Landscape Designer in Mudgeeraba
Hinterland homes and acreage deserve outdoor spaces that suit the land. We’ll help you plan yours with confidence — so nothing gets lost between the design and the build.
The plan is about your brief, not selling you a build · Fixed prices for homes, $2,530 to $6,850 inc GST · 5.0 from 66+ Google reviews
Landscape Design in Mudgeeraba: A Hilltop Entry That Leads You In
This new home sits on top of a sloping block of about a hectare. The old lilly pilly hedges had come out. The drive and entry did nothing to introduce the house.
The owners wanted curved beds, more lawn, and their money in plants, not stone.
The plan set out three zones: the entry, the driveway and the pool side. The planting was chosen for clay soil, an east edge in shade all day, and a dog in the garden.
The owners are planting it themselves from the plans. The driveway and house planters are in.
Mudgeeraba · Concept and Planting Plan · Owners’ names withheld
See the sample: Acreage Masterplan (PDF, 6.3 MB) →
Read the project page: The River Acreage
A decade of landscape industry and supplier know-how goes into your plan. What each package includes
New here? See how Gold Coast landscape design works: the process, the prices and sample plans.
What Shapes Your Mudgeeraba Design
Mudgeeraba’s hinterland lots bring heavy basalt soils, slopes and bushland edges into every garden decision. Here’s what we look at when designing for properties in this area.
78%
Separate houses · Mudgeeraba
Mostly separate houses, with townhouses making up nearly all the rest and very few apartments. The median resident age is 39. Blocks range from suburban lots to acreage on changing terrain, so the design starts from your site, its slope and its edges.
Source: ABS Census 2021Clay
Basalt Ferrosol · heavy when wet
Elevated lots sit on deep, fertile red clay-loam derived from basalt, which turns heavy and sticky in the wet months. Creek flats carry friable alluvial soils, and steep escarpment faces can be shallow and rocky. Cut-and-fill often changes the soil across a single block.
Source: Queensland GlobeBushfire
Bushfire hazard · landslide hazard
Bushfire hazard mapping is widespread, especially on hinterland fringe and acreage lots. Escarpment edges and steep lots fall inside landslide hazard mapping, and creek corridors carry waterway buffers. Confirm your lot’s mapping before planning earthworks, retaining or planting.
Source: Gold Coast City Plan1,405mm
Annual rainfall · 26°C avg max · 68% humidity
Subtropical — around 98 rain days a year, from the nearest station at Hinze Dam. Winter nights are cooler than on the coast, and salt is negligible. Low valley floors can see an occasional light frost in July and August.
Source: Bureau of MeteorologyThese are just some of the site factors that can shape a landscape design.
Your Landscape Design Packages
Where are you starting from?
- The structures are set (built, or on my builder’s or architect’s plans). I need the garden and planting worked out around them. → Landscape Plan
- The structures need designing, or I’m not sure the layout works. → Masterplan. It comes in three stages, bought one at a time. Stop whenever you have what you need.
- Only need a plan for approval of your own home or courtyard? For council conditions, a DA (development approval) or a building approval. For your estate’s rules or review panel. → Landscape Approvals Plan for council, estate and body corporate. $1,800 inc GST.
- Acting for a body corporate, a builder, a developer or a business? → Commercial & Approvals
Landscape Plan: $2,530 inc GST in total for your home. 2 to 3 weeks. The garden and every plant, worked out around structures already set. It doesn’t design walls, steps, decks, paving or drainage.
Masterplan: $6,850 inc GST in total, paid stage by stage: $1,850, $2,250, $2,750. 6 to 8 weeks. Each stage is yours to approve before the next begins. For a new layout, a slope, or walls and decks that trades need to price.
Every home plan starts with meeting your designer on site. Up to 90 minutes walking your yard and talking ideas. Then an email recap, with your design direction if you go ahead. $550, and it counts in full toward your plan.
Book a free 20‑minute video call
I’ll recommend the package your project needs, not the biggest one.
What the Landscape Plan includes
Landscape Plan
Structures already set? This is the garden around them.
The garden worked out around what’s already there. Your house, builder’s or architect’s plans are the base. I work out where beds, lawn, steppers and mulch go, then every plant: what to buy, how many and where. Your landscaper can price the planting from it. It doesn’t design new structures or ground heights: walls, steps, decks, paved areas and drainage are the Masterplan.
Planting chosen for Mudgeeraba’s heavy basalt soils and hinterland conditions.
First, we go through your yard and your ideas together. It’s $550, and it counts in full toward the $2,530 total.
- For
- Your home, structures in place or on your plans: plant it yourself or hand it to your landscaper.
