Landscaping in Hastings
Whole-garden builds — levels, retaining walls, steps, raised beds, lawns and terraces — for people who want the garden sorted properly once rather than patched every few years.
Turfing
from £45 / m²
Includes preparation and 150mm of BS 3882 topsoil.
Artificial grass
from £105 / m²
On a permeable compacted sub-base.
Retaining walls
from £750 / linear m
Depends on height, material and drainage behind.
Every figure is a starting rate. A whole-garden build is quoted as one fixed price with the elements itemised. How our pricing works → · Why we're not the cheapest quote you'll get
Fencing, lawns and artificial grass
Three parts of a garden that are often bought separately, each with its own page and its own starting price.
Fencing and gates
Closeboard on concrete posts with gravel boards, old fence removed — from £195 per metre. Panel replacement into sound existing posts from £150 per panel fitted.
Turfing
From £45/m², including the preparation and 150mm of BS 3882 topsoil. Turf laid the day it is cut, never left rolled on a pallet.
Artificial grass
From £105/m² on an excavated, compacted, permeable sub-base. The base is the job — and there are honest reasons not to choose it.
When a full landscaping job is the right call
When it's the right choice
- The garden slopes and you're currently only using a third of it. Terracing changes what the space is worth to you.
- You're already committing to a patio — the retaining, steps and levels around it cost far less done in the same visit.
- You want structure that lasts: rendered or brick retaining walls, built-in lighting, proper edging rather than timber that rots.
- You've had an extension and the garden has been left as a building site with made-up ground.
When it isn't — say so and pick something else
- You only need one element — a patio, or turf on flat ground. Don't buy a whole-garden project to get it; ask us for that one thing.
- You're planning to move within a year or two. A garden rarely returns its full cost at sale. A tidy, well-finished smaller job usually does better.
- The budget only stretches to doing everything thinly. A half-depth base under a big terrace is worse value than a smaller terrace built right.
- The real problem is drainage or a wet garden. That's a groundworks job first — landscaping over standing water just hides it for one season.
How we build a garden
Levels first. We set out the finished heights of every terrace, step and lawn before we move a barrow of soil, because everything else — wall heights, step risers, how the terrace meets the door threshold — follows from that.
Retaining walls are built on a concrete footing with drainage and a free-draining backfill behind them, so water isn't left pressing on the back of the wall. Where lighting is inset into a render finish, the conduit goes in before the render, not chased in afterwards.
Lawns get the ground prepared and levelled, not turf rolled over lumps. See the full build sequence →
Gardens we've built
Every photograph on this site is our own completed work. We don't name streets.
A fixed price before anyone starts digging
We measure, agree the build-up in writing and give you one price. It doesn't move. Not for hard ground, old concrete, rubble, roots or a soft spot — that's our risk and it's already in the number.
Zero deposit option for jobs that qualify — we confirm the terms with your fixed price.
Everyone else quotes "subject to survey" because they haven't checked the job properly. We do the survey first — measuring properly, checking levels and where the water goes, what planning rules apply, what has to come out, manholes, ducts, and access for digger and skip. So by the time we write the number down, we know what the job needs. That's why the price doesn't move, and why we can put it in writing before we start. If we ever do hit something, we stop, show you, and agree in writing what happens before we carry on. Ask your other quotes what they checked before they priced.
Ten years on the sub-base, ten years on the surface
Most guarantees quietly stop at the surface. Ours starts underneath it: the excavation depth, the membrane, the compacted sub-base, the falls and the edge restraints carry ten years, because that is the part that sinks and the part you can't check. The paving on top carries ten as well, because the laying is our workmanship — wear, staining and fair fading are the only things it doesn't cover, and the full terms say exactly which.
Common questions about landscaping
How much does a full garden makeover cost?
It depends almost entirely on how much the levels have to change. A garden that needs terracing, retaining walls and drainage costs several times one that needs a patio, turf and beds on ground that's already flat. We price the elements separately so you can see where the money goes and drop or stage anything you want.
Can the work be done in stages?
Yes, and often it should be. The sensible order is groundworks and levels first, then hard landscaping, then planting and turf last. Splitting it that way lets you spread the cost without paying twice to redo something.
Turf or artificial grass?
Turf if you want a real lawn and are prepared to mow, water it in its first summer and accept it will be tired in a drought. Artificial grass if the area is heavily used, shaded, or you genuinely will not maintain it. Artificial grass needs a proper permeable sub-base — laid straight onto soil it goes lumpy and holds water.
Do retaining walls need building regulations approval?
Retaining walls are not generally covered by building regulations, but height, what they are holding back, boundaries and any structure nearby all matter, and a wall retaining significant height may need designing. Walls over one metre next to a highway, or over two metres elsewhere, can need planning permission. We'll flag it if we think your job is in that territory rather than build first and hope.
How long does a full garden take?
Two to five weeks is typical for a whole-garden build, and it is not continuous surface work — a large part of it is excavation, levels, drainage and walls before anything visible happens. We'll give you a sequence with the quote.
Do you plant as well?
We build the structure: levels, walls, steps, beds, edging, turf and surfaces. We can plant up beds as part of the job. For a designed planting scheme we'd rather work alongside a planting designer than pretend to be one.
Towns we cover
We cover Hastings and a 25-mile radius.
- Hastings
- St Leonards-on-Sea
- Bexhill-on-Sea
- Battle
- Rye
- Eastbourne
- Hailsham
- Robertsbridge
Worth reading
- Laying turf on clay: what has to happen first
Why turf laid straight onto clay dies, what the failure looks like at three weeks and at three months, and the preparation that actually works.
Includes: how to prepare clay ground and work out how much turf and topsoil you need
- Your new-build garden is waterlogged. Here's who's responsible.
Why gardens on new estates hold water, how to tell compaction from a drainage fault, and the order to escalate it in — developer first, warranty provider second.
Includes: how to run a percolation test and measure your topsoil depth