Rutland Driveways & Landscaping 01572 344119 Site visit
Garden transformation with a lit porcelain seating area and lawn at dusk
Rutland · Stamford · Oakham

Landscaping & garden transformations

Whole gardens rebuilt from the boundary in: levels, terracing, patios, lawns, planting, fencing and lighting.

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5 yearWritten guarantee
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8 yearsTrading in Rutland

A full rear garden transformation typically costs £15,000–£35,000 for an average garden, and a refresh, such as a new patio and lawn, £6,000–£12,000. Large or steeply sloping gardens can cost £35,000 and up. Most take two to four weeks on site.

Full rear garden
£15,000–£35,000
Refresh (patio and lawn)
£6,000–£12,000
Large or sloping
£35,000 and up
Time on site
Two to four weeks

Our 2026 guide prices, all in. Your fixed price comes in writing after the site visit.

Landscaping & garden transformations

Gardens designed as one space

Our favourite projects start with a garden that is not working — sloped, tired, or simply never touched since the house was built — and end with somewhere you live in all summer.

What a garden transformation includes

Every garden is different, but most of our full transformations draw on the same kit of parts:

  • Levels and retaining: sleeper walls, brick and stone walls, steps and terracing that make sloping gardens usable
  • Patios and paths: porcelain, sandstone and limestone, with lighting designed in
  • Lawns: properly prepared and turfed, or artificial grass where shade, dogs or time make real grass a losing battle
  • Boundaries: fencing, gates and screening that give the garden its frame
  • Planting and beds: structure planting, raised beds and borders that look after themselves
  • Drainage: the invisible part that decides whether everything above it survives — vital on Rutland's clay

Designed around how you live

Before we draw anything we ask how you want to use the garden: morning coffee or evening sun, kids' football or quiet borders, entertaining twelve or hiding from everyone. The layout follows the answers, not a catalogue.

Got a garden that isn't earning its keep?

Walk us round it. Half an hour on site and we can usually sketch the bones of a plan there and then.

What we build

Garden and outdoor living services

Porcelain dining terrace in a stone-walled Stamford garden

Porcelain patios

Laid on a full mortar bed with a bonding primer. £150–£200 per m².

Indian sandstone patio with outdoor sofas against a stone townhouse

Sandstone patios

Indian sandstone, pointed and sealed. £130–£180 per m².

Steep garden terraced with sleeper walls, lit steps and planting

Garden design

Levels, drainage and planting planned as one garden.

Grey composite deck with LED step lights and steps down to a lawn behind a red-brick house

Composite & timber decking

On a braced frame. Composite £200–£250 per m².

Closeboard fencing on concrete posts and gravel boards along a lawn

Fencing

Closeboard, composite and aluminium slatted, from £80 per metre.

Artificial grass lawn beside a porcelain patio and lit raised beds at a new-build stone house

Artificial grass

On a compacted, free-draining base with fixed edges.

Long lawn framed by clipped hedges and deep planted borders

Turfing & planting

New lawns and borders on properly prepared ground.

Porcelain steps with recessed lights

Garden lighting

Low-voltage step, wall and planting lights.

Black aluminium louvred pergola over an outdoor sofa on a grey porcelain patio behind a red-brick house

Louvred pergolas

Supplied and fitted from £4,500.

Anthracite aluminium glass veranda over a dining area on a porcelain patio

Glass verandas

Fixed to the house. A 4m × 3m typically £9,000–£14,000.

Built-in outdoor kitchen with grill, pizza oven and bar stools under a pergola

Outdoor kitchens

Built on a concrete base, from about £6,000.

Sunken seating area with curved sandstone benches around a lit fire pit at dusk

Fire pits & sunken seating

Drained so they never flood. Fire pits £1,200–£2,000.

Porcelain terrace with fire pit and sofas overlooking Rutland Water at sunset

Hot tub & swim spa bases

Reinforced slabs, part-sunk and fully sunk.

Stone-faced garden room office with bifold doors onto the patio

Garden rooms

On a proper base, with power and planning checked.

Artificial grass lawn beside a porcelain patio and lit raised beds at a new-build stone house

New-build gardens

Compacted plots broken up, drained and finished.

Terrace garden before the work, with cracked and mossy concrete slabs

Patio repairs

Loose, sunken and stained patios put right.

Garden levelled into a lawn terrace with sandstone steps and a dining area

Landscaping across Rutland

Gardens in every Rutland village, by area.