- Not for
- New structures, walls, steps, decks, paving, ground heights, drainage or a steep site → Masterplan. Same if you’re not sure of the layout.
- Not for
- A plan just for an approval → Landscape Approvals Plan for council, estate and body corporate
Includes
- Layout plan with a key, one sheet. Your structures as the base, with beds, lawn, paths and steppers placed. Shown as intent (e.g. mulch, concrete steppers), not drawn to build from.
- A standard notes page
Planting
- The full planting plan and schedule, with bed-by-bed layouts and plant photos. I’m a qualified horticulturist: I choose every plant for your site and how you live.
Not included
- Designing new structures or ground heights: walls, steps, decks, paved areas, measured positions, drainage, a written materials list → Masterplan. A plan for an approval shows built elements as drawn on your builder’s or architect’s plans.
Getting it built
✓ Contractor handover included: I send your landscaper the plan set. I answer their questions on the drawings for up to 6 weeks after I send it. This ends sooner if you sign a contract with them. After that, I’m happy to answer a quick question where I can. Anything bigger is quoted separately. Your landscaper sets the price. I don’t negotiate it or review contracts.
For your home, the plan can work from a PDF. Tracing isn’t exact, so it is only as accurate as the plans you give me.
“Kieran followed up within a week with the plant plan and turned around a minor edit within 24hrs.”— Michael, Hope Island, planting plan
“He is very knowledgeable and demonstrated a great balance of creative vision and practical design.”— Shannon, Burleigh Heads, Landscape Plan
See a sample planSee what’s includedBook a free 20‑minute video callWhat the Masterplan includes
Landscape Masterplan
Layout to design, or structures and ground heights to price?
One plan, worked out stage by stage, and I stay with you through quoting. Good design is not decided in one meeting. So the Masterplan is three stages, each approved one at a time. You see the design at each stage. At stage 3, I check each landscaper’s quote lists what the plans show. Your landscaper then measures on site to confirm their price.
First, we go through your yard and your ideas together. It’s $550, and it comes off stage 1, so $6,850 is the full total.
- For
- A new layout, or you’re not sure the one you have works
- For
- Retaining walls, steps, terracing, decks, drainage or lighting that trades need to price
- For
- Steep, multi-level or complex sites
- Not for
- Structures already set and it’s the garden and planting you need → Landscape Plan
The first step
Design Consultation. Up to 90 minutes, on site or by video. You get an email recap and, if you go ahead, the proposed design direction. It’s $550 including travel in Gold Coast metro. Outside the metro, travel is extra. Every home plan starts with it, and it counts in full.
The three stages
- Concept · $1,850Your concept layout and mood board, walked through on a video call. One round of changes at the Concept. Send them as one list and I’ll make them in a single redraw. After that, minor 2D and schedule tweaks are included, but not changes to the 3D or renders. The budget round below is separate.
- 3D + plants · $2,250A 3D model of the design, built on approximate ground heights. You see it on a video call. Model images and files aren’t handed over. The full planting plan and plant schedule: which plants, how many and where each goes. The planting bed shapes.
- Renders, materials + spec · $2,750Three design renders of your finished garden. Materials and finishes. Ground heights from your survey, which may adjust the design. The layout and sizes of paving, walls and steps. Where lights, watering and drainage should go. An engineer or other licensed professional designs any retaining wall or drainage works. A spec for your landscaper and a list of what to buy and how much. All walked through on a video call.Quote support is included. Your landscaper quotes from the plans and the list of what to buy, so every trade prices the same plan. Send me each quote and I check it lists what the plans show. I aim to design to your approximate budget. Quotes can still come in over, so one round of design changes is included. The changes stay within the agreed design. It runs until you sign with a landscaper, or 6 weeks after your final plans, whichever is first. Your landscaper’s quote sets the cost. I don’t advise on price, quote, negotiate, review contract terms, visit site, supervise or manage the build.✓ Contractor handover included
Not included
- Engineering or certification
Your site survey
Stage 3 needs a contour and detail survey (ground heights) from a local surveyor, separate from the design fee. Recent Gold Coast surveyor prices for a 600 to 850 m² block ran about $2,090 to $2,750 inc GST. Yours depends on lot size, slope and access. After the call I can pass on surveyor contacts and tell you exactly what to ask for. Then every quote matches what the design needs. You engage and pay the surveyor directly. Architect or builder plans as well are ideal, but don’t replace the survey.
See a sample planSee what’s includedBook a free 20‑minute video callPick a time that suits, by video. Take away what we cover, or go further if it’s a fit. I design it. A trusted landscaper builds it: yours, or I’ll suggest one if I know a good fit. I take no commission.
