Residential Landscaping Perth

It depends on what you’re building. In Western Australia, freestanding retaining walls generally trigger a building permit once they exceed 500 mm in height, and structures over 1 m or those supporting other loads almost always require engineering and council approval. Pools, patios, pergolas, large decks, and crossovers also typically require permits.

Soft landscaping — turf, garden beds, mulching, planting, irrigation — usually doesn’t require approval. Each Perth local government applies its own rules, so it’s worth checking with your council (City of Stirling, Belmont, Joondalup, Cockburn, Wanneroo, etc.) before you commit to a design.

Construction work — paving, retaining walls, decking, pools — can be carried out year-round in Perth’s Mediterranean climate. For planting, autumn (March–May) and early winter (June) are ideal: cooler temperatures and reliable rainfall help plants establish before the summer heat. Late spring and summer planting is possible but requires more careful watering during establishment.

Timelines vary with scope. Smaller projects — a courtyard refresh, new turf and irrigation, a single garden bed — often take one to three weeks on site. Full backyard transformations involving retaining walls, paving, decking, and planting commonly run six to twelve weeks once construction starts. Larger projects with pools, outdoor kitchens, or significant earthworks can take three to six months.

Add a design and approvals phase before construction (typically four to eight weeks) for projects requiring permits or engineering.

Perth’s coastal plain is dominated by free-draining sandy soils and we have a Mediterranean climate of hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Plants that thrive here are typically waterwise and tolerate poor soils:

• WA natives: kangaroo paw, grevillea, banksia, eremophila, melaleuca, callistemon, dianella, lomandra
• Mediterranean exotics: olive, rosemary, lavender, agave, westringia
• Tropical-look (with irrigation): frangipani, strelitzia, cordyline, philodendron

The Water Corporation’s Waterwise Plants for Perth list is a useful reference and many of our designs draw from it.

Perth’s sand drains quickly and holds little nutrient or water, so soil preparation is a meaningful part of any planting plan. Standard practice is to incorporate soil improver, composted organic matter, and a wetting agent through the top 200–300 mm of garden beds. Mulching to 75 mm with a coarse organic mulch reduces evaporation and slowly improves soil structure as it breaks down. For lawn areas, a sand–loam blend or turf underlay is typically spread before laying turf.

The Water Corporation’s permanent two-day-a-week sprinkler roster applies to all Perth scheme-water and bore users. Sprinklers can only run on your two rostered days between 6 pm and 9 am. There’s also an annual winter sprinkler switch-off (1 June – 31 August) when sprinklers can’t be used at all.

This shapes how we design irrigation: efficient drip or sub-surface systems for garden beds, hydrozoning so thirsty and waterwise plants don’t share a circuit, smart controllers that adjust to weather, and plant selection that doesn’t rely on summer top-up watering once established.

A landscape designer develops the concept, plans the layout, selects plants and materials, and produces drawings. A landscape contractor builds it — earthworks, paving, walls, decking, planting, and irrigation. Some companies offer one or the other; others (including Landscapes WA) provide both under one roof, which keeps the design intent intact through construction and removes the handover risk.

Generally after — heavy machinery, trades movement, and stockpiled materials during a build will damage finished landscaping. We typically recommend bringing a landscape designer in during the build so site levels, drainage, electrical, plumbing rough-ins, and crossover positions can be coordinated, then completing the landscape construction once the home is at lock-up or handover.

Three things make the biggest difference: thick organic mulch (75 mm, topped up annually), deep but infrequent watering on your rostered days to encourage deep roots rather than shallow surface roots, and a quick spring tidy — pruning, fertilising, irrigation check, wetting agent — before the heat arrives. Lawn benefits from setting mowing height higher (35–50 mm) over summer to shade the soil.

An end-to-end residential landscaping engagement typically covers: site visit and brief, concept design, detailed design and material selection, council approvals where required, construction (earthworks, drainage, retaining, paving, decking, structures), planting and turf, irrigation install, lighting, and an establishment-period maintenance program.

Send through your address, a brief description of what you’re hoping to achieve, and any photos or plans you have. We’ll arrange a site visit to discuss the brief, take measurements, and talk through realistic budget and timeline before any design work begins. Request a consultation.