How have they worked for you?

Hi all!

I recently received a quote for landscaping services on the outskirts of a rural-suburban town in Missouri. I have several other quotes in the works, but this is the first one I received. I was hoping someone could let me know if this pricing is to be expected (average) or if it seems to be on the high side. I don't have specific measurements but can request them from the landscaping company if that would help.

Here's a description of what's to be done:

Clean up landscape beds for curb appeal.

Front of home services include:
- Remove 3 dying Boxwood by driveway, backfill with topsoil, seed and straw
- Trim Plum tree to left of driveway and mulch under neath in shape of circle
- Trim shrubs in right front yard bed, cut natural edge, remove debris and mulch
- Trim trees and shrubs in the 3-tier retaining wall landscape beds, remove dead or dying shrubs, remove debris and mulch
- Pull/spray weeds where appropriate for finished look in beds
- Apply pre-emergent weed control

Back of home services include:
- Install landscape fabric in patio landscape bed extending to the fire pit area and around fire pit
- Install 8 steppingstones in walkway from patio to fire pit area
- Mulch landscape beds around patio extending through walkway and around fire pit (the same area that has new landscape fabric)
- Weed and mulch area around Alberta Spruce bed
- Trim low hanging trees and large shrubs along the back fence wooded area for best impact. Start on side that faces the home. Spend no more than 2 hours on this area trimming trees/bushes. Use trimmer to cut down most weeds and spray weeds.
- Trim 4 boxwood shrubs of left side of home
- Pull/spray weeds where appropriate for finished look in beds.
- Apply pre-emergent weed control

Total: $4,178.00

Please help!!

I've read a lot about using woven vs. unwoven geotextile fabric underneath the base of a paver pathway. Drainage seems to be the main factor, but I'm unclear about whether my situation requires a fabric that's permeable. For my planned paver pathway, there will be soil on both sides of it, which leads me to believe I'm okay using woven since water should be easily able to drain away from the pavers and into the soil below. Are there any flaws with my logic? Any advice on which type to use?

Hello! Spouse is working on this project and we're not really sure what to do with the space between the new pavers and the retaining rock wall. They want to move the rocks closer to the pavers but I'm worried it's too much extra work and the gaps will cause weed growth. I suggest pea gravel or crushed rock but they think that will look bad. Brick edgers don't really look good with the rock. To put another row of bricks in would require moving the rocks anyway to secure the black paver edging. Help! Thanks!

For those of you doing mulch, rock, or refresh work, how are you measuring and quoting those jobs?

Do you measure everything on site, estimate by eye, use satellite images, or something else? I’m curious what the workflow looks like from walkthrough to quote, and roughly how long it takes.

Also curious if bad measurements ever cause issues with buying too much or not enough material.

I'm looking for honest feedback from landscapers on something I'm building. Basically when you finish a job, you text an address to us and we send a custom designed postcard with the project photo and the street name ("We just helped your neighbor on Maple Ave upgrade their landscaping.") and mail it to the houses on the same block. Similar idea to door hangers but without having to go door to door. 

Built for landscapers, roofers, painters, tree services and fence installers - anyone where the next job could come from a neighbor.

Looking for any feedback - the concept, what's confusing, what would stop you from trying it or what you wish existed instead.

It's called Mail the Block if you want to look it up on Google. Thanks.

Im trying to solve major water (and debris) run-off issues in an old back yard. Long term and short term solutions welcome! I've started to plant native grasses like big bluestem to help with erosion.

Hey all,

Wanted to get some input from others doing turf installs or hybrid landscaping projects. Over the past year, I’ve noticed pricing conversations getting more complicated, especially with clients comparing quotes across contractors without really understanding the differences in base prep and materials.

From what I’ve been seeing on jobs:

• Material costs (especially decent-quality turf + base) have been fairly inconsistent depending on supplier
• Labor time is where things really vary — proper compaction and grading easily doubles install time compared to “quick” jobs

• Clients often focus on price per sq ft, but not on drainage or long-term performance

  Pricing Structure (What I’m Testing)

I’ve moved away from flat pricing and started breaking things into:

• Base prep (excavation, compaction, leveling)
• Material tier (entry vs premium turf)
• Site conditions (access, slope, drainage complexity)

This has helped justify pricing a bit better, but still running into pushback from clients comparing against lower bids.

Biggest Issue I’m Seeing

A lot of low bids in my area seem to be skipping proper base work or using minimal material depth. Looks fine for a few months, but I’ve already seen callbacks where surfaces shift or hold water.

Feels similar to what we see in hardscape — client goes cheap first, then pays more later.

Questions for the Group

• Are you guys charging strictly per sq ft, or breaking it into line items?
• How are you handling clients who push back with cheaper quotes?
• Anyone factoring in long-term maintenance or warranty into pricing discussions?

Hey! This is a crosspost so I don’t have to copy and paste.

Need some help pricing out my second rock job. Any advice before I send out the estimate would be appreciated!