How to price a planting plan when the budget keeps moving
By The db.garden practice· June 12, 2026· 1 min read
Every designer knows the conversation. The budget was forty thousand, then it was thirty, then a contractor quote landed and now nobody will say a number out loud.
Price the design work separately from the plant budget — your fee buys the thinking, the budget buys the plants. Keep a per-area cost view so when the number drops, you can show exactly what comes out and what it does to the design.
And present alternatives at two price points from the start. Clients who choose a budget feel ownership of it; clients who are handed one feel ambushed by it.
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