Who employs the Desert Flower team members?
Australian Pathways OPC, a registered Philippine company. Desert Flower Landscaping engages a staffing service through Offshored; it is not the employer.
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Desert Flower Landscaping: award-winning Adelaide landscaping, with design and bookkeeping capacity built offshore
A client case study. Every fact about Desert Flower Landscaping comes from its own website, read 26 September 2026, and every cost figure is calculated from a published source named on this page.
What Desert Flower Landscaping built with Offshored
Desert Flower Landscaping is an Adelaide landscape design and construction company founded in 2020 by Malcolm Berce, now a team of 20 or more, whose work won three awards at the 2025 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show and three at the 2025 MLSA Awards of Excellence. Through Offshored the company has added two landscape designers and one bookkeeper, employed in the Philippines by Australian Pathways OPC and working in Desert Flower's own systems on Adelaide hours. At Seek's advertised Adelaide salary plus 12 percent superannuation, a landscape designer costs 63.4 percent less through Offshored and a bookkeeper 67.2 percent less, at the midpoints of the published ranges. For the three roles together the difference is A$181,000 a year, or 64.6 percent (Seek, refreshed 1 September 2026; Offshored fee bands, September 2026).
- 2landscape designers through Offshored, working in AutoCAD and Bluebeam
- 1bookkeeper through Offshored, running the accounts in Desert Flower's own systems
- 64.6%lower cost for the three roles at Adelaide salary plus superannuation, at midpoints (method below)
The client
About Desert Flower Landscaping
Desert Flower Landscaping started in 2020, founded by Malcolm Berce, an Adelaidian who returned home after several years landscaping in Byron Bay. Malcolm has 21 years in the horticulture industry, a background in landscape construction and a Diploma in Landscape Design and Horticulture. The company has grown to a team of 20 or more and delivers every project from design through to construction, working on high-end residential landscaping across Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills (About Us).
Recognition
- 2025 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. The ə'skāp garden, a collaboration between Distinctive Gardens, Desert Flower Landscaping and Yergan Landscapes, won Best Garden in Show, the City of Melbourne Award of Excellence and the Horticultural Media Association Award for Best Use of Plant Life. Malcolm Berce built the freeform natural stonework of the firepit area, the garden's focal point. The collective was the first from South Australia to take on a display of that scale at the show (project page).
- 2025 MLSA Awards of Excellence. The Scenic Court, Belair project won three honours: Residential Construction Exceeding $500,000, Best Use of Green-Life and the Judges' Choice Award (project page).
- Royal Adelaide Show display gardens. Grounded, a native garden, in 2024, and SOAK, a climate-ready rain garden, in 2025 (2024, 2025).
The problem
Three things were holding growth back
The owner's time, the cost of adding office and design capacity in Australia's current economic climate, and the need to keep skilled trade labour onshore for the construction work itself. Every dollar spent on an office hire in Adelaide was a dollar not spent on a landscaper on site. The company wanted design and bookkeeping capacity without taking it out of the construction crew, and it wanted that capacity as part of the team rather than as a service it rang.
The team
What Offshored provides: two landscape designers and a bookkeeper
- Two landscape designers. Garden design and design documentation for Desert Flower's residential projects, working in AutoCAD and Bluebeam, with quoting support and client follow up.
- One bookkeeper. Accounts, invoicing and reconciliations in Desert Flower's own accounting system, scheduling support, and the website and advertising administration in Squarespace and Google Ads.
Each team member is employed in the Philippines by Australian Pathways OPC, works only for Desert Flower Landscaping in its own systems and on Adelaide hours, and is managed day to day by Desert Flower. Offshored handles recruitment, onboarding, payroll and HR, with formal feedback from the client at the end of months one, three and six of probation and a named account manager throughout (how it works).
