Garden planning - first draft

You also point out a critical issue there. Unless you happen to drive a pickup, transporting grass/leaves by car quickly reaches its limits, especially when there is already a lot for compost. And you first need to have a trailer or borrow one from a neighbor; plus, the car needs to have a trailer hitch. There is a bit more involved than just dropping it off.

I only get a trailer from my father-in-law if I have large quantities. For the weekly lawn clippings, I fill the grass directly into those leaf/garden bags from Lidl/Aldi... just enough so I can carry it, and then I lug the bag into the trunk. Usually, I have to make two trips. It also serves as a good halftime break during mowing. Okay, that adds nearly 20 km of driving per week just for mowing... so about 10 € per month in fuel or transport costs. But as I said, that’s too much for the compost heap and the smell is unbearable. Leaving it or mulching is not an option either.

You have to differentiate a bit: approved terraces and those that result from garden design. Of course, it's a problem if someone actually complains :eek:

I’ll admit I’m difficult. I would never allow my neighbor a terrace right on the boundary.

I only have just over 100 sqm that is mowed weekly. I use it for mulching the vegetable beds. It doesn't get any greener. It is too much work for me and is still just a meadow and very far from a golf course lawn. Especially with the outdoor area, one can afford the luxury to let everything grow gradually. Nothing and no one forces you to have the garden designed "ready to move in" by a landscape gardener. Especially garden beginners first have to learn what they can and want to do can test whether wish and reality match. The seating area near the kitchen/boundary area does not have to be permanently paved if it is not used daily.

I admit that I am difficult. I would never allow my neighbor to have a terrace in the boundary area.

Why not? In case of doubt, you might be able to prevent something from being paved there, but certainly not that they sit there.

Why not? In case of doubt, you might be able to prevent something from being paved there, but not that they sit there.

For one, I would be unsure whether tolerating a terrace could, in the long run, force a setback agreement on my property. And secondly, yes, they are welcome to sit on the grass. But in the long run, that is not a solution, because sooner or later, pretty much everyone gets tired of constantly bringing dirt into the kitchen. So they will have to find another spot, instead of right next to my fence. After all, I do observe the setbacks as well...

At the front, we removed the entire lawn and planted bushes and ground cover. I don’t want to see anything from the street nor to be seen. From the front-most point of the house to the street is 7m.

[ATTACH alt="1653126745445.jpeg" type="full"]72005[/ATTACH] it looks like this when you look outside
Carport with Virginia creeper or whatever it’s called
[ATTACH alt="1653126896282.jpeg" type="full"]72006[/ATTACH]

at the back then the runway behind the carport, artificial grass, about 13x2.5m with olive tree in the middle, fig tree on the left, the covered terrace and house on the right. We normally enter the house here through the terrace door.
[ATTACH alt="1653127367283.jpeg" type="full"]72009[/ATTACH]
behind the olive tree it goes further with several bougainvilleas, oleanders, frangipanis, roses, hibiscus along the entire fence on the left,
[ATTACH alt="1653126183258.jpeg" type="full"]72000[/ATTACH] [ATTACH alt="1653126391357.jpeg" type="full"]72002[/ATTACH] in the background the olive tree in the lawn, on the right there are two more olive trees. Vine grows over the pergola. Everything that is Mediterranean grows well.
Also some vegetables, herbs of course.
[ATTACH alt="1653126294290.jpeg" type="full"]72001[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH alt="1653126136801.jpeg" type="full"]71999[/ATTACH]



[ATTACH alt="my house in google view.jpg" type="full"]72011[/ATTACH]
my street in the morning in spring and autumn. If you continue walking to the left on the street, you come to the sea.
[ATTACH alt="1653128603373.jpeg" type="full"]72012[/ATTACH]

maybe this is an inspiration