Exotic/Tropical border costing

I have been asked to quote for a new border to be created in a garden in spring ... The occupant wants a tropical/exotic style border ...

the length of the border is 25 meters .... the border is north facing, but there is a 4 foot wall, so the taller plants will receive full sun and the smaller plants will be in semi-shade .... he is on a corner property, so there is no trees/shrubs on the other side to block out sun for the larger plants / shrubs and the area is protected from strong wind

We were discussing his needs in his study, and I noted a quote from a landscaping company ... total cost quoted was £4200 ... there is no hard landscaping involved, just the supply and planting of the bed

I have not put pen to paper (properly) yet, but have just done a quick calc based on current prices of plants from one site ... hostas/ferns and Hakonechloa grass are prices that I recently paid off ebay ... the rest are prices from the site that supplies tropical/exotic plants

Acer palmatum Red Flash (20 litre 120-140cm) - £125


Canna Durban (4,5 litre pot) - £12 x 3 = £36

Cercis canadensis Eastern Red Bud - £20

Chusquea culeou Foxtail Bamboo - 5 litre - £42.50

Cyathea australis Rough Tree Fern - 2 foot trunk - £100

Fatsia japonica False Castor Oil Plant, Japanese Rice-Paper Plant - 10 litre £22.50

Musa basjoo Japanese Hardy Banana - 5 litre - £12 x 2 = £24

Paulownia tomentosa Foxglove Tree - 10 litre - £28

Phormium tenax purpureum - £25 x 2 = £50

Rheum palmatum Tanguticum Chinese Rhubarb - 5 litre - £12

Trachycarpus fortunei Palm 40/50cm trunk, 120/140cm - £92 x 2 = £184

compost/manure/rootgrow/perlite = £90

Tetrapanax papyriferus - £20


10 large leaved hostas - £25


30 huechera - £120


20 evergreen ferns - £100


30 Jack Frost Brunneri - £120


70 Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' for the border edge- £280


total: £1399 .... works out at £55.96/meter


I think that labour to sort the bed will take me approx 2 full days at a max .... and I'm sure that if I shop around, I will get these plants much cheaper

On this job, (based on what I have quoted and because I have seen the other quote) I would quote a total price of approx £2000-£2200, which will give me a profit of approx £800 for 3 days work (2 days to prepare and plant and add an extra day to collect most of the plants from the same supplier)

so not sure what plants the other landscaper has quoted, but if he is quoting similar plants and the similar sizes to what I have quoted, he makes a really good profit (approx £2800 profit for 2-3 days work?) ...

(or perhaps I quote too cheap) ... and perhaps that's why I'm so poor

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it's a difficult one, but I always quote the sizes of items such as palms and other plants ... if the client wants larger, they cost more, and I make this clear from the onset

I don't have a clue what was quoted, but will redo my quote and shop around ....there most prob will be less of some and some new plants not on my initial calcs

what has thrown me this time is the figure quoted by the other landscaper ... my quote will fill the 25m bed and the bed will be 'full'

I normally would come in a lot cheaper, as some of those plants grow pretty fast, so I would buy smaller sizes for cheaper .... palms and tree ferns are a different story though

I've also been stung before, by doing a comprehensive quote, with diagrams and listing each and every plant ... took me ages, only to find that the person who requested the quote, ends up doing it himself exactly to plan

so, of late, my initial quote just specifies x amount of palms, x amount of ferns etc etc without disclosing the exact details of the specis and without a detailed garden plan ....

if I get a firm order, I then go ahead and supply and discuss what I have in mind, and go into great detail

but to be honest, I think I always underquote as I am fairly new to the game ....

but has worked so far, as all my work is word of mouth and I'm kept pretty busy

 

That's why some landscapers charge extra for a comprehensive quote say something like £40 and then if the client goes a head with it then it then they subtract £40 from the overall cost

 

good idea that ... thanks ... will try that on my next quote and say that the £40 is for time spent planning and costing

 

You should also factor in an extra 10% to cover any unforeseen contingencies. Again, if you don`t use it you can always deduct it from the final bill. Always be honest with the client as he is your next advert.

 

dunno ... I helped a landscaper a few weeks ago planting shrubs/plants

his quote was £16 000 for the supply and planting ... must say that the garden was fairly large (at a guess, I would say 1 acre (4000 sq m), but the majority of the garden is lawn with flower beds on the edges, and also included seeding the lawn

he did supply some decent sized acers and other small trees and there was a bit of bamboo in a corner (a good sized bamboo is not cheap)

was a good job, and the garden will look very good once it matures

just think that I am underquoting .... but it's difficult to jack the prices up if all your work is word of mouth

word of mouth is from friends , so they tell their mates what you quoted ... so, it's hard to make it more expensive

however, once I start advertising and get new enquires, I will take a different approach, especially if I am busy

no more mr nice guy

 

another bit of good advice ... thanks Dai ....

think I need to re-evaluate my whole approach in the new year

 

You feeling alright *dim*? You are not sickening for something are you?

 

not sure Dai ... been a strange and wierd day (my 1st day without having to work for a few months)

I've been totally bored, but it's been mellow and I have had time to think a bit deeper (than normal)

sort of feel that I'm at some sort of crossroads in my life .... and planning for next year ... but saying that, nothing in my life has ever worked out to plan

:D

 

I'm almost ashamed to say that this made me laugh a lot

 

All right for some having sunday off. I had to work this morning, then go home and do some shopping, prepare sunday lunch then sort out some laundry.

 

Having seen his quote, then bang yours in at 3400
Have you factored in testing the soil on his site, and if you need to, manure and mulch it all, compost it remove what is there with disposal costs

You just say you have costed the plants and three days labour
I doubt you will be walking into virgin black soil rich loam borders already prepared ?

Leaving another quote for you to see, could be to encourage a lower quote from you, or it was a false quote to see if you were a rip off merchant, and the true cost would be about £2500
Best to be honest then, but do not work for the minimum just for work

Do you have a portfolio of different borders you have done preferably with what it looks like just planted and what to expect after one year/two

Or if you have not kept pics then get some off the net and compile one from that
You could show them the book and approx cost per metre
Say x per metre unprepared border, x per metre removal and establish border, x per metre ready prepared

Some pics of differnt types of plants, sort of pick it your self mate

A bit like funeral directors, coffins and flowers cremations and burials, church chapel or humanist

Jack McHammocklashing (off on me tangents again)

 

I`m a great believer in before and after pics.:D:D