Landscape design & construction in Pakenham & Cardinia.
From a bare Officer new-build lot to a finished front-and-back yard, project-managed end to end — design, paving, edging, garden beds, planting, instant turf and irrigation by one team. Commonly $15,000–$45,000 for a complete transformation across the Cardinia growth corridor.
Design and build, one team.
Why the corridor needs full landscaping.
The Pakenham growth corridor adds roughly 255 new dwellings a year, and the Pakenham East precinct alone is planned for 7,000-plus homes. Estate lots in Officer and Pakenham East are handed over as bare, compacted dirt — front and back — so a full landscape design and construction package is exactly what these homes need. At the other end, the first big estate wave in Cardinia Lakes, Lakeside and Heritage Springs is now 15–20 years old, with tired gardens being torn out and rebuilt.
What a full build includes.
- Concept design: a plan for your whole block — layout, levels, turf and planting suited to Cardinia’s climate.
- Site prep: clear, rip and grade the base, spread quality AS 4419 landscaping soil, set falls for drainage.
- Hard landscaping: paving, paths, edging, steps and feature elements.
- Soft landscaping: garden beds, mulch, advanced and screening plants — see our garden construction service.
- Turf & water: instant turf laid last onto the finished base, plus an irrigation system to keep it alive.
Worked example — a new Officer block.
A 400m² Arena-estate block in Officer, done end to end: soil prep across the whole lot, a paved patio zone off the family room, two planted garden beds with advanced screening plants for privacy, hardwood edging, 150m² of Sir Walter instant turf and a four-zone pop-up irrigation system. That project typically lands around $28,000–$38,000 — one fixed price, one team, one schedule.
Permits & structural work.
Most of this is soft works and hard landscaping that needs no permit in Cardinia Shire. A planning or building permit is generally only triggered by structural retaining over 1m, changes to site drainage, or a new crossover. We lodge Dial Before You Dig before excavation, and where a project genuinely needs structural retaining we hand that to our sister site Pakenham Retaining Walls rather than overbuilding it into a landscaping quote.
Where we work.
Landscape design & construction FAQs.
How much does a full landscape design and construction cost in Pakenham?
A complete front-and-back landscape design and construction package in Pakenham, Officer or Cardinia Lakes commonly runs $15,000–$45,000 depending on paving area, garden beds, feature elements and how much hard landscaping is involved. Worked example: a new 400m² Officer estate block done end to end — soil prep, 150m² of instant turf, a paved patio zone, two planted garden beds, edging and a pop-up irrigation system — typically lands around $28,000–$38,000. Smaller backyard-only makeovers start well under that.
Do you design as well as build?
Yes — landscape design and construction is one service. We start with a concept plan for your block, choose turf and planting suited to Cardinia’s hot, dry summers, set out paving, edging, garden beds and feature elements, then build the whole thing with one team and manage the project end to end. You get a single fixed-price quote and one point of contact.
Do I need a permit for a landscaping project in Cardinia Shire?
Most landscape construction — turf, garden beds, paving, edging, irrigation and planting — needs no permit in Cardinia Shire. A planning or building permit is generally only triggered by structural work such as retaining over 1m, altering site drainage or a new crossover. We lodge Dial Before You Dig before excavation and tie into stormwater per South East Water and Cardinia Shire requirements. Structural retaining is handled by our sister site Pakenham Retaining Walls.
How long does a landscape construction project take?
Most Pakenham backyard projects run 1–2 weeks on site. A full front-and-back build on a larger Heritage Springs or Beaconsfield block is usually 2–4 weeks. We give you a fixed schedule with the quote, do site prep first — clear, rip, spread AS 4419 landscaping soil and grade for drainage — then build hard landscaping, plant garden beds, install irrigation and lay instant turf last so it goes down onto a finished, prepared base.
Free landscape design quote.
Whole-block plan, fixed price in 7 days, one team start to finish.