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One issue I'm having, is when I submit an estimate, the client looks at the breakdown, and doesn't want to pay me MY labor rate for removal of brush, juniper, etc.
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I don't really get why that would be a problem, unless your labor rate is really high. They can keep the debris if they want but if you're taking it away you have to get paid for both your time and whatever it costs you to get rid of stuff. One option would be to charge a flat rate per truck/ trailer (or whatever) load of debris. Don't show it as labor if that is an issue.
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that is partly where I cover the hidden costs, like time spent doing research on what plants will be best for his soil composition, color combinations, etc, and time spent tracking down those plants, etc.
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You can solve that problem by charging outright for designs. Whether you choose to do it by the hour or as a flat fee depending on how involved the project is your time and expertise are something you should charge for. I personally think you should charge for design work seperately from the rest of the job. Do a design for someone....they pay you for it....then they can have you install it or not and at least you don't waste your time completely.
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It has been suggested to me that I should give someone a total price and not break anything down at all, but I've not had a lot of luck with that approach, the first thing they ask is how much I'm spending on plants.
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I'm a believer in breaking down pricing by task as in
Remove existing plant material $x
prepare planting area $x
install new plant material $x
Mulch, fertilize, water $x
etc.
Another way to do it, and what I do most often, is to give a price for each plant INSTALLED. So you take the cost of the plant, add in the labor involved in getting the plant and planting it and a your markup on the plant and you have a price for each plant. That gives the client the opportunity to decide if any specific plant is more expensive then they would like (like do they REALLY want that Japanese Maple bad enough to spend $2k on it) without giving them more info they they should have.
Nobody needs to know a labor/ materials breakdown and it is absolutely never anyone's business what you spent on plants, or any other materials. If they want to find out what wholesale prices are for a plant they can do the research. Otherwise they need to trust that you are a professional who is trying to provide them with a service and not trying to screw them. If you don't have that basic level of trust with a client you are just going to have one problem after another.
I'm rambling cause I'm putting off doing a proposal. I just want to go to sleep. 'Tis the season...