How to Become a Landscaper in the UK: Skills, Tools & Why a Website Matters

So you want to be a Landscaper in the UK? Here’s how to start strong

Landscaping is one of the most rewarding trades in the UK. You get to work outdoors, stay physically active, and turn gardens and grounds into stunning spaces people love. Whether you're drawn to soft landscaping (like planting and turfing) or hard landscaping (like patios, fencing, decking and walls), there is always a strong demand and plenty of opportunities.

Here’s what you need to know to get started — and how we can help new landscaping businesses launch professionally with a website and complete setup from day one.

Why start a landscaping business?

The landscaping industry is always popular and always in high demand, with both home owners, renters/landlords and businesses investing in their garden spaces along with the maintenance required. With people increasingly recognising the value of well-designed and well-maintained landscaping outdoor spaces, starting a landscaping business can be a lucrative and enjoyable venture.

Benefits of becoming a Landscaper

• ✅ High demand – Homeowners, landlords and businesses are always looking to improve outdoor spaces.

• 💷 Flexible income potential – Take on local jobs or grow into a full-scale business.

• 🌿 Satisfying, hands-on work – Perfect for those who love working outside and seeing instant results.

• 📈 Opportunity to specialise – From garden design to commercial maintenance, there's room to niche down and increase your value.

Do you need qualifications?

While formal qualifications aren’t mandatory, having training can help you stand out and land more work.

Recommended qualifications include:

• City & Guilds Level 2 or 3 Diploma in Horticulture or Landscaping

• RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) Certificates

• CSCS Card (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) for site work

Most importantly, a strong portfolio and reviews from happy clients speak volumes in this industry. Remember to always take plenty of photos, post to social media and ask any happy customer for a review.

How much does it cost to start a landscaping business?

Which tools are an absolute necessity will depend on which services you’re offering, and you can start with just a few garden tools and a vehicle, but startups.co.uk estimates you’ll need between £7,000 and £10,000 to start a gardening/landscaping business.

Standard equipment you’ll need

To get started as a landscaper, you'll need a core set of tools. Here's a quick checklist:

• Wheelbarrow

• Standard garden tools such as spade, fork, rake, hoe etc.

• Strimmer and hedge trimmer

• Lawn mower

• Cordless drill and basic hand tools

• Van or trailer for transport

• PPE (gloves, boots, ear/eye protection)

As your business grows and you offer services such as patios, fencing, garden room bases and more, you might invest in mini diggers, wacker plate, mixer, power saws, or even design software.

Why new Landscaping businesses need a smart (and fully managed) website

Your clients are online — your business should be too. But you will be busy getting on with the job to mess about online and do social media etc.

At SMB Booster, we help landscaping start-ups and existing/growing businesses launch or improve existing websites. We offer professional, mobile-optimised websites that don’t just look great… they are great, and they generate leads.

✅ Beautiful, fast-loading websites
✅ Service & area pages for SEO
✅ Tap-to-call buttons & quote forms
✅ Chat widgets and review features
✅ Fully managed for one monthly cost

We also improve existing sites and offer full marketing automation. You handle the hedges — we’ll handle the online presence.

And if you're just starting out, don’t worry — we support new businesses from day one. You don't need to be techy or have any website experience.

Start Your Landscaping Business Right

Whether you're a one-man band operation, or a person/team looking to scale, having a lead-generating landscaping website is key to growing your landscaping business.

👉 We offer a totally hands off website setup for a simple easy monthly payment and no contracts or commitments. Visit SMB Booster to get started from just £79/month.

Let’s build your business — while you build beautiful gardens.