How much does landscaping a front yard cost?

A full front-yard redesign of about 1,200 sq ft typically runs $19,000 to $56,000 at national pricing, depending on how much hardscape and irrigation is in the scope. Planting beds alone over the same area are closer to $6,000 to $18,000.

What is the most expensive part of a landscaping project?

Labor, then hardscape. Paving, walls and steps carry heavy material and slow installation. Plant material is usually the smallest line at 15 to 25 percent of the total.

Is it cheaper to buy smaller plants?

Much cheaper, and often better. Small container stock is roughly a quarter the cost of established material per square foot of bed, establishes faster, and typically catches up within two to three growing seasons.

How much does an irrigation system cost?

Around $550 to $1,300 per zone installed, including heads, valve, piping and a share of the controller. A typical suburban lot needs four to eight zones, so $2,500 to $9,000 is a normal range.

Should I pay for a landscape design?

For a full redesign or anything with hardscape, yes — 5 to 12 percent of the build cost buys a plan that stops expensive mistakes in grading and layout. For a single bed or a lawn, it is not worth it.

Can I phase a landscaping project to spread the cost?

Yes, and it works well if you do the buried work first. Grading, drainage, irrigation sleeving and hardscape base go in early; planting and surfacing can follow a season or two later without tearing anything up.

Landscaping Cost Calculator

Pick the kind of project, enter the area and how big you want the plants to arrive, and get a low-to-high installed cost broken into the lines a landscape contractor bids. Hardscape and irrigation are separate because they usually decide the number, not the planting.

Project type

Area being landscaped(sq ft)

The planted or treated area, not the whole lot.

Plant maturity at purchase

Hardscape area (patio, wall, path)(sq ft)

Enter 0 if there is no paving or wall in the scope.

Irrigation zones(zones)

One zone covers roughly 1,000–2,000 sq ft of lawn. Enter 0 for none.

Soil amendment

Regional market

Estimated total cost

$19,167 – $56,061

Full front-yard redesign, 1,200 sq ft

Most likely cost: $37,614
Designplan, plant schedule and layout: $879 – $5,514
Site prep & soilclearing, grading, compost or imported topsoil: $3,744 – $10,392
Plantsmedium (3 gal shrubs) nursery stock: $4,200 – $9,600
Hardscape material200 sq ft of paving or wall: $1,200 – $3,600
Irrigation4 zones with heads and controller: $2,200 – $5,200
Installation laborcrew time, machine hire and haul-off: $6,240 – $17,160
First-year maintenancewatering, mulch top-up and replacement of losses: $703 – $4,595

What this figure includes

This is a planning range for residential landscaping on a site a small machine can reach. It does not include tree removal, drainage or stormwater systems, retaining walls over about 4 ft or any wall needing an engineered design, lighting, fencing, decks, pool surrounds, permits, or ongoing maintenance beyond the first establishment year. Plant prices assume regionally appropriate nursery stock, not specimen trees.

How this is calculated

How landscaping is priced

Landscape estimates are built per square foot of treated area, then adjusted for what is actually going into that area. The formula behind this tool is:

Total = (site prep + soil + plants + hardscape + irrigation + labor) + design + first-year maintenance

Each project type carries its own base rate per square foot covering site prep and installation labour. A new lawn runs about $0.90 to $2.60 per sq ft. Planting beds are $4 to $12. A full front-yard redesign is $8 to $22. A patio or a retaining wall is priced on its own footprint on top of that.

Design is a real line for anything with hardscape or a full redesign — typically 5 to 12 percent of installed cost. For a bed or a lawn most contractors lay it out on site and charge nothing for it.

First-year maintenance is included here at 4 to 10 percent because it is the line most homeowners forget. New planting needs watering through its establishment season, mulch settles and needs topping, and a percentage of stock will die and be replaced. Budgeting for it is the difference between a landscape that looks like the drawing in year two and one that looks patchy.

Plants are the small number. Labor is the big one.

This surprises people every time. On a typical planting job the nursery stock is 15 to 25 percent of the bill. Site prep, soil, and the crew hours to dig, place, backfill, mulch and clean up are most of the rest. Add any hardscape and the plants drop below 15 percent, because paving and walls are heavy, slow, machine-and-muscle work with expensive material underneath the visible surface.

That has a practical consequence: negotiating hard on plant prices moves almost nothing. Reducing the hardscape footprint by a hundred square feet, or handling your own mulch and cleanup, moves real money.

Buy smaller plants and wait two seasons

This is the single biggest lever on cost, and it is not close.

Small container stock costs roughly $1.50 to $4 per square foot of bed. Established 7 to 15 gallon material is $8 to $20 for the same coverage — four to five times as much. On a 600 sq ft bed that is the difference between about $1,500 and about $8,000.

The plants also do not stay different for long. Smaller stock establishes faster because the root ball is a bigger fraction of the plant, suffers less transplant shock, and needs less water to get through the first summer. Most shrubs planted small catch up with the same species planted large within two to three growing seasons, and many overtake them.

Where it is worth paying for size: a specimen tree that anchors a view, screening you need this year rather than in three, and slow-growing evergreens. Everywhere else, buy small.

A worked example

A full front-yard redesign, 1,200 sq ft, medium 3-gallon plants, a 200 sq ft patio, 4 irrigation zones, compost worked into beds, national pricing:

Site prep and labor: 1,200 × $8 to $22 = $9,600 to $26,400, split roughly 35% prep and 65% labor
Plants: 1,200 × $3.50 to $8.00 × intensity 1.0 = $4,200 to $9,600
Hardscape material: 200 × $6 to $18 = $1,200 to $3,600
Irrigation: 4 zones × $550 to $1,300 = $2,200 to $5,200
Soil amendment at 40% coverage: 1,200 × $0.80 to $2.40 × 0.4 = $384 to $1,152
Installed subtotal: $17,584 to $45,952
Design at 5–12%: $879 to $5,514
First-year maintenance at 4–10%: $703 to $4,595
Total: roughly $19,200 to $56,100

The width of that range is honest. Landscaping is the trade where the same brief can be executed at three very different price points, and where the specification you write matters more than the contractor you pick.

Cost figures last reviewed 9 Sept 2026 · Installed landscape prices per square foot of treated area by project type, national averages for residential work.

Frequently asked questions

How much does landscaping a front yard cost?: A full front-yard redesign of about 1,200 sq ft typically runs $19,000 to $56,000 at national pricing, depending on how much hardscape and irrigation is in the scope. Planting beds alone over the same area are closer to $6,000 to $18,000.
What is the most expensive part of a landscaping project?: Labor, then hardscape. Paving, walls and steps carry heavy material and slow installation. Plant material is usually the smallest line at 15 to 25 percent of the total.
Is it cheaper to buy smaller plants?: Much cheaper, and often better. Small container stock is roughly a quarter the cost of established material per square foot of bed, establishes faster, and typically catches up within two to three growing seasons.
How much does an irrigation system cost?: Around $550 to $1,300 per zone installed, including heads, valve, piping and a share of the controller. A typical suburban lot needs four to eight zones, so $2,500 to $9,000 is a normal range.
Should I pay for a landscape design?: For a full redesign or anything with hardscape, yes — 5 to 12 percent of the build cost buys a plan that stops expensive mistakes in grading and layout. For a single bed or a lawn, it is not worth it.
Can I phase a landscaping project to spread the cost?: Yes, and it works well if you do the buried work first. Grading, drainage, irrigation sleeving and hardscape base go in early; planting and surfacing can follow a season or two later without tearing anything up.