How much would you pay a professional landscape designer per hour???

[dfchelbay]

How much would you pay a professional certified landscape designer per hour? To come to your home and take care of your gardens. Know all aspects of designing, planting, pruning, etc. of all plants. This would not have anything to do with the lawn, just all the plants in the gardens. Does anyone currently have someone that comes to their garden to take care of it for you. What seems to be the "going rate" for such a professional? How often do you have them come to your home for maintenance of the garden? Thanks

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

I would have to say $0.

IMO I think paying for things like that is bogus.

Go to Lowes or Home Depot, look around and see what you like, write down types of bushes, shrubs, flowers, etc with prices.

If you're not sure about their long term care, google the ones you like

Go home and doodle up a sketch of your garden beds, lawn, you can cut out small colored shapes and move them around your stetch until you're happy.

I'm sorry but IMO paying somebody an hourly rate to do the same thing I can do in a few hours is BONKERS .

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

I'm sorry I forgot to speak on the maintaince point.

Im sure there are plenty of Girl Scout / Boy scout troops in your area that would love to accept a donation for helping keep your gardens maintained.

Call your locate councils and ask if there are any older age troops in your area looking for service hours.

 

[dfchelbay]

I would have to say $0.

IMO I think paying for things like that is bogus.

Go to Lowes or Home Depot, look around and see what you like, write down types of bushes, shrubs, flowers, etc with prices.

If you're not sure about their long term care, google the ones you like

Go home and doodle up a sketch of your garden beds, lawn, you can cut out small colored shapes and move them around your stetch until you're happy.

I'm sorry but IMO paying somebody an hourly rate to do the same thing I can do in a few hours is BONKERS .

That's not the case at all. She's an elderly woman with many garden beds at her home. She can no longer do the garden work as needed. She needs someone to come in and help her take care of her gardens. She loves all her plants and flowers and wants help from someone who knows what they are doing and when things should be done in the garden...hence why she'd like a professional.

 

[angierae]

I'm sorry but IMO paying somebody an hourly rate to do the same thing I can do in a few hours is BONKERS .

Depends on how much someone's time is worth. I pay someone to mow my lawn and edge it and trim my bushes. I COULD do this, but I choose to pay $25/week so that I can enjoy my Saturdays with my family rather than spending the time doing this.

I have, at times, paid someone to clean my house because the 2-3 hours on the weekend I spend on it was worth the $ I was paying my housekeeper to do it for me.

(And has already been pointed out, sometimes people CANNOT keep up with their gardens any more, but don't want to just have it all ripped out.)

 

[sam_gordon]

I'm sorry but IMO paying somebody an hourly rate to do the same thing I can do in a few hours is BONKERS .

Do you pay someone to change the oil in your car?
Do you eat out?
Do you ever run your car through a car wash?
Do you buy vegetables at a grocery store?

If someone wants to pay money for something, who are you to call them BONKERS?

 

[Darcy03231]

The company that does our office (old victorian house converted to office) gets $25/hr with a minimum of 4 hours.

 

[Pakey]

I'm not sure a certified designer would do maintenance. We paid a landscape architect to design our back yard. It was a flat fee of $4000 and we were given plans that we we then took to landscape contractors for a bid on installation, which was also then a flat amount. Now we have a gardener who we pay $65 a week to mow, prune and handle weed control. This does not include any additional costs for fertilizer, mulch, etc. We have a very formal garden with a lot of maintenance. The same gardener does our rental property for $30 a week.

Our gardener doesn't know anything about the trees. We have an arborist come in to prune trees. It's not an hourly rate; he bids the job.

 

[LilyWDW]

A designer/landscape architect is most likely not going to do any upkeep and, if they did, you are looking at a good chunk of change because they would charge you for upkeep what they charge others for actually designing. They won't cut the cost because they might have to give up actual projects that interfere with what you want. I would say close to $25 per hour with a minimum amount of time required.

