Memorial Garden Design Calculator

This calculator lays out a memorial/scattering garden's area budget and prices its construction. Total garden area is split three ways: your chosen pathway percentage, a fixed 25% for the scattering area itself, and whatever remains for planting beds — so raising the pathway percentage directly shrinks the planting allowance, not the scattering area. Landscaping cost applies a per-square-foot rate to the planting area only, scaled by the chosen level (basic turf at $8/sq ft, designed beds at $15, a landscape-architect premium tier at $25); pathways are priced separately at a flat $18/sq ft across the pathway area, and scattering-area prep (grading, decorative stone, borders) at $10/sq ft. Plaques, benches, and an optional water feature are priced per unit ($500, $3,000, and $15,000 respectively), while lighting and irrigation scale with garden size and planting area.

Annual maintenance is estimated as a flat 10% of the construction total — landscaped memorial spaces typically run 8-12% per year, so this sits near the middle of that range. The calculator also estimates potential revenue by treating each plaque sale ($500) and a companion scattering fee ($400) as recurring income per plaque sold, and reports a theoretical maximum plaque capacity of one plaque per 8 sq ft of garden area — a density assumption for wall or border-mounted plaques, not a guarantee of how any specific garden layout can actually accommodate them. Use this as a planning-stage budget, not a contractor quote: real landscaping and hardscape pricing varies heavily by region and site conditions.