Best Landscapers in Palmerston North
We assessed 22 landscapers in Palmerston North and ranked the top 5 on public rating quality, review volume and how recent the reviews are. The businesses listed below hold 262 Google reviews between them. No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Last updated 3 September 2026. How we rank
Before you hire
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.
Top 5 Landscapers in Palmerston North
The top 5 landscapers in Palmerston North are #1 Clinton's Garden & Tree Services, #2 Mowmentum, #3 Tamed Property Care, #4 Guardian Tree & Landscape, and #5 Lawn King, ranked by Top5 score. Scroll for our take on each, plus what to ask before you hire.
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1
Clinton's Garden & Tree Services Ltd
★ 5.0 57 reviews Top5 Score 1535★ 55 4★ 2Clinton's Garden & Tree Services takes on planting and garden restructures, hedge and tree trimming, and full section clear-outs, covering both one-off transformations and repeat maintenance. Clinton walks clients through what he is doing as the work progresses, checks results against the original brief before leaving, and removes all green waste from site.
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2
Mowmentum Lawn Care
★ 5.0 33 reviews Top5 Score 1455★ 33Mowmentum turns overgrown and neglected lawns into tidy, well-edged sections, and keeps them that way through scheduled ongoing visits that clients describe as genuinely stress-free. Angus checks in with customers between visits to confirm the work still meets their needs, a habit several renters and landlords specifically single out as making the service easy to hand over and forget about.
The Square, Central, Palmerston North
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3
TAMED PROPERTY CARE LIMITED
★ 4.9 39 reviews Top5 Score 1455★ 38 1★ 1Tamed Property Care covers mowing, edging, weed spraying, tree and hedge trimming, and larger site work like levelling lawns and removing old hedges. Clients managing rental properties and rural blocks specifically name Tommi for keeping things in order without needing to be chased, which makes the service practical for owners who aren't on site to supervise.
44 Innerwell Lane, Ashhurst
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4
Guardian Tree & Landscape Services
★ 4.7 46 reviews Top5 Score 1415★ 41 4★ 2 1★ 3Guardian Tree & Landscape handles overgrown garden rescues, hedge cutting, fruit tree and ornamental pruning, and ongoing scheduled maintenance visits across residential properties. Jonas and team members like Nikki and Shaun quote on the spot at inspection, then arrive with a full crew, work through to completion, and leave the site clean enough that several clients noted no trace of the job remained.
422a Railway Road, Milson, Palmerston North
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5
Lawn King (Manawatu) Ltd
★ 5.0 18 reviews Top5 Score 1375★ 18Lawn King gets hedge trimming, section tidy-ups, and ongoing lawn maintenance done quickly, often arriving the same day a customer calls. Aaron brings clear ideas to garden transformations and is known for going beyond the stated job, mowing extra areas, moving obstacles, and finishing to a precise standard that regular clients return for week after week.
172 Lethbridge Street, Feilding
Before you hire a landscaper in Palmerston North
Drawn from 157 customer reviews collected for this page. The first answer is what it costs.
What does landscaping typically cost in New Zealand?
Basic garden tidy-ups and planting jobs start from around $500 to $1,500. Full design and installation projects range from $5,000 to $50,000 or more for larger properties.
Paving, concrete, and decking work runs between $80 and $250 per square metre, depending on materials and site conditions. Soil complexity, slope, and access all push costs higher.
What should a landscaping quote include to protect me if the scope changes?
A quote should spell out every plant by species, size, and quantity, along with the brand and grade of any hard materials like pavers or timber. One review flagged a contractor who completed extras without approval and invoiced five times the quoted amount, so insist on a written variation process before any out-of-scope work begins.
The payment schedule should be tied to project milestones, not just dates, and the quote should confirm who is responsible for removing all green waste and reinstating any disturbed areas. Confirm upfront whether GST is included, as the final figure can look very different if it is not.
Do any landscaping works require council consent?
Retaining walls over 1.5 metres high require building consent under the Building Act 2004, and walls taller than 0.5 metres within one metre of a boundary also trigger that threshold. Decks more than 1.5 metres above ground need consent, and earthworks moving significant soil volumes, often around 50 cubic metres or more depending on your council, require resource consent under your local district plan. Structural retaining walls and certain decks also count as restricted building work, meaning a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) must be engaged, which gives you legal protections under the Building Act.
What are the warning signs of a landscaper you shouldn't hire?
- –A quote with no detailed scope or plant list is a red flag, since one reviewer was invoiced five times the agreed amount after extras were added without permission.
- –Entering a property without consent or using a client's own tools without asking points to poor professional boundaries.