You most like would have to look for a gardener and/or arborist. If you have a local nursery, I would contact them as they might know who is available.

 

[timmac]

Do you pay someone to change the oil in your car?
Do you eat out?
Do you ever run your car through a car wash?
Do you buy vegetables at a grocery store?

If someone wants to pay money for something, who are you to call them BONKERS?

To add an obvious use-case example to this, anyone who works a lot, especially if it's self-employment or commissioned, or similar... often times paying someone to do the work is a far better financial decision than the lost productivity time to do it themselves.

 

[My5Mouseketeers]

I think that you would want a gardener and around here it would probably cost a $100 for 4 hours work

 

[Janepod]

You are talking about two different things. A landscape designer, or landscape architect, won't do the dirty, hands-on stuff. Typically they charge by the project, not by the hour - they'll come to your house, talk to you, and get back to you in a week or two with plans.

It sounds like you just want a landscaper. Much cheaper, and they will charge an hourly rate. However, if you are trying to save money (this being the budget board) you are better off going to Lowe's/HD or surfing the internet for information. Gardenweb is a good place to start.

We have a weekly crew that come to the house and do all that - not sure what it costs but it is $$$. However, when we bought the house it was beautifully landscaped and we want to maintain it - we just have better ways to spend our time. If I had my way I would pave over the whole thing.

 

[Cooky]

.

 

[ceecee]

I think most charge by the job not by the hour. We just had a landscaper come and reedged all the beds and mulched and pulled a lot of overgrowth out and we had other estimates too and they were all by the job.
Since everyone works at different speeds I would hate to think I'm paying someone hourly for them to leisurely work in the yard.

 

[mrs.sammich]

We live in the Mid Atlantic- We are surrounded by incredible public gardens that were once private propeties- Longwood Gardens, Nemours, Hagley, Mount Cuba, Winterthur Museum and Gardens.... Gosh, I've barely skimmed the surface- That said, our area is rich in horticulture and has many individuals that are passionate about it. A gardener in our area, who has proper training, insurance and overhead can and will charge any where from 35.oo an hour and up- That is on the lower end. Sure you will find someone for less, and there are those who would never pay that to have someone work in their yard. Gardens are an investment to your home's value- There are many people who spend countless hours nurturing and caring for the plants they have carefully selected to bring them joy. When these people need help working the gardens, they won't settle for someone who doesn't share their enthusiasm or love of plants.

OP- Try asking the employees at a local garden center you shop at- perhaps they can connect you with a local gardener who can help. Look into a local garden club, they may know someone in your area.

 

[gardengalB4]

OP- I would contact a local botanical garden & inquire if they have a list of certified master gardeners.
They have additional training along with their horticultural background.
Many do have degrees in Horticulture.

 

[mrodgers]

Do you pay someone to change the oil in your car? No
Do you eat out? No
Do you ever run your car through a car wash? No
Do you buy vegetables at a grocery store? Well, have to because the garden is lousy this year. Can't believe there won't be any Chili to eat this winter because even the easiest to grow, tomatoes, are lousy.

If someone wants to pay money for something, who are you to call them BONKERS?

Any more?

How about other car repairs more than oil changes? Nope
Home repairs? Nope
I know, haircuts! Nope on that one either...

 

[kaytieeldr]

While it's impressive that you have the ability and agility to be so self-sufficient, the person for whom the OP is seeking assistance isn't so fortunate. Careful not to let your empathy sneak up and trip you when you're not looking .

 

[Helene]

To add an obvious use-case example to this, anyone who works a lot, especially if it's self-employment or commissioned, or similar... often times paying someone to do the work is a far better financial decision than the lost productivity time to do it themselves.

This is the exact scenerio my husband and I are in....we are both self-employed. The rate I earn per hour is 3-6X higher than what we would pay for someone else to do the work. At this point, we do have time to do the upkeep on our home ourselves. However, I would certainly outsource the work if getting it done began to impact my ability to generate income.