THE SHORT ANSWER
Estimate a planting bed from its actual footprint, plant schedule, edging length and soil preparation. Keep irrigation and plant-care responsibilities separate from the installation price.
This guide follows a fictional 240 sq. ft. foundation planting bed in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The linked landscape bed installation PDF example shows the scope and 8 separate costs in Canadian dollars. Treat it as a worked document, then use measurements, supplier quotes and labour inputs from your own project.
1. Confirm the bed boundary
Mark the footprint and measure its area and perimeter. An irregular bed can have more edging than a rectangle with the same square footage.
2. Create a plant schedule
List species, sizes, quantities and supplier status for the actual site. The 12-shrub allowance is fictional and should be replaced after selection and availability checks.
3. Review soil and utilities
Record visible ground conditions and arrange required utility-location steps before digging. Significant soil correction or drainage changes need a separate scope.
4. Describe care at handoff
Include mulch depth or quantity based on the selected product, cleanup and basic care information. State who supplies ongoing watering and maintenance.
Review the Canadian project address
For the 240 sq. ft. foundation planting bed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the example uses the measured trade units shown in its PDF. Residential jobs may mix square feet, linear feet, counts and supplier units; keep each line’s measurement basis visible. Check access, grades, drainage and seasonal site conditions. Confirm any property-line, utility, design or municipal requirements that apply before committing to the work. The figures are fictional CAD inputs, not a local price survey.
Describe which products the customer supplies and which the contractor supplies. State how any site condition outside the visible scope will be assessed and priced. Do not copy an allowance from another city or assume a sample’s tax entry establishes the treatment for this client.
Work through the landscape bed installation quantities
The matching PDF lets the client check each extension of quantity and unit rate. For this example, two useful checks are:
- Sod removal and bed preparation: 240 sq. ft. × C$3.60 = C$864.00.
- Shrub material allowance: 12 each × C$103.00 = C$1,236.00.
Adding all 8 lines gives a C$5,212.75 illustrative subtotal. The PDF records 0% tax and C$5,212.75 as its total, before any markup. These are chosen sample inputs, not prices observed in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The measurement basis matters as much as the rate: a material purchase allowance may be larger than the installed area, while a fixture count is not interchangeable with hours of labour.
Check the scope before sending
- Measure bed area and edging.
- Approve plant species, sizes and counts.
- Review soil and utility information.
- Assign watering and irrigation responsibility.
Outside the illustrated scope: No irrigation system, drainage correction, tree removal, long-term maintenance or mature-plant guarantee.
Check the business and client names, property location, dates, quantities, unit rates and notes. Confirm tax, markup and any required approvals for the actual job. If selections or site conditions are unresolved, label the line as an allowance and explain how it will be updated.
Common questions
Is bed area enough to price landscaping?
No. Plant count, edging, soil preparation and mulch need their own quantities.
Who waters new plants?
State the handoff and ongoing care responsibility in the estimate or care document.
Open the itemized landscape bed installation example and its app-exported PDF to see these decisions presented to a client. You can adapt the structure while replacing every fictional project input with your own.
