New single-family house - Join us on this journey!

Hi everyone,

a new update is coming.

Yesterday, my architect and I visited the property together. We went through the various requirements and he thoroughly examined and documented the entire surroundings in detail. To his surprise, the northern part gets a lot of sun from 3/4 pm, which benefits that section of the property greatly.
Furthermore, I immediately had an appointment with a civil engineering company to assess clearing and demolition. We could probably get started quite quickly here.

Today, right afterward, we had another meeting at the architect's office. We went through countless project examples, our ideas, requirements, and much more again. My wife's input was again of great importance. The architect will now start the design phase with his team. We have a great feeling and all details make perfect sense. The presentation is planned for 22.09., where we will see a complete 3D model.

Since the topic of "garden" came up several times today, I would like to ask for your opinion on this.
The architect recommended hiring a garden architect for the project in addition. Not for all [HOAI] phases, but only for concept creation. The goal is for the house planning to harmonize wonderfully with the garden. As a result, I already had a nice phone call with an architect today.
To my dismay, it almost sounded as if I had opened Pandora's box. Everything sounded extremely complicated, lengthy, and costly.

One more info in advance: I checked the requirements of the building authority. Neither a free space design plan nor a tree inventory plan has to be submitted. Instead, it is sufficient if we consider the protected trees (2 in front, 4 in the back).

Now to my question: Which option would you choose?
a) Go the whole way with the architect
b) Work with the architect only to develop a concept and then hand this over to a landscape gardener
c) Work only with a landscape gardener, because his expertise is sufficient to create a nice concept by himself

As always, a big thank you to you all!

It depends on what you want… a skilled landscape gardener can also create a concept that is appealing and works. We hired a landscape architect who also accompanied the implementation. That was quite good, but also far from perfect. We changed some things right away in the next gardening season.

It depends on what you want... a skilled landscape gardener can also create a concept that is pleasing and works. We hired a landscape architect who also accompanied the implementation. That was pretty good, but also far from perfect. We changed some things in the very next gardening season

Well, what do we want... Our house architect will already ensure that in the modeling the trees to be protected, terraces, the pool (even if still uncertain) are included in the plans. We see the garden as a continuous project. In the first concept it is important that a nice lawn area (turf???) is laid, a few stone elements are cleverly placed, and an appropriate fence/hedge solution is chosen. In general, we have a rather "minimalistic" modern attitude towards the garden. As soon as we have settled in well, we can gradually add more elements over time. The remaining budget will not be able to handle a +120-150k€ garden. I don’t want that either. The only question for me is whether I see the matter too pragmatically and will end up regretting it. Am I thus acquiring a Ferrari (house) with steel rims (garden), or do we trust a good landscape gardener to create a nice concept alongside the construction itself?

If your garden is allowed to develop and grow over the years, I would recommend finding a capable landscape gardener in good time, asking them to create a concept, and later also for the initial implementation.

On ZDF there is a gardening show in which 2 landscape gardeners design a garden for a family after the family has given some things that are important to them and must be included. Then both landscapers each create a design, the family chooses one, and that one is implemented. Budgets of 20k or more are not uncommon. Still, the designs are often not very sensational. If you watch the beginning and the end of some episodes, you get an idea of the designs and gardens.

I am often a bit puzzled by the somewhat boring result and the high price. But still interesting. I only watch the beginning because of the designs and the end because of the real-life result.

Really beautiful gardens, I find, are the old-grown ones with sightlines, with old trees and plants. Of course, you can't achieve that immediately. I have the impression that (actually like in house building) much knowledge from previous generations is lost and the planning becomes "flatter." You can't go too wrong with that.

If I had the money, I would hire a garden and landscape planner + execution. But then one with specialized planning (e.g. pools, natural ponds, permaculture gardens, natural gardens, rock gardens or similar, depending on what is important to you).

Hi everyone, A new update is coming. Yesterday my architect and I visited the plot together. We went through the various requirements and he examined and documented the entire surroundings in detail. … Today, right afterwards, we had another meeting at the architect's office. We went through countless project examples, our ideas, requirements, and much more again. My wife's input was once again very important. The architect will now start the design phase with his team. We have a great feeling and all the details make perfect sense. The presentation is scheduled for 09/22, where we will see a complete 3D model.

That sounds really good! I wish you that this time you have the right architect! Give him time for the design… on the topic of garden… we have a VERY detail-loving architect and she included a landscape architect as an option in the cost estimate. However, he will clearly be subordinate to the house and if at all, will only be involved at the very end.