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.Hotzenplotz schrieb:
...so let’s say excavating a 4x8m pool at 3m depth...A 3m (10 feet) deep pool??? Are you planning to place a 3m (10 feet) diving tower next to it?
Even public pools usually have lanes with a depth between 1.80m and 2.20m (6 to 7 feet). Private pools are generally between 1.20m and 1.60m (4 to 5 feet) deep. What exactly are you planning? [emoji4]
K
Knallkörper31 May 2018 22:11Excavating 3m (10 feet) seems realistic if the pool is to be about 2 meters (6.5 feet) deep. For constructions like these, a relatively robust base slab is necessary. The mass of this slab acts as flotation protection.
R
R.Hotzenplotz31 May 2018 22:29I only mentioned the 3m (10 feet) because I read it here. This is not planned and has not been discussed with a professional company. We are still at a very early stage. I also would have expected there to be technical equipment or something similar underneath.
It would probably be more economical to include the earthworks and foundation slab directly in the house construction, rather than leaving these tasks to landscape contractors with their small equipment and high material costs.
But if you don’t want to do that now, there’s probably no helping it.
The same applies to the connection of utilities to the house, such as electricity and possibly heating.
But if you don’t want to do that now, there’s probably no helping it.
The same applies to the connection of utilities to the house, such as electricity and possibly heating.
R
R.Hotzenplotz1 Jun 2018 07:58Alex85 schrieb:
The same would apply for connecting the pool to the house for electricity, and possibly heating?They mentioned that such pools are operated using an air source heat pump – so apparently separately. I will ask again to see if it wouldn’t be better done differently.
What kind of heating system do you have again?
For example, solar thermal would actually make sense for a pool. Or if there is a gas, pellet, or oil heating system, integrating it with such a large pool would definitely be worth considering, instead of installing a separate heat pump nearby.
For the heat pump, planning the proper underground cables, circuit protections, etc. in advance is advisable, instead of having to tear everything up later, run cables through walls, change electrical installations, and so on.
For example, solar thermal would actually make sense for a pool. Or if there is a gas, pellet, or oil heating system, integrating it with such a large pool would definitely be worth considering, instead of installing a separate heat pump nearby.
For the heat pump, planning the proper underground cables, circuit protections, etc. in advance is advisable, instead of having to tear everything up later, run cables through walls, change electrical installations, and so on.
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