Budgeting
No two gardens price the same. Here is what actually moves the number, what a complete quote should contain, and how to compare two quotes that look far apart.
Straight answer
You will find websites advertising a per-marla landscaping rate. Treat them carefully. Two plots of exactly the same size, on the same street, can differ several times over in cost depending on what is under the surface and how much hard construction the design involves.
We would rather explain the variables honestly than publish a number that turns out to be wrong the moment somebody digs. Below is what a landscaper is actually pricing when they walk your site, in roughly the order the money goes.
GardenPlus has been doing this in Lahore since 1990, and quotes after a free site visit with a measured plan and an itemised schedule.
Cost drivers
01
This is the biggest single variable and the one most people underestimate. A plot handed over after construction usually has brick, mortar and compacted sand where topsoil should be. Stripping that out and rebuilding a soil profile can cost more than the planting that goes on top of it — and skipping it is why so many new lawns thin out within a year.
02
Paving, steps, seating walls, pergolas and gazebos are usually the most expensive square metres in any garden, several times the cost of the same area planted. The ratio of hard surface to planting moves a budget more than almost any other design decision.
03
A hose point and a hand-watering routine costs nothing up front and costs you the garden later. A zoned drip and sprinkler system on a timer is a real line item, priced on the number of zones, the pump or pressure situation and how much trenching is needed. On anything above a small plot it pays for itself in water and in plants that do not die during a heatwave.
04
The same planting plan can be delivered at three very different prices depending on stock size. Small stock establishes better and costs far less; semi-mature trees give an immediate result at a significant premium. Most sensible budgets mix the two — larger specimens where the eye lands, smaller stock everywhere else.
05
Lawn is priced by prepared area, and preparation is most of the cost. Grass type matters for both the supply price and the running cost afterwards, since some varieties need noticeably more water and mowing than others.
06
Narrow lanes, no vehicle access to the rear, or a finished house that has to be protected all add labour. On a farmhouse or estate the reverse applies — machinery access lowers the unit cost considerably compared with the same work done by hand.
07
Mains-fed city plots are straightforward. A borewell site needs pump capacity, mainline sizing and zoning designed around available flow, which is engineering work before it is gardening work, and it sets the ceiling on how much irrigated landscape the site can carry.
08
The build is a one-off; maintenance is the recurring number. A weekly contract costs more than a monthly one, and a formal garden with clipped hedges and rotating seasonal colour needs more visits than a robust, low-input design. This is worth deciding at design stage, because it is cheaper to design for your maintenance budget than to discover it afterwards.
Checklist
If any of these are missing, the number in front of you is an estimate rather than a quote — and the gap will surface during the work.
Comparing quotes
If two quotes are far apart, this is usually where the gap is. The cheaper one is often planting straight into builder's fill, which shows up as a failing lawn one or two seasons later.
'50 shrubs' can mean five very different prices. Without pot sizes or heights on the schedule, two quotes are not comparable at all.
Ask for the number of zones and whether a controller is included. Irrigation is the easiest scope to quietly reduce while keeping the headline price attractive.
New planting has a failure rate. A quote that says nothing about who replaces losses in the first season is leaving a cost with you.
Get the visit frequency and scope in writing. 'Maintenance included' with no cycle attached tends to mean whatever is convenient later.
Site visits and quotations are free across Lahore. Pick the service you need, or call +92 300 8450025 and describe the plot.
Whether it's a garden makeover, irrigation installation or a full landscaping project — GardenPlus is here to help. Get a free, no-obligation quote today.