- –No answer phone or hours-long gaps in call-backs suggest you will struggle to reach them once work starts.
- –A contractor who cannot explain which council consents may apply to your job is shifting compliance risk onto you.
- –Negative driving behaviour linked to a business vehicle is worth noting, as it can reflect on how seriously a business takes its responsibilities.
- –Damage to neighbouring or on-site plants with no follow-up or apology signals that accountability ends once the crew leaves.
What should you ask before hiring a landscaper?
- –Ask for a written quote that lists every plant by species and size, every material by grade, and a clear variation process for any changes.
- –Ask what happens if a plant dies within the first growing season, and whether any replacement is included in the price.
- –Ask who is responsible for identifying and obtaining any required council consents, including for retaining walls, drainage changes, or earthworks.
- –Ask how all green waste and construction debris will be disposed of, and confirm this is included in the quoted price.
- –Ask what ongoing maintenance the completed garden will need, including watering schedules, feeding, and pruning, so you know what you are committing to after handover.
- –Ask whether they hold any professional memberships such as with Horticulture New Zealand or the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA), which indicate recognised professional standards.
Also recommended landscapers in Palmerston North
Ranked 6 to 10 on the same public review record.
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6
Green Moa
★ 4.7 22 reviews Top5 Score 1345★ 20 2★ 1 1★ 1Green Moa keeps lawns mowed, edged, and tidied on a recurring schedule that long-term clients describe as genuinely freeing them from weekend garden dread. Morgan runs fully electric equipment, which several work-from-home clients single out as a practical reason to keep the service, and he regularly shares garden care advice during visits without being asked.
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Smartscapes Landscaping
★ 5.0 13 reviews Top5 Score 1335★ 13Smartscapes designs and builds complete front yard and back yard landscaping, working to a fixed client budget and delivering finished results within tight timeframes, including one project completed across both yards in under ten days. Lachie draws up clear plans, takes direction openly during the job, and has coordinated work remotely for clients based in other cities, keeping everything on track through email and on-site meetings.
79 Polson Hill Drive, Aokautere
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8
Flourishing Landscapes
★ 5.0 12 reviews Top5 Score 1325★ 12Flourishing Landscapes designs and plants new gardens, maintains established ones, and tends ongoing garden care through regular scheduled visits. Phil works through the design and planting process at the client's pace, answering questions throughout, and completes jobs within the timeframes he sets upfront, leaving clients confident enough to hand over repeat maintenance.
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9
EZY LAWN CARE
★ 5.0 11 reviews Top5 Score 1315★ 11Ezy Lawn Care takes on heavily overgrown sections with thick, long grass and garden surrounds, turning them around within a single day. Iraia arrives promptly, often on short notice, and works through to a finish that includes tidy edges and cleared surroundings, with clients noting the difference was visible by lunchtime.
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10
Sileki Landscape Limited
★ 5.0 11 reviews Top5 Score 1315★ 11Sileki Landscape plants and establishes new gardens, selects fruit trees and natives suited to the site, lays lawn from scratch, and carries out hedge trimming and ongoing lawn maintenance. Simon researches design solutions and checks compliance requirements before a quote is even accepted, which several clients note gave them confidence before any work began.
About this ranking
What the 10 landscapers listed above hold, at the 3 September 2026 check.
Across the 14 locations we assess landscapers in, the 140 businesses listed have a median rating of 5.0, and one-star reviews are 1.4% of their total.
How are the top landscapers in Palmerston North chosen?
We build this page from Google Maps results for landscapers in Palmerston North. Each one is scored on its public rating and review record. Businesses outside the area, or whose reviews describe a different line of work, are left out, and a business whose main Google category is a different trade is held back until a person has checked what it does. A business whose website no longer resolves and that has had no Google review for six months is treated as dormant and left off the page until either changes. Every category and city is rechecked on a rolling cycle, about every two to three months. A location with a subscribing business is rechecked every month, and the whole page updates with it. See how we rank for the full method.
What does a business subscription offer?
No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Claiming and verifying a listing is free. It adds a phone number to the card and a small trust bonus (+3 points) to its score, for confirming a real operator stands behind the listing. The owner also gets a dashboard showing how their score is made up. A paid subscription provides an enhanced card with more ways to reach the business, including a website link and a detailed profile page. It also refreshes this page monthly and adds ranking history and competitor analysis to the owner's dashboard. The subscription adds nothing to the score. Claim your listing or see what a subscription includes.
Why isn't my business listed?
We build this page from Google Maps results for landscapers in Palmerston North. The usual reasons for missing out 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. Sometimes we miss a business that should be here. Check where you rank first. If you are not there and think you should be, get in touch.