Landscape Design Gold Coast
A plan for the whole outdoor space, worked out with you on site, covering the layout, levels, materials and planting, then built by the team that designed it.
Bella Terra Group is a landscape design and construction company based in Nerang, working across the Gold Coast. Our garden design work covers the whole outdoor space, from the layout, levels and retaining walls to the paving, planting, turf and lighting, and our own team then builds it. Quotes are free and measured on site.
Most of our landscape design projects begin with a conversation on site and finish with the planting. In between, the same team carries out the earthworks, walls, paving and lighting, so you aren’t left coordinating a designer, a builder and a landscaper on your own.
That continuity is what keeps the finished space close to the one you agreed on. Decisions made in the design, such as where water drains, how high a wall sits and where each light falls, are carried out by the people who made them. Our owner, Dion McGirr, leads the design conversation and stays with the project until it’s handed back to you.
The design
What Should a Landscape Design Resolve?
A good landscape design resolves the structure of a space and the planting that softens it, and it resolves them together. The structure means the levels, retaining walls, drainage, paths and paved areas that decide how the space is used. The planting, turf and lighting are what make it comfortable to spend time in.
One client valued having “one person to help with our structural and soft landscaping.” When two companies split that work, the joins are where problems appear, such as a garden bed with nowhere to drain or a light that can’t be wired without lifting the paving.
We plan both halves in the same design, before any machinery arrives, so each decision is made once and built in the right order.
The work
Our Landscape Design Services
Our own team builds every design we prepare, under our QBCC builder’s licence, with the lighting wired by a licensed electrician. There’s no need to arrive with a plan. Tell us how you’d like to use the space and we’ll work through the options with you.
Layout, levels and structure
The layout decides where you'll sit, walk and entertain, and the levels decide whether rainwater runs away from the house or towards it. On a sloping block, or after a heavy summer storm, these early decisions are what keep walls straight and paving dry.
Here's what our design and structural work covers.
- An on-site consultation about the block, how you'll use it and how you'd like it to feel
- A layout for terraces, lawns, paths and garden beds, worked out with you
- Levels and drainage settled before construction starts
- Retaining walls in block, rendered block, and timber or concrete sleepers
- Paving, crazy paving, steps and stepping stones in natural stone and porcelain
- Decks and outdoor kitchens for entertaining
Planting, turf and lighting
Planting is the part of a design that keeps growing after handover, so we choose plants that suit the Gold Coast's heat and humidity and the amount of upkeep you're happy to take on. Lighting is planned alongside it, so the garden works after dark as well as by day.
Here's what our planting and lighting work covers.
- Feature trees, palms and screening plants, placed with the house and boundary in mind
- Garden beds, hedges and pebble beds, edged and finished
- Natural turf, laid once the heavy work is complete
- Irrigation for new garden beds and lawn
- Outdoor lighting for paths, steps and planting, wired by a licensed electrician
Every design starts with a visit to your property. Standing on the block shows us the slope, the sun, the views and the access, which a photo or an aerial image can’t.
During the visit we walk the space with you, measure it and ask how you’d like to use it. We go through layout ideas, materials, how much upkeep each option needs and what it costs, so the design is shaped around your budget from the start.
The process
Our Process
Every landscape design project starts with how you want to live in the space. From there, it runs in three stages.
- Consultation and site visit. We walk the block with you, check its levels, drainage and access, and ask how you’d like to use it.
- The design and an itemised quote. We settle the design with you, then price each part separately, so you can see what every element costs and build in stages if you prefer.
- The build. Our team builds the design in the order below, and Dion walks you through the finished space at handover.
Why Is a Garden Built in a Set Order?
Each stage relies on the one before it. Pave before the cabling goes in, for example, and the paving has to come up again.
- The agreed design, pegged out. The layout and levels are marked on the ground, so each stage is built to the same lines.
- Earthworks and drainage. The dig and the drainage go in while machinery can still reach every corner of the site.
