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Replies
How long do you think it will take to do it?
I have an internal hourly rate which I work to which takes into account my overheads and a profit margin. It doesn't matter what others charge. I would compete on quality and what it costs your business rather than following the rest of the pack blindly.
You never know, your rates might end up being somewhere between £7 and £15 per sqm! or they might be more/less than these figures.
How much thought and consideration are you putting into it ? Are you taking soil samples given the size ? making a site assessment etc, it all takes time. You surely must have an idea if you charge within the design fee of the time and effort you are putting in. Is the size for a whole area to be planted OR separate areas within a garden ? I would take my hourly rate for design work and apply that to how long i think it will take me. As Nick says dont forget your profit and overheads to be added to the rate as well.
Thank you Nick and Kevin. I usually draw up the planting plan as part of a Garden Design package - I do very few planting plans alone. Although I try and account for how long I think it will take it inevitably takes longer than anticipated. I wondered if there was a 'going rate' for want of a better phrase or are most designers using their hourly design rate as Kevin suggests and still securing the jobs?
Hi Anne, I produce planting plans for clients and I have developed a pricing strategy built around number of plants and size of garden. I am essentially costing for my time which includes researching plants to ensure they work in the gardens' eco-climates as Kevin is alluding to. Plant research is very time consuming and my planting plans start at 30 plants (for small gardens), this includes multiples of the same variety. I currently charge £50 for this service on an increasing sliding scale. I also throw in an initial 1 hour free consultation (garden viewing) for people within a 10 mile radius of my location.
Happy to talk further if you wish.. pricing is something I do struggle with.. it's a self-worth and valuing thing for sure! I'm getting there.. slowly but surely. Next year will be my third year in business and I want to keep growing.. Best wishes. Judi.. :-)
I am doing garden design over the internet only at the moment, so I have set my fees to compete with others in that field (though am revising this all the time, people are so cheap with postal planning, and I need to make sure it's profitable for me). For planting plans I charge £7 a square metre and add extra for perspective/elevation views. However with such a big area, it would be hard to design a plan without designing the garden - how the beds look together etc etc - so you would have to account for that I think in your charges. Then again, for that area, a square metre charge works out to a big sum - those who do 'face to face' design like you will know the market better and what it will stand. It could be better for you to charge your hourly rate. I do find research very time-consuming so the number of plants is an interesting way of pricing - if I could ever estimate that before I started the job!
To design an area, you need a 3D visual perspective. you need to know how each individual area inter relates to each other and how they relate to the house, surroundings. to gain this perspective you need to put yourself in the middle and take it all in. You will still need to survey as you would if you were designing the hardscaping as well.
Through existing relationships with nurseries i can gauge the the costs of perrenials, shrubs and trees, all one should need to do is research the plants and relevant plant spacing for the aspect and soil conditions and client preferences, if elevations are required to assist YOU and the client to visualise.
350 spM is not inconsiderable and will require time and skill to arrange proportions focal plants etc.
if you apply £7.00 per sqm that comes to £2450 if you charged £20.00 per hour that equates to 3 weeks monday to friday. !!
If you are going to specify plants then you should consider travelling to a nursery to view plants, shrubs, trees for example, it is all time and chargeable ? Your time and expertise is an investment as i think the plants if planned well would be quite expensive and the costs of designing should reflect this.
An example:- if you selected perennials with a 450 plant spacing per Sq metre would mean 5 plants per Sqm. if you planted plants with the same spacing across the whole 350 m that would mean 1750 plants at retail about £7.00 each, equates to £12250. if sourced at whole sale considerably less BUT what about your profit and overheads ? Of course there will be differing spacings, although larger plants will cost more as well.
then there is labour to plant unless the client is DIY. Mulch etc.
The point is that the materials ie. plants etc will be expensive. Your costs should reflect the time and effort you put into creating the visual experience the clients is expecting and deserves.
Thank you all for your input. Much to think about.