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.Hotzenplotz13 May 2018 00:13Knallkörper schrieb:
That may be true, but a few posts earlier it was basically said: The neighbor doesn’t have much in the garden except a water feature, not even enough for a few shrubs, yet it cost 200k. So please...He has the place covered with paving slabs, gravel, etc. — I haven’t seen any greenery so far. But I haven’t been in the back area either. There was a small bonsai visible.
It must look quite upscale.
Also, it’s important not to forget how much a metal mesh fence costs.
Regarding excavator hours: digging went on for weeks! And that was just for the garden!
K
Knallkörper13 May 2018 00:23R.Hotzenplotz schrieb:
Regarding excavator hours. They excavated for weeks!! Just for the garden!Okay, but an hour of excavator work costs less than 100 euros all-inclusive. I mean a full-sized excavator, not a mini one. That adds up to 16,000 euros for 4 weeks if it really works continuously. By then, it would have dug up the plot twice, built a pond at the neighbor’s, and driven to the bakery at lunchtime with the excavator.
Presumably, a landscaping contractor who handles "luxury projects" also charges a higher hourly wage—and labor costs are usually a significant expense.
But it doesn’t really matter; there are plenty of people who have plenty of money to spend on this kind of thing and don’t care about the cost as long as it looks exactly how they want. If I didn’t have to watch my budget, I would also invest much more in the garden than we currently can. For example, in a beautiful wall with an iron fence on top. But as I already mentioned, I prefer a somewhat different kind of garden—and a lot of it develops naturally over time. That’s my luck.
But it doesn’t really matter; there are plenty of people who have plenty of money to spend on this kind of thing and don’t care about the cost as long as it looks exactly how they want. If I didn’t have to watch my budget, I would also invest much more in the garden than we currently can. For example, in a beautiful wall with an iron fence on top. But as I already mentioned, I prefer a somewhat different kind of garden—and a lot of it develops naturally over time. That’s my luck.
There are people like that in the neighborhood here as well... I don’t know the exact amounts, but easily six-figure sums just for the garden. That includes larger trees, almost mature hedges, walls and raised beds, elaborate terraces and water features... Definitely not my price range, but I’m glad we have a variety of nice gardens around us, rather than people who take five years to have decent outdoor areas... I often find that really frustrating in new housing developments, when it takes years before it no longer looks like a construction site.
R
R.Hotzenplotz13 May 2018 08:20I had also assumed ready-made hedges by now.
But I guess that’s exactly what the neighbor meant—that it just wasn’t possible to do more at the beginning....
And a tree that only grows properly when I’m a grandfather doesn’t help much either.
But I guess that’s exactly what the neighbor meant—that it just wasn’t possible to do more at the beginning....
And a tree that only grows properly when I’m a grandfather doesn’t help much either.
I actually think it’s a good idea to talk about the outdoor area as well.
People always say they’ll handle it later,
“Oh, it’s just a few extra dollars.”
I don’t see 30,000, 50,000, or even 100,000 as just a few extra dollars when it comes to costs that add up along the way.
You can’t expect to spend 50,000 dollars and still have those glossy photos in mind.
Didn’t we have to realize that during the house construction too?
If you look at new builds, it often takes years before anything happens with the landscaping, or they just have lawns bordered by 30cm (12 inch) high hedges. Some even manage to get a small front garden done.
To me, that’s a clear sign that the exterior landscaping is being underestimated.
People always say they’ll handle it later,
“Oh, it’s just a few extra dollars.”
I don’t see 30,000, 50,000, or even 100,000 as just a few extra dollars when it comes to costs that add up along the way.
You can’t expect to spend 50,000 dollars and still have those glossy photos in mind.
Didn’t we have to realize that during the house construction too?
If you look at new builds, it often takes years before anything happens with the landscaping, or they just have lawns bordered by 30cm (12 inch) high hedges. Some even manage to get a small front garden done.
To me, that’s a clear sign that the exterior landscaping is being underestimated.
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