gives an older look straight away.
A 100 m² back garden: a worked example
Say you're redoing a 100 m² back garden: 60 m² of new kikuyu lawn on prepared soil, 40 m² of planted beds with 30 shrubs, and a simple sprinkler and drip system. Using the ranges on this page:
- Soil preparation and levelling: 100 m² × R30 to R60 = R3,000 to R6,000
- Kikuyu instant lawn: 60 m² × R30 to R85 = R1,800 to R5,100
- Shrubs for the beds: 30 × R40 to R250 = R1,200 to R7,500
- Irrigation by area: 100 m² × R20 to R55 = R2,000 to R5,500
- Estimated total: roughly R8,000 to R24,100, before design fees, topsoil or rubble removal
What changes the answer
Swap kikuyu for LM Berea in a shady garden and the lawn line roughly doubles. If the ground is builder's rubble and needs 10 m³ of topsoil at R450 to R700 per m³, add R4,500 to R7,000. A 6 m long, 1 m high block retaining wall would add roughly R4,800 to R9,000.
What a landscaping quote should spell out
Because so many different items go into a garden, a single total tells you very little. Ask for these on every quote:
- Measured areas for lawn, beds and any paving
- Soil work: depth of digging, rubble removal, and the volume of topsoil and compost
- The lawn variety and whether the price is supply only or laid
- A plant list with species, container sizes and quantities
- Irrigation layout, number of zones and the controller model
- Design fees, if any, and whether they're credited against the build
- Delivery, waste removal and whether VAT is included
Running costs after handover
A new garden keeps costing money. Published guides put monthly garden maintenance for a medium residential garden at roughly R300 to R800 per month. Lawn needs mowing and feeding, and irrigation needs checking after winter.
Water is the other ongoing cost. A design with less lawn and plants grouped by water need costs less to run every month, which over a few years can be worth more than any saving on the initial quote.
Ways to stretch a landscaping budget
- Put money into soil preparation first. Cheap plants in good soil do better than expensive ones in rubble.
- Ask whether the landscaper's design fee is deducted if they also do the installation.
- Buy smaller container sizes for anything that grows quickly.
- Leave decorative extras such as lighting or a water feature for a second phase, but run the cabling or piping now if you can.
- Compare all three quotes against the same plant list and lawn area.
Do prices differ by region?
Prices in Johannesburg and Pretoria guides sit at the upper end for instant lawn, with kikuyu quoted at about R55 to R85 per m² against R30 to R45 in national guides. The Johannesburg figures may include laying while the national ones are closer to supply prices, so compare like for like.
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How much does instant lawn cost per square metre?
National 2026 guides put the grass itself at roughly R30 to R90 per m². Kikuyu is cheapest at about R30 to R45, while LM Berea and buffalo cost R55 to R90. A Johannesburg guide quotes R55 to R110 per m². Soil preparation adds about R30 to R60 per m², and delivery is usually extra.
How much does a landscape designer charge?
A consultation with a concept sketch costs roughly R2,000 to R5,000. A full garden design with planting plan runs about R8,000 to R25,000, and 3D rendered designs more. Some designers charge by the hour at about R600 to R800, and landscape architects on large projects may charge 10 to 20% of the build cost.
What does an automatic irrigation system cost?
For a medium suburban garden, published guides put a sprinkler system at roughly R10,000 to R25,000 installed. Priced by area, expect about R20 to R55 per m², with drip irrigation at the higher end. A smart controller adds R3,000 to R8,000, and a borehole with pump is a separate and much larger cost.
Is artificial grass cheaper than instant lawn?
Not up front. Artificial grass costs roughly R300 to R500 per m² installed, against R30 to R110 for instant lawn. It doesn't need watering or mowing, so the running costs are lower. Over a long period the gap narrows, but for a large area real lawn is usually far cheaper to install.
Do landscaping quotes include VAT?
The price guides we used don't say whether their figures include VAT, so don't assume they do. A VAT-registered landscaper must add 15%. Ask for VAT on a separate line and check whether plants and materials are marked up or passed on at cost.
Sources
- Landscaping Costs in Johannesburg 2026: Garden Design, Irrigation & Outdoor Living, Sinqobile Construction, updated April 2026
- Landscaping prices in South Africa - What are all the costs?, Kandua, date not stated
- Landscaping Costs in South Africa: 2025 Pricing Guide, Cape Contours, 2025
- Instant Lawn Prices South Africa (2026), H-I-L, 2026
- Instant Lawn Pricing Guide 2026, Local Pros, 2026
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