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.
I understand that at least one day a week is reserved for leisure and family time.
For those who don’t get much enjoyment out of working in the garden, in terms of leisure value, and
for those who lack DIY skills, it’s better to hire professionals for that. There are companies for that.
You should know your own abilities.
My daughter loves to help and at two years old, she is involved everywhere.
For those who don’t get much enjoyment out of working in the garden, in terms of leisure value, and
for those who lack DIY skills, it’s better to hire professionals for that. There are companies for that.
You should know your own abilities.
My daughter loves to help and at two years old, she is involved everywhere.
I’m also a bit surprised that here, where people are often warned about taking on too much DIY because you can easily overestimate yourself, there is such strong insistence that you can just do everything yourself in the garden.
I wouldn’t feel like building a fence with a foundation myself either. I’d rather do the gardening on my own. But I also understand anyone who doesn’t want to do that. Then they just pay someone else, so what.
This has all been discussed already.
I wouldn’t feel like building a fence with a foundation myself either. I’d rather do the gardening on my own. But I also understand anyone who doesn’t want to do that. Then they just pay someone else, so what.
This has all been discussed already.
Since we’re talking about fences [emoji23]: is a welded wire mesh fence also suitable as a fall protection on L-shaped concrete blocks? If so, can it be installed as a DIY project? Or are there fences better suited for this purpose? The height should be at least 1.5m (5 feet).
Arifas schrieb:
Since we’re talking about fences [emoji23]: is a welded wire mesh fence suitable as fall protection on L-shaped retaining walls? If so, can it be done as a DIY project? Or are there better fence types for this purpose? The height should be at least 1.5m (5 feet).We installed our welded wire mesh fence (1.20m (4 feet) high) directly behind the L-shaped retaining walls, with the posts placed right against the L-walls. The panels are screwed on from the outside and then rest above the L-wall. We couldn’t screw them directly onto the L-wall. There are post brackets made for fence posts, but these were wider than the top edge of the L-walls, and I was also concerned that drilling into the L-wall might cause parts of it to chip off. The posts for the L-walls are half a meter (1.5 feet) longer than the panels, so they can be firmly set in concrete, which holds them very securely.
Best regards
Sabine
Müllerin schrieb:
I’m also a bit surprised that here, where people are often warned against doing too much themselves because it’s easy to overestimate one’s abilities, there’s such a strong insistence that you can handle everything in the garden yourself quite easily.
I wouldn’t want to build a fence with a foundation myself either! I prefer to do the gardening myself. But I totally understand anyone who doesn’t feel like doing that. Then they just pay someone, so what.
But all of this has been discussed already. My point was just to say that even without much experience, you can do some (not all) tasks yourself quite easily (though you don’t have to). I have to say that I enjoy many gardening tasks more than, for example, ironing clothes or cleaning. Especially children have a lot of fun helping out in the garden, which can be enjoyable for everyone.
Best regards
Sabine
Müllerin schrieb:
I’m a bit surprised that here, where people often warn against doing your own work because you can easily overestimate yourself, there’s such a strong insistence that you can easily do everything in the garden yourself.
I wouldn’t want to build a fence with a foundation myself either! I’d rather do the gardening on my own. But I also understand anyone who just doesn’t want to do it. Then they pay someone else, so what.
But all of this has been discussed already But this is really comparing apples and oranges... If you overestimate your own work during construction, it usually means
a) Your budget isn’t sufficient
b) Construction slows down because the next trade has to wait for your completion
c) You can’t move in because, for example, there are no floors installed
Often in any combination.
DIY work in the garden, at worst, affects only the appearance. You still live in the new home with the construction site right outside your door.
This really can’t be compared. Besides: power auger, ready-mix concrete, level it, wait, and the fence is up. There are other things in the garden that I’d have more respect for.
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