Prioritizing horticulture. Do you want to have the entire garden planned?

Hi!

We will slowly but surely start making first contact with garden landscapers - they said, as soon as the shell of the ground floor is standing, it makes sense to meet on the property.

I have read that, based on experience, one should budget about 18% of the construction costs for the outdoor areas / the garden. For us, that would be in the six-figure range. However, we only have about €50,000 available for the start. Therefore, priorities must be set.

From your point of view, what are things that should definitely be considered and executed right from the start? What, on the other hand, can maybe be mentally planned already but implemented at a later stage?

So far, we have only made rather rough considerations and want to ask 2-3 garden landscapers for proposals.

What we currently have in mind:

Front garden:
- Driveway and path to the front door with large stone slabs
- Two small trees in the front garden, maybe a maple and something else
- Lawn
- Maybe two strips with bark mulch to the left and right of the path to the front door and small mushroom-like trees planted there

Garden:
- Terrace
- Lots of lawn, few flower beds
- Possibly a hedge along the sides of the property; fence maybe later
- Due to the topology of the property, possibly a staircase from the terrace down into the green area
- A kind of outdoor seating area at the other end of the property
- Possibly another spot elsewhere for our loungers with some of those yellowish grasses around them (I think they're called pampas grass)
- We are mentally envisioning a greened pergola; but we don’t yet know if it should be on the terrace or rather at the outdoor seating area.
- I am dreaming of a large tree in the garden; but I haven’t really researched this yet and haven’t found a final solution from superficial googling; this probably only works with expert consultation
- Prospectively, a swimming pool or a hot tub could be considered (but we’re not yet professionally informed).

I think one has to give a garden landscaper clear guidelines right from the start.

Should one calmly have the entire final garden planned and then simply realize it step by step?

Looking forward to some tips on mental orientation / prioritization and on a sensible approach when consulting with the garden landscaper.

Top priority is of course the path up front and probably also the entire front garden. So that you don’t start in too many places but end up with nothing finished.

So I think if the budget is limited, although 50,000€ is not little for a start, it’s mainly about functional things that come before aesthetic frills. Splash protection around the house, driveway, entrance platform, terrace, are must-haves for me. If dog/children etc. are present, the enclosure, whether fence or hedge, should be done quite quickly. Then model the entire area and lay lawn on it, flower beds can come later (if there is no money left). For swimming pool and whirlpool, besides design aspects, water supply/drainage and (heavy) electricity are especially important. That should already be part of the shell construction planning if you don’t want expensive retrofitting later. If you really think of trees as trees, not thin little things, then plan a lot of money for that. We have a landscaping gardener in the family and it’s amazing how quickly such a thing can cost 5-10T€.

What Alex says is true. The basics are lawn, splash protection, possibly drainage, paving work in front and back. The money should easily be enough for that. I spent 14,500,- on it. With a professional company. For the planting and the hedge, feel free to get advice, name your or your ideas, but also listen to advice. What kind of soil? Not everything grows everywhere. Hedge evergreen or can it be bare in winter. Hornbeam would be insensitive. Cherry laurel is modern, but often needs trimming, it spreads a lot. And reacts to frost with wind like a mimic. Thujas are cheap, but like it moist to wet. The pine, on the other hand, prefers sand and dry. Apple always as a pair, otherwise nothing pollinates. You see, it is not without reason that agriculture and horticulture have to be learned. A good garden landscaper then develops a concept with you, and you follow it according to taste and budget. First basics, then planting, at the end possibly pool or fountain. Karsten

First the basics, then planting, and finally possibly a pool or fountain. Karsten

We purposely planned a rear garage door so that even after the shell construction is completed, a mini excavator can still get into the garden. Because at the time of the earthworks, we didn’t really have a plan to give the excavator operator any special tasks in advance. And a consulted landscape gardener said that looking at the property before the shell is up makes no sense at all; he can’t plan or suggest anything then. Let’s see; I’ll try to get an appointment in the next 1-2 weeks. The completed ground floor should be sufficient for that now.

In the long term, we really want to make it very beautiful there and are also ready to invest six figures for it. But it will take until next summer until the budget is available again. Then we will be able to finish it.

If anyone is interested, I’m happy to send the three landscape gardeners who are in the final selection via PM. Judging from their websites.

In our company, landscape gardeners are mainly there to create something, less to plan. They do plan, of course, but usually just practically without any passion [emoji6] For that, we have landscape architects, who then also work together with landscape gardeners. If you have landscape gardeners who also work with interesting materials and design, you are lucky. Otherwise, I agree with my predecessors: bring in substance. Designing flower beds with perennials and bushes is fun for most clients and can be done by yourself. If necessary, just cut the lawn again. For lawn, I would choose sod to immediately suppress weeds. A second or third terrace or pool should only be installed when you know how everything looks and where and how long the sun shines. Possibly then also play around with other materials. Not only Pinterest helps, also an annual subscription to a gardening magazine. Mein schöner Garten also has a garden planner for rough layout [emoji6] For trees, go to a specialist dealer! There are great trees there that you don’t even know yet.

Good tips, Yvonne! Thank you!