Our standard

What you get

  • A plan covering levels, materials, planting and lighting before anything is dug
  • Retaining walls, sleeper terraces and steps for sloping gardens
  • Turf or artificial grass on properly prepared ground
  • Fencing and boundaries finished as part of the same job

The specification

  • Site cleared and spoil taken away by grab lorry
  • Levels and drainage set first
  • Hard landscaping: patio, paths, walls, steps
  • Soft landscaping: topsoil, turf, planting
  • Lighting and finishing
  • Five year workmanship guarantee in writing
Sleeper retaining walls with lit steps up to a lawn
Recent finishes

The kind of finish we build

Steep garden terraced with sleeper walls, lit steps and planting
Steep garden terraced with sleeper walls
Porcelain terrace, lawn and lit borders behind a modern stone home
Porcelain terrace
Long lawn framed by clipped hedges and deep planted borders
Long lawn framed by clipped hedges and deep planted borders
Porcelain terrace with fire pit and sofas overlooking Rutland Water at sunset
Porcelain terrace with fire pit and sofas overlooking Rutland Water at sunset
★★★★★

Rated 5.0 from 37 Google reviews

“Guys have done an amazing job with my back garden very pleased with finished product very professional”

Kim · Back garden — Google review

“Lovely service, had Lewis and the team landscaped and put new fencing in. Looks great and was done quickly.”

Zoe · Landscaping and fencing — Google review
Read the reviews
Questions

Things people ask us

How long does a full garden transformation take?
Typically two to five weeks on site depending on size and complexity, after a design and quotation stage of a couple of weeks. Weather has a vote, but a clear programme comes with the quote.
Is garden design included in a garden transformation?
Yes — design is part of the service for full transformations. For most projects a scaled layout plan and material palette is enough; we are practical designers rather than concept artists, and everything we draw is buildable on your budget.
Can a garden transformation be done in phases?
Often, yes. Many clients do groundworks, retaining and patio in year one and planting, lawn or fencing in year two. We will structure the design and quote so phasing does not mean redoing anything.
How much does a garden transformation cost?
A full rear garden transformation typically costs £15,000–£35,000 for an average garden, and a refresh, such as a new patio and lawn, £6,000–£12,000. Large or steeply sloping gardens can cost £35,000 and up. Most take two to four weeks on site.
Do I need planning permission to landscape my back garden?
Usually not: patios, paths, lawns, planting and low walls in a rear garden are normally permitted development. Permission is needed for a raised deck or platform over 30cm, a fence or wall over 2m (1m next to a road), and large changes in ground level that count as engineering works. Listed buildings need consent, and Stamford's conservation area and 17 Rutland villages have Article 4 directions, which mainly affect road-facing work. Front gardens have their own surfacing rule.
What is the best time of year to landscape a garden?
Hard landscaping such as patios, walls and steps can be built most of the year, stopping only for hard frost, when mortar and concrete should not be laid. Turf and planting do best in autumn and spring, when the soil is warm and moist. Many people plan and design over winter so the build is finished for summer, which means booking early, as spring and early summer are the busiest months for landscapers.
What is the best way to level a sloping garden?
Terracing is usually the best way: the slope is cut into two or more flat levels held by retaining walls, with steps between them, rather than filled to one level that needs a tall wall at the bottom. Sleeper walls are the most cost-effective option, with brick or stone where the wall is on show. Any wall holding back real soil needs concreted posts or footings and drainage behind it, and taller walls should be designed for the load.
How do you fix a waterlogged garden on clay soil?
By giving the water somewhere to go: land drains or French drains in gravel-filled trenches running to a suitable outfall, levels that fall away from the house, and compacted ground broken up before new topsoil goes down. Soakaways often work poorly in clay, so a percolation test comes before relying on one. Much of west Rutland, including the clay around Oakham, needs this, which is why levels and drainage are set before anything else is built.
How disruptive is a garden transformation?
Expect a few weeks of machinery, deliveries and noise in the garden, but little disruption inside the house where there is side access. Most work needs a route about a metre wide for a mini digger and barrows, plus somewhere on the road a grab lorry can reach to take spoil away. Where the only way in is through the house, materials can still be carried through with floors protected, but it slows the job and usually adds to the cost.
What is the difference between hard and soft landscaping?
Hard landscaping is the built structure of a garden: patios, paths, walls, steps, decking, fencing and drainage. Soft landscaping is the living part: topsoil, lawns, beds, hedges and planting. Hard landscaping is built first, because it sets the levels and needs machinery that would damage new turf and plants. Soft landscaping goes in last, ideally in autumn or spring, so it has the best chance to establish.
Does a garden transformation come with a guarantee?
Yes: our garden transformations come with a five year workmanship guarantee in writing. Manufactured products, such as composite boards or lighting fittings, usually carry their own maker's warranty as well. New turf and plants depend on regular watering through their first season, so whoever builds your garden should leave clear aftercare instructions, and it is worth asking how living planting is treated under any guarantee you are offered.
Patios, gardens and outdoor living

Every garden service

Patios and gardens

Outdoor living

Near you

Landscaping near you

Request a site visit

We measure up, check levels and drainage, and send a written proposal with the build-up, the programme and one whole price. No pressure and no follow-up sales calls.

Request a site visit Call 01572 344119
☎Call 01572 344119 Site visit