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

That is a sign to me that the outdoor facilities are underestimated

That is exactly what the neighbor said. It is the same with us. The general contractor only planned about €45,000 for the outdoor facilities in the cost forecast. I only dealt with it late as well. But that's how it is. We can manage that immediately, further investments have to wait 1-2 years. Then we will realize it the way we want.

The garden can grow after all. It also changes.

Toddlers want a sandbox, swing, paddling pool
Older children want a trampoline, pool, soccer goal
Then comes the time when the family garden becomes unnecessary.

I also find the discussion very exciting. We will probably also belong to the category "outdoor area underestimated" [emoji23]. Or rather, we will have to be satisfied with modeling the terrain, spreading topsoil, and sowing grass. There will still be a fence and a homemade terrace. That's it. At least we have old trees in the garden, which are allowed to remain. At the back end of the garden, a wild hedge will stay so that birds can nest and insects can live there. We just need to figure something out regarding the risk of ticks. Oh yes, we will take about 12,000 euros for the garden. Not more. About half of that will go towards piling up and securing the terrace on it. The modeling of the garden (about 500 sqm) is supposed to cost 1,500 euros and take one day. The final price for the topsoil is still pending. But I don't think that's bad at all. There are different requirements for a garden. For us, it should be a place to play, barbecue, and grow vegetables. Nothing more. And you can also pay attention to the design to keep the price in mind. We never wanted to "completely redesign" a garden, but rather try to make the sloping garden usable by terracing and moving some soil.

Old tree stock has something, right? There are so many birds here, could listen for hours.

I want to have the apple tree's variety determined. Mother says it has always yielded well. I will make apple juice with this year's harvest.
It's a winter apple, good red apples, old variety, my great-grandfather planted it, she doesn't know more. Her uncle says it was already there when he was a boy.
In front of the house, I am allowed to plant fruit trees 50 cm closer to the boundary. The municipality agreed as long as I don't consider it a lawn, but a bee meadow.

For ticks, I swear by coconut oil for humans and animals.

I am of the opinion that if you go to a "luxury landscaping contractor," you also pay a luxury price. Most trees grow faster than you would like, so you don't need to plant a huge expensive tree right away. You can also do a lot in the garden yourself (if you want to), and it’s also fun. You can easily concrete a normal fence around the garden yourself; it’s really not difficult and doesn’t cost much. I also don’t think that landscaping costs can be derived from the house price. It depends on how big the plot is and what you want. We just got in touch with a pool builder and will have them make us an offer; I’m very curious what something like that costs. If I were you, I wouldn’t spend a lot of money on the garden first and then have a pool installed later. The pool builder will then destroy half the garden again with his excavator.

Best regards
Sabine

A simple fence around the garden can easily be concreted in by yourself, it's really not difficult and doesn't cost much.

I have no idea how to do that. I'm happy if I can hammer a nail into the wall and assemble an Ikea dresser. I definitely cannot build a fence.