ᐅ Setting Priorities in Landscaping. Should the entire garden be planned at once?
Created on: 1 May 2018 19:20
R
R.Hotzenplotz
Hi!
We are slowly but surely preparing to get in touch with landscape gardeners – they said that once the ground floor shell is complete, it’s worth meeting on-site.
I’ve read that, based on experience, around 18% of the construction costs should be budgeted for exterior works and the garden. For us, that would be in the six-figure range. However, we only have about €50,000 (around $55,000) available to start with. So priorities will have to be set.
From your point of view, what are things that should definitely be considered and implemented from the beginning? What can maybe be planned for mentally but realized at a later stage?
So far, we have only made rough plans and want to ask 2-3 landscape gardeners for proposals.
Here’s what we have in mind so far:
Front garden:
- Driveway and path to the front door with large stone slabs
- Two small trees in the front garden, maybe a maple and another variety
- Lawn
- Possibly two strips of bark mulch to the left and right of the front door path with small mushroom-shaped trees
Garden:
- Terrace
- Mostly lawn, few flower beds
- Possibly a hedge at the sides of the property; a fence maybe later
- Due to the property’s topography, possibly stairs leading from the terrace down into the garden
- A kind of seating area at the far end of the property
- Possibly a spot elsewhere for our loungers with some of those yellowish grasses around them (I think they are called pampas grass)
- We are thinking of a green pergola – but we’re not sure yet if it should be on the terrace or at the seating area
- I dream of a large tree in the garden, but I haven’t researched that properly yet and haven’t found the final solution with just a quick online search; it probably requires professional advice
- In the longer term, a swimming pool or a hot tub could be an option (but we have no technical information on that yet).
I think it’s important to give landscape gardeners clear instructions from the start.
Would it make sense to have the entire final garden planned and then implement it step by step?
I’m looking forward to some tips on how to approach planning and prioritization, and on how to best communicate with the landscape gardener.
Top priority is of course the access path at the front and probably the whole front garden, so that we don’t start many things in different places but end up finishing nothing.
We are slowly but surely preparing to get in touch with landscape gardeners – they said that once the ground floor shell is complete, it’s worth meeting on-site.
I’ve read that, based on experience, around 18% of the construction costs should be budgeted for exterior works and the garden. For us, that would be in the six-figure range. However, we only have about €50,000 (around $55,000) available to start with. So priorities will have to be set.
From your point of view, what are things that should definitely be considered and implemented from the beginning? What can maybe be planned for mentally but realized at a later stage?
So far, we have only made rough plans and want to ask 2-3 landscape gardeners for proposals.
Here’s what we have in mind so far:
Front garden:
- Driveway and path to the front door with large stone slabs
- Two small trees in the front garden, maybe a maple and another variety
- Lawn
- Possibly two strips of bark mulch to the left and right of the front door path with small mushroom-shaped trees
Garden:
- Terrace
- Mostly lawn, few flower beds
- Possibly a hedge at the sides of the property; a fence maybe later
- Due to the property’s topography, possibly stairs leading from the terrace down into the garden
- A kind of seating area at the far end of the property
- Possibly a spot elsewhere for our loungers with some of those yellowish grasses around them (I think they are called pampas grass)
- We are thinking of a green pergola – but we’re not sure yet if it should be on the terrace or at the seating area
- I dream of a large tree in the garden, but I haven’t researched that properly yet and haven’t found the final solution with just a quick online search; it probably requires professional advice
- In the longer term, a swimming pool or a hot tub could be an option (but we have no technical information on that yet).
I think it’s important to give landscape gardeners clear instructions from the start.
Would it make sense to have the entire final garden planned and then implement it step by step?
I’m looking forward to some tips on how to approach planning and prioritization, and on how to best communicate with the landscape gardener.
Top priority is of course the access path at the front and probably the whole front garden, so that we don’t start many things in different places but end up finishing nothing.
R
R.Hotzenplotz8 May 2018 19:50ypg schrieb:
Do you want to hire a gardener to take care of the plants?Yes, definitely.
haydee schrieb:
Prairie gardens, cottage gardensNow I have something to look up. I’m curious to see what those are.
I don’t want a rock garden either. I just liked the professionally designed landscaping at this Rheingrün (Rhine greenery). But I haven’t seen any that I want exactly the same or even 70% similar. Still, I think the company could do a good job with the landscaping.
For the front yard, we already have pretty clear ideas. Driveway and walkways as many as needed—no rock desert—but otherwise lawn and maybe some bark mulch between the lawn and the path from the street to the house, where small green trees or something similar could be planted.
Lots of lawn in the backyard as well. We’ll see if we should plan something special for the kids.
Since our terrace faces north and so you’d mostly sit in the shade there right in front of the house, we will probably have an outdoor seating area or something similar built.
We’re still undecided about whether to include a water feature. A swimming pool is planned for the future and should be taken into account now.
What would be a nice tree to give the large property some character? We expect to have a small maple in the front and something else small… maybe a walnut tree in the back?
R
R.Hotzenplotz8 May 2018 20:39I have now found quite a few things from Rheingrün that I really like.
"Minimalist hillside garden design with a water basin made of Corten steel and a fire pit"
Modern front yard with raised bed, ornamental grasses, and custom lighting (the driveway)
Mediterranean-style urban villa garden with a spacious terrace and lounge area
A nice feature is a seating area in the garden, designed with a kind of pergola that is covered with greenery.
"Minimalist hillside garden design with a water basin made of Corten steel and a fire pit"
Modern front yard with raised bed, ornamental grasses, and custom lighting (the driveway)
Mediterranean-style urban villa garden with a spacious terrace and lounge area
A nice feature is a seating area in the garden, designed with a kind of pergola that is covered with greenery.
Nordlys schrieb:
Wheat fields, Yvonne. Not for us. Only really nice from 10,000 sq m (2.5 acres) of land onwards.What I quickly looked up in the meantime already appeals to me: grasses combined with perennials, I like that. Low maintenance but very effective at knee height.
R
R.Hotzenplotz10 May 2018 15:10I found something here that was created during an early planning stage of our house.
What do you think? The uneven and sloping plot is the reason for the stairs. However, we can easily imagine the garden without stairs as well.
I think there is quite a lot of stone again. But it’s not bad either. My wife is concerned that stairs in the garden might be a no-go with children.
We envision grasses like those behind the bench at our seating area. It’s one of the few details that both my wife and I liked immediately.
What do you think? The uneven and sloping plot is the reason for the stairs. However, we can easily imagine the garden without stairs as well.
I think there is quite a lot of stone again. But it’s not bad either. My wife is concerned that stairs in the garden might be a no-go with children.
We envision grasses like those behind the bench at our seating area. It’s one of the few details that both my wife and I liked immediately.
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