Start with a consultationIt’s $550.
The Landscape Plan and Masterplan run remotely by default. You send site photos (including the view from the house), your site plan and your inspiration. We work through it by video.
Fixed prices for your home, front and back. On acreage, the same price covers the garden around the house. Commercial and multi-unit jobs are quoted on their own. Only part of the garden? Ask and I’ll confirm what fits.
I design it; I don’t build it. Plans are design intent, marked not to scale.
Your Landscape Design Advocate
I’m Kieran Morris — an experienced landscape designer and horticulturist (NZQA Level 3 Horticultural Science) based on the Gold Coast. I work with homeowners across South East Queensland and Northern NSW to create outdoor spaces that are designed around how you actually live — not just how they look.
Independent. I don’t sell plants, materials, or construction. My advice is based on what’s right for your property.
Clarity. You’ll see your entire outdoor space resolved on paper before anything gets built — so there are no surprises.
Book a free 20‑minute video call“I can absolutely recommend Kieran. He took time to understand our home before advising on the landscape design. I have worked with numerous landscapers over the years and Kieran is the best. On some of his advice I trusted him and now that the plantings are in I can see the beauty of his approach. The landscape has added far more to our home than I could have imagined.
Common Questions About Landscape Design in Mudgeeraba
How much does landscape design cost in Mudgeeraba?
Fixed-fee packages: the Landscape Masterplan is $6,850 inc GST in total, paid stage by stage: $1,850, $2,250, $2,750. Each stage is yours to approve before the next begins. The Landscape Plan, for a layout that’s already set, is $2,530 inc GST for your home, plant plan detail included. Know what you want? Start with the $550 Design Consultation. It costs the same on site or by video in Gold Coast metro, plus travel outside it. It counts in full toward the $2,530 Landscape Plan or the Masterplan. Only need a plan for approval, such as DA conditions (development approval), council requirements, your estate’s covenant or design review panel, a body corporate committee, or a building approval? A Landscape Approvals Plan is $1,800 inc GST for a simple single-house approval; multi-lot or complex DAs are quoted individually. The package figures are fixed for your home, front and back. On acreage, the same price covers the garden around the house. Commercial and multi-unit jobs are quoted on their own. The right package depends on how much of the layout still needs designing. See our full packages.
What’s the difference between a landscaper and a landscape designer?
A landscaper builds — they install gardens, paving, retaining walls, and irrigation. A landscape designer plans — we create the design, select species, resolve the layout, and produce the plans your landscaper builds from. Think architect vs builder. Most homeowners need both, in that order.
Do I need a landscape plan for my Mudgeeraba property?
If your lot sits on a slope, near bushland or along a creek, a plan is worth it. Much of the suburb is mapped for bushfire hazard, steep and escarpment lots fall inside landslide mapping, and the basalt clay turns heavy in the wet months. A plan settles levels, drainage and species selection on paper, around whatever your lot’s mapping requires, so the garden suits the land it sits on.
How long does the design process take?
A Landscape Plan takes 2 to 3 weeks of design time, and an approvals plan about 2 weeks. A Masterplan takes about 6 to 8 weeks, with each stage approved before the next. To begin, I need your site photos and any plans you have. Changes and your review time sit outside that, so you can take the time you need.
Can you recommend landscapers to build the design?
Yes — from concept to contractor. I’ll suggest one if I know a good fit, and I take no commission. Your design gives them a clear scope to quote from, so you can compare quotes confidently.
What plants suit Mudgeeraba’s heavy clay and drier hinterland climate?
The basalt clay holds water in the wet months, but the hinterland gets less rain than the coast, so we favour natives that handle clay and modest watering. Rose She-oak and Red Ash work as trees; Tantoon and Sweet Bursaria fill the shrub layer; Mat Rush ‘Verday’ suits the lower layer; Guinea Flower and Dusky Coral Pea cover ground or climb.
Design Inspiration for Mudgeeraba
Bushfire-Resilient Garden Design
Plant choice, spacing and layout for gardens near bushland and mapped hazard areas.
Australian Native Garden Design
Hardy local species and naturalistic planting that suit subtropical heat, humidity and summer rain.
How to Plan Your Garden
Where to start, what to decide first and how to turn ideas into a workable plan.
Landscape Design in Nearby Suburbs
We work across the southern Gold Coast — here are nearby suburbs we also service:
Ready to Design Your Mudgeeraba Outdoor Space?
Start with a free 20-minute call — we’ll talk through your property, your priorities, and the right next step. No obligation, no sales pitch.
Book a free 20‑minute video call