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.Hotzenplotz12 May 2018 11:14haydee schrieb:
I would also ask the local small landscaping contractor nearby.The neighbor had asked him as well. However, he was able to do less and was even more expensive!!
K
Knallkörper12 May 2018 11:19R.Hotzenplotz schrieb:
The garden costs are going to be a problem. I spoke earlier with the neighbor, who also had Rheingrün handle his garden. He initially budgeted €100,000 (about $110,000) but it was nowhere near enough. In the end, it cost twice as much, and he still had to make significant compromises. He said there wasn’t even dense planting with shrubs along the property fence, so you can see right through everywhere. All of that still needs to be done.
However, he also has a lot of stonework in the garden (paving slabs) and an elaborate water feature. Still, I think that’s quite extreme. I don’t see much else in the garden. No pool, nothing.Maybe he was trying to pull your leg. $200,000 and then a few shrubs aren’t included — that’s complete nonsense.
R
R.Hotzenplotz12 May 2018 11:48Knallkörper schrieb:
Maybe he was trying to pull your leg. $200,000 and then a few shrubs aren’t included – that’s complete nonsense.I tend to believe him. He uses very high-quality materials throughout the house. Even the tiles in the garden, etc., are elegant. And when I look at other gardens online, some with budgets of €250,000 (about $270,000) without having a designer stainless steel pool in the garden, I find that quite believable.
K
Knallkörper12 May 2018 12:12R.Hotzenplotz schrieb:
I believe him. He otherwise uses only very high-quality materials throughout the house. Even the tiles in the garden and so on are stylish. And when I look at other gardens online, some with budgets of €250,000 without a designer stainless steel pool in the garden, I find that quite credible.Well then, tell me where the 200k is going, besides the water feature. A few slabs on the terrace won’t cut it—are there 400 sqm (4,306 sq ft) of them? Of course, it’s possible the neighbor paid 200k, but the project could be done for 80k. Some people also assume our house cost 700k, but it was actually much cheaper. The same people pay 400k for a 140 sqm (1,507 sq ft) place with laminate flooring, external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) and interior doors from a hardware store.
So my advice is: get at least three quotes, compare them, and negotiate.
I would still ask the kid.
If, for example, he doesn’t offer products made of Corten steel, he can still sell them but at a higher price. If he doesn’t build pool systems, it’s better to say no right away.
Have him offer you a low-budget system and then add to it each year.
If, for example, he doesn’t offer products made of Corten steel, he can still sell them but at a higher price. If he doesn’t build pool systems, it’s better to say no right away.
Have him offer you a low-budget system and then add to it each year.
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