The numbers
The cost comparison, Adelaide, September 2026
Method: the same as the Offshored cost benchmark. Seek's advertised Adelaide salary range for the job title, plus the 12 percent superannuation guarantee (ATO), against the Offshored fee band for the matching role multiplied by twelve. Seek pages refreshed 1 September 2026, read 26 September 2026. Payroll tax, workers compensation, recruitment, equipment and leave cover are left out, which understates the Australian cost.
| Role | Adelaide advertised salary (Seek) | With 12% superannuation | Offshored fee, per year | Saving at midpoint | Cautious to upper |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape designer Offshored designers band, A$2,400 to A$3,400 a month | A$75,000 to A$95,000 | A$84,000 to A$106,400 | A$28,800 to A$40,800 | A$60,400, 63.4% | 51.4% to 72.9% |
| Bookkeeper Offshored bookkeeping band, A$2,100 to A$2,800 a month | A$75,000 to A$85,000 | A$84,000 to A$95,200 | A$25,200 to A$33,600 | A$60,200, 67.2% | 60.0% to 73.5% |
| Desert Flower's three roles two designers and one bookkeeper | A$280,000 at midpoints | A$99,000 at midpoints | A$181,000, 64.6% | 54.3% to 73.1% |
"Saving at midpoint" compares the midpoint of the Adelaide range with superannuation against the midpoint of the Offshored band for a year. "Cautious" compares the bottom of the Adelaide range with the top of the Offshored band, and "upper" does the reverse. Seek's landscape architect page for Adelaide shows A$70,000 to A$80,000 (Seek); the landscape designer title is the closer match to the work and gives the higher Australian figure, so it is the one used. Where a team member lands in the Offshored band depends on experience and qualifications.
The client's view
In Malcolm's words
"We build gardens. Every dollar I put into an office chair in Adelaide is a dollar I cannot put into a landscaper on a site. Offshored let us add design and bookkeeping capacity without touching the crew, and the people we got are part of the team, not a service we ring."
Malcolm Berce, Founder and Director, Desert Flower Landscaping
What made it work
What Desert Flower did that made it work
- Chose the people. Desert Flower interviewed and selected from the shortlist Offshored prepared, after Offshored's pre-screening interview and NBI clearance for every candidate.
- Gave real access. Its own AutoCAD and Bluebeam licences, accounting file, Squarespace and Google Ads accounts, with logins controlled by Desert Flower and removed on any team member's last day.
- Set the hours to Adelaide. Each team member works Desert Flower's day, so design questions and supplier calls happen in real time.
- Used the probation reviews. The feedback points at months one, three and six set the scope of each role and the standard expected.
Sources
Sources for every figure on this page
- Desert Flower Landscaping, About Us, MIFGS 2025, Scenic Court, Belair, Grounded 2024 and SOAK 2025, read 26 September 2026.
- Seek, landscape designer salary in Adelaide and bookkeeper salary in Adelaide, refreshed 1 September 2026, read 26 September 2026.
- Australian Taxation Office, super guarantee rate: 12 percent from 1 July 2025.
- Offshored, published fee bands on the pricing page, current at 26 September 2026; the roles, software and team size at Desert Flower as stated by Offshored and confirmed by Malcolm Berce, September 2026.
Desert Flower Landscaping's logo appears on offshored.net with its written permission. This page is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice.
FAQ
Questions about this case study
Where do the team members work?
From home in the Philippines, or from the Offshored office in BGC, Manila, depending on the role and the client's requirements. They work Desert Flower's Adelaide hours in Desert Flower's own systems.
What does the monthly fee include?
Salary, 13th month pay, SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contributions, HMO health cover after the six month probation, payroll, recruitment, replacement and day to day HR. There is no recruitment fee and no lock-in contract.
How were the cost figures on this page worked out?
Seek's advertised Adelaide salary range for the job title plus the 12 percent superannuation guarantee, against the Offshored fee band for the matching role multiplied by twelve, compared at the midpoint of each range. Seek pages refreshed 1 September 2026 and read 26 September 2026. It is the same method as the Offshored cost benchmark. Payroll tax, workers compensation, recruitment, equipment and leave cover are left out, which understates the Australian cost.
Can I speak to Desert Flower Landscaping about working with Offshored?
On request, and once the client agrees, Offshored puts a serious buyer in touch with a current client in a similar industry.
See what a designer or bookkeeper would cost for your business.
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