Doesn't sound at all bad for the labor intensive work you're having done. Transplanting anything is a bear. You want to keep the costs down, DIY some of that transplanting. You'll have much more appreciation for the level of difficulty and the time involved.

I'd say that you're getting off easy with all of that heavy handwork.

Four years ago I worked for a garden center in Chicago. At that time, labor was $900 per day. That was for a 3 man crew.

Your work transplanting IS labor intensive. How large a crew will be on your job?

I'm also Boston MetroWest. I'm guessing with that amount of work they will have to bring a bobcat in. For digging up the trees, transporting mulch, removal of patio etc. The bobcat would be included in the labor cost. Was you mulch included in your materials cost or labor cost? Isn't mulch about $40 per cf these days? Which would bump your labor cost by another few hundred. Were you given an estimate of how long this would take? Just transporting all these plants to your house will take a couple hours of labor. And there is the disposal charges for all the stuff you are tearing out.

Hi all,
Thank you for all the great input. The mulch is part of the labor so it would not be taxed. I would be surprised if they brought in a bobcat; the ewes are scrawny and some are near death, with the exception of one honking one. Those will go in the trash. The boxwoods are on the small side. The new planting bed won't be big and there are already two beds. The patio blocks are about 12" square and are not cemented together along the driveway. But, I could be wrong about the bobcat.
Think it's time to ask a few more questions. I do not know what size crew or how long the job is expected to take. My initial proposal was the total job cost with no breakdown of plants and labor. My second proposal did not list each plant only the total for all of them and the labor cost. I hat to bother the landscaper because I know he's really busy but I suppose at around $5,000, it's time to ask.

Are they just cutting down the yews or digging them out? The latter, I hope! So they may need a bobcat for that; even if they're scrawny, the roots may be pretty deep.

Also in metrowest, that doesn't sound out of line. Best way to find out is to get another estimate (admittedly hard this time of year). There's a reason I spent my weekend shoveling loam, digging holes, and spreading mulch instead of sitting in front of the toob.

Hi all,
Yes, the ewes are definitely being totally removed.
I agree about getting more estimates/proposals. I did call one landscaper who initially contacted me but that was it. The second one was a service that actually sent out a mailer with his services. Maybe he was swamped but he just got back to me after almost two weeks.
Well, I decided to go with my gut. I am expecting great things from this company. Work might just start this week!

Sadly enough two people can ask for the same estimate and get far different prices. The more upscale your neighborhood the more the price is. I know that is no help but the price of labor is just so arbitrary. I had 7 flower beds created (dug out 6" down), $600 of mulch laid, about 30 medium size plants planted, one small tree transplanted from my woodline, and several hedges moved. They also laid out a 12x13 patio.The job took 5 days and I paid just a little over $1k in labor,(2 workers $12 an hour each). It is now 3 years later and only one weeping cherry tree that was planted died so they did a good job. I don't live in the ghetto but I am not in an upscale neighborhood either. If I were the labor probably would have been the same as what your estimate came to.
There is a set rate of how much it cost to lay mulch so if you call and ask a landscaper they will tell you the rate in your area.

Wow! That is incredible! I also don't live in a ghetto, although the city is known as the Garden City and even the less affluent neighborhoods do a remarkable job of planting to beautify their property.
It will be interesting to see actually the length of time to get the job done. Your job sounds like you got a fantastic labor deal!

Hi all,
Today was the day! The landscaping is DONE! It took three men and was five hours to finish. It looks so beautiful but in the back of my mind I am doing the numbers. Roughly $3600 for three men for five hours? Not that I would care to do the work but...
Guess I will simply be happy with the beautiful job they did and try not to focus on the fact that, IF it were split three ways, they would be getting approximately $1200 each for five hours. No bobcat. No power equipment. A shovel was the main tool.
Go figure!