Best Landscapers in Nelson

We assessed 29 landscapers in Nelson and ranked the top 5 on public rating quality, review volume and how recent the reviews are. The businesses listed below hold 257 Google reviews between them. No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Last updated 22 September 2026. How we rank

Top 5 Landscapers in Nelson

The top 5 landscapers in Nelson are #1 Tim's Garden, #2 Handy Property Care, #3 Your Garden Guy, #4 Garden Buds, and #5 Lawn Rite Nelson, ranked by Top5 Score.

  • 1

    Tim's Garden

    ★ 4.9 70 reviews Score 153
    Highest
    5★ 66 4★ 3 1★ 1

    Tim's Garden takes on complete section landscaping, new build garden setups, and retaining wall builds, drawing up detailed concept plans before a spade goes in the ground.

    20 Neudorf Road, Upper Moutere

    Call 022 196 7109 Map Is this your business?
  • 2

    Handy Property Care

    ★ 5.0 26 reviews Score 142
    10.9 behind
    5★ 26

    Handy Property Care covers tree trimming, lawn levelling, garden maintenance, and decking repairs, often combining several jobs in a single visit.

    Moutere Highway, Upper Moutere

    Call 021 083 92908 Map Is this your business?
  • 3

    Your Garden Guy

    ★ 5.0 25 reviews Score 142
    11.4 behind
    5★ 25

    Your Garden Guy suits properties needing regular lawn mowing, hedge and tree trimming, and hands-on garden preparation like digging, manuring, and mulching.

    Call 020 403 62707 Map Is this your business?
  • 4

    Garden Buds Ltd

    ★ 5.0 24 reviews Score 141
    11.9 behind
    5★ 24

    Garden Buds transforms neglected gardens, new build sections, and patio installations, with Shadi and Ria working through design ideas with clients before a single plant goes in.

    Call 021 043 1188 Map Is this your business?
  • 5

    Lawn Rite Nelson

    ★ 5.0 15 reviews Score 135
    17.9 behind
    5★ 15

    Lawn Rite Nelson coordinates lawn renovation, hydroseeding, raised garden makeovers, and hedge trimming for clients who want one team to handle the full picture.

    Call 022 468 2374 Map Is this your business?

More rankings

More services in Nelson 11 links
Landscapers elsewhere in New Zealand 4 links

Before you hire a landscaper in Nelson

Whether you need landscape design, hard landscaping or ongoing garden and lawn maintenance, a good landscaper will consider drainage, soil quality and upkeep, not just how a garden looks on day one. Ask for a planting plan with maintenance notes, check whether they handle consenting for any structures, and get a breakdown of materials versus labour in the quote.

The questions below are drawn from 232 customer reviews collected for this page.

What does landscaping typically cost in New Zealand?

Basic garden tidy-ups and planting start from around $500 to $1,500 for smaller jobs. Full garden design and installation projects range from $5,000 to $50,000 or more for larger residential sections.

Paving, concrete, and decking work runs between $80 and $250 per square metre, depending on materials and site conditions. Soil complexity, site access, and the volume of hard landscaping versus planting are the biggest drivers of cost variation.

What should a landscaping quote include to protect me if the scope changes?

A solid quote should itemise specific plants by species and size, named materials by grade, and a clear payment schedule tied to project milestones rather than a single upfront sum. Reviews highlight that the best experiences came when landscapers drew up detailed plans with budgets before work started, so ask for this in writing before you sign anything.

The quote should also spell out a formal variation process covering how changes are priced and approved, so neither party is surprised mid-project. Confirm that site reinstatement, rubbish removal, and cleanup are included, as several reviewers specifically praised contractors who left sites tidy without being asked.

Do any landscaping works require council consent?

Retaining walls over 1.5 metres tall require building consent under the Building Act 2004, as do walls over 0.5 metres if they sit within one metre of a boundary or public space. Decks more than 1.5 metres above ground at any point also require consent, and structural retaining walls and certain decks must be built by or under the supervision of a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP). Earthworks rules vary by council, but moving around 50 cubic metres or more, or working on steep or erosion-prone land, will often trigger a resource consent requirement under your local district plan, so check with Nelson City Council or Tasman District Council before breaking ground.

What are the warning signs of a landscaper you shouldn't hire?
  • –A quote with no itemised plant list, no materials specification, and no written scope is a red flag regardless of how reasonable the price sounds.
  • –Inconsistent communication after an initial site visit, particularly going quiet after receiving a deposit, has been linked directly to poor project outcomes in local reviews.
  • –Any contractor who cannot explain whether your retaining wall, deck, or earthworks requires council consent is likely not across their legal obligations.
  • –Overlooking client decisions or requests during the job, rather than raising concerns and seeking agreement before proceeding, points to poor project management.
  • –No clear variation process means scope creep and unexpected invoices become your problem rather than a shared conversation.
What should you ask before hiring a landscaper?
  • –Ask for a written quote that lists every plant by species and size, all materials by grade, and the full payment schedule before you commit to anything.
  • –Ask what happens if specified plants are unavailable or die within the first season, and get the answer in writing as part of your contract.
  • –Ask who is responsible for obtaining any required building or resource consents, and confirm this is reflected in the quote.
  • –Ask how waste, soil, and green material will be disposed of, since reviewers who were happy almost always mentioned clean and tidy site management.
  • –Ask what ongoing maintenance the completed garden will need, including watering schedules, seasonal pruning, and fertilising, so you know what you are committing to.
  • –Ask whether the contractor holds any professional memberships such as Horticulture New Zealand or the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA), as membership signals a commitment to recognised standards.
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About this ranking

What the 10 landscapers listed above hold, at the 22 September 2026 check.

70
reviews held by the #1 ranked business
15
reviews held by the #5 ranked business
4.6
lowest rating among the 10 listed
1.2%
of their 257 reviews are one-star
How are the top landscapers in Nelson chosen?

We build this page from Google Maps results for landscapers in Nelson. Each one is scored on its public rating and review record, using the same published method on every page. Businesses outside the area, or whose reviews describe a different line of work, are left out. Every category and city is rechecked on a rolling cycle, about every two to three months. See how we rank for how rankings are made and who is left out. On specialist pages like this one, a business's reviews count in proportion to how many of them are about landscapers, so a business mostly reviewed for other work cannot win on review volume alone. See the words we look for.

Are you a landscaper in Nelson?

No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Claiming and verifying your listing is free: it adds a small trust bonus (+3 points) to your score, for confirming a real operator stands behind the listing, and gives you a dashboard showing how your score is made up. A paid subscription adds a website link, a profile page and your ranking history. Claim your listing or see what a subscription includes.

Not listed? The usual reasons are a Google Business category that does not match, too few reviews to score near the top, or an address outside the area we cover. Check where you rank first, and if you think we missed you, get in touch.

How far is each one from you?

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