Garden planning - no budget

So personally, the support from the gardener and landscaper helped us. We have a sloping property with clay soil, and the ideas (different levels, retaining the slope, proposals for plants, etc.) and suggestions he had are things we would never have come up with on our own. However, we didn’t do everything at once but set priorities, for example, first the paths and terrace with lawn, and a few months later the hedge and additional plants as well as a gravel bed (you can also easily follow this in our construction blog). A garden and also the needs of its inhabitants grow over time.

Hello everyone

I would like to contribute something.

First of all, our house is now about 65 years old and the garden is about the same age. It has never seen a planner and probably never will as long as the house is inhabited by us.

Also, all garden work like planting trees and removing them again because they died of old age or because they were not productive enough, laying paths, etc. is all done by ourselves.

Now to some suggestions

First, you should consider what kind of garden you want

Ornamental garden:

At first, this sounds like little work. But if you want it to look reasonably decent, it actually involves a lot of work.

It is only for the eye and otherwise actually has no great use. Unless you have many flowering plants that insects can also benefit from.

Vegetable garden:

Takes quite some work on a few days (depending on the crops). Over the year, however, it does not necessarily take more work than an ornamental garden, possibly even less. When I look at how much time some neighbors invest in their ornamental gardens and compare it to our almost predominantly vegetable garden, I have to say it’s nice that our ornamental garden actually gets a little smaller every year. Because almost every year one or more self-grown red peach trees are added or space is needed for peas, etc. By the way, the peaches are a own (accidental) cultivation which has been propagated for over 50 years now.

Another advantage: freshly harvested and untreated food.

So consider what type of garden it should ultimately be.

About the paths:

I laid ours myself from about 3 cm thick concrete slabs which we still had (old garage driveway). For that, I simply removed some soil and then laid these slabs directly on the bare soil. They have been lying there for 20 or 25 years without shifting. How it would ultimately be for you I cannot say, as the firmness is not known in the end.

About the soil.

Ours is also actually quite clayey but it gets better every year because compost is constantly worked in. So plan for a compost heap as well.

How to get stones and plants cheaply.

Check ads both in newspapers and on the internet; lots of things are given away.

About your 2m high tree.

Please keep in mind that a tree can grow faster than you like. So it may be that you have something from a small tree for longer. But of course that depends on the respective tree. Better to inform yourself beforehand about the growth tendency and then think about how big it should already be now.

I wish you a green thumb.

Hello, I thank everyone here for the contributions so far. (Hier fehlt so ein Danke-Blümchen-Smiley.)

In any case, I will diligently search through the classifieds in due time.

The nice thing about the garden is that it gradually grows and constantly changes.
The bad thing about the garden is that it gradually grows... and looks bare at the beginning.

For me, the most important function of the garden is that it wraps around the house like a protective hand. I want to become a bit less visible, otherwise I find it hard to feel secure.
Our house somehow looks "naked" like that, it could visually be wrapped up a bit.
And the growing-in takes so much time. :-(

On the west side of the garden, I plan a small kitchen garden. I will just experiment there, and it will then show how I manage it and how big it will become.
I think there are simply easier (onions, parsley) and more demanding (peppers, beans) vegetables? I will choose cleverly...

On the south border, I would like berry bushes in the long run that, in my opinion, require little work. Possibly an apple tree, there are nowadays dwarf varieties and I think that will also require little work.

In the southwest, I would like a large tree for privacy and emotional reasons; I simply wish for a tree. I am gladly willing to sacrifice a lot of space and a bit of shade can also be good. I thought of a willow. It has the advantage that any amateur can prune it wildly as they see fit if it grows too big; it’s impossible to kill.
In the worst case, cut off the top, it will shoot out again. It might look a bit strange, but then I finally have an eye-catcher in the garden.

And otherwise, I just want a piece of green nature where one might see a bird. I don’t need geometric beds and cone-shaped bushes. I will tolerate daisies and moss. Tulip bulbs here and there in the ground and left to themselves.

I can also just try the slabs like that for now. If they really sink, then I will just have to compact underneath and add gravel and such.

Regards