- Retaining walls and steps. Walls and steps fix the heights of each level, so the paths, beds and lawn are built to meet them.
- Lighting conduit and irrigation. Both are laid while the ground is still open, so nothing finished has to be cut or lifted later.
- Paving, decking and paths. Terraces, decks and paths go down on a compacted base, with falls that carry water away from the house.
- Planting and turf, last. Trees, beds and turf go in once the machinery has left, and the lights are aimed once the plants are in place.
Recent work
Recent Landscape Design Projects Around the Gold Coast
Recent projects include a terraced garden in Hope Island, a lawn and pandanus garden in Casuarina and a walled courtyard in Burleigh Heads. Our clients’ details stay private, so each project is shown by its work alone.
Casuarina: lawn and mulched garden beds under pandanus palms, beside the pool fence.
Burleigh Heads: a walled courtyard with lawn, a built-in bench seat and rendered planters.
Why Bella Terra Group
Choosing Bella Terra Group for Your Landscape Design
Dion McGirr, our owner, brings over 14 years in the trade to every design, and our projects range from a single courtyard to complete backyards and pool landscaping. More of them are in our project gallery.
The same company designs and builds the work, under QBCC licence 15452813, so the people who planned your garden answer for how it’s built. One client wrote that, thanks to Dion’s knowledge, “we got a higher end finish than we could have come up with on our own.” Another recommended Dion for “his attention to detail and his creative designs.” A third wrote that the team’s “design suggestions were innovative and tailored to my preferences.”
Quotes are measured on site and itemised, cost nothing and carry no obligation to go ahead.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does landscape design cost on the Gold Coast?
The cost depends on the size of the space, how much structural work it needs, the materials and plants you choose and the site access. Those vary too much for a set fee to be accurate, so we visit, talk through what you want and provide an itemised quote at no charge.
Do I need a separate landscape designer and landscaper?
No. We design the space with you and build it with our own team, so one company is responsible from the first site visit to the last plant. That closes the gaps that open when a design is handed to a different builder, such as levels that don't suit the drainage or a plan that costs more to build than expected.
How do I make sure the finished garden design matches what I pictured?
Agree the layout, levels, materials and planting before any work starts, and choose a company that builds what it designs. We talk through each choice with you on site, and Dion oversees the build, so the finished space follows the decisions you made together.
How do I choose a landscape designer on the Gold Coast?
Look at gardens the designer has finished, read reviews that mention the design as well as the build, and ask who will build it. Check the builder's licence on the QBCC register. A strong designer's answer covers the drainage and levels, not only the planting, and names who will run your project.
Do I need a licensed builder for landscaping work in Queensland?
For the structural parts of most projects, yes. The QBCC licenses structural landscaping work, which includes decks, retaining walls, excavation and the paving or concrete laid with landscaping. We hold QBCC licence 15452813, Builder - Low Rise, so the design and the build sit under one licence.
Source: the QBCC.
Areas We Serve Across the Gold Coast
We’re based in Nerang, and we design and build landscapes right across the Gold Coast. There’s no showroom, so every design begins at your property.
Each suburb brings its own conditions, from canal-front blocks to sloping hinterland sites, and a good design responds to them. If you’re looking for a landscape designer near you, our recent projects include Burleigh Heads, Burleigh Waters, Palm Beach, Currumbin, Currumbin Valley, Casuarina, Benowa, Hope Island, Oxenford, Robina, Carrara, Parkwood, Bundall.
If your suburb isn’t listed, ask us. We cover most of the Gold Coast, and we’ll tell you straight away whether we can help.
Written by Dion McGirr, who runs Bella Terra Group and has been in the trade for over 14 years. You can talk to Dion directly about your project.
Get a free quote
Share a few details about the space and what you’d like it to become, and Dion will contact you to arrange an on-site consultation. The quote is free and carries no obligation. Fields marked with an asterisk are required.
Let’s plan your garden
Get a free, no-obligation quote from our team.
Get a free quoteEvery quote is free, prepared on site and carries no obligation. Or call 0423 188 691.