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:
Check out the Rheingruen website.
Amazing gardens!!!Sorry, but I find them all terrible. Even the naturalistic ones don’t come close to what I would consider a garden. However, it clearly shows what most people want. It may be professionally well executed, but it’s still not what I imagine a garden to be.
R
R.Hotzenplotz7 May 2018 23:58What types of gardens do you like? I would like to take a look at some different designs.
I can tolerate certain aspects to some extent. However, I wouldn’t want to actually live in such a garden. Even a family garden feels too sterile to me.
Recently, I visited a landscaped garden nearby designed in a Japanese style with plenty of gravel on the ground. Impressive, yes. But there, they even vacuum individual leaves using tights over the vacuum hose.
We also have some graphic design elements—and luckily, we managed to avoid that approach.
Because these installations only look good during the first year.
Once nature reclaims its space, the individual elements no longer look as neat as when they were first arranged. A straight edge, showcased prominently, looks good only while it’s perfectly straight. But it won’t stay that way. And ants actually prefer some elements, especially those with stones. A forgotten branch on the ground, which might go unnoticed in a natural garden, sticks out like a discarded soda can.
Do you plan to hire a gardener to take care of the plants?
Recently, I visited a landscaped garden nearby designed in a Japanese style with plenty of gravel on the ground. Impressive, yes. But there, they even vacuum individual leaves using tights over the vacuum hose.
We also have some graphic design elements—and luckily, we managed to avoid that approach.
Because these installations only look good during the first year.
Once nature reclaims its space, the individual elements no longer look as neat as when they were first arranged. A straight edge, showcased prominently, looks good only while it’s perfectly straight. But it won’t stay that way. And ants actually prefer some elements, especially those with stones. A forgotten branch on the ground, which might go unnoticed in a natural garden, sticks out like a discarded soda can.
Do you plan to hire a gardener to take care of the plants?
I have often seen newly laid gardens here with gravel and stepping stones in between. It looks quite nice, but the gravel doesn’t stay exactly in place, at least if you have children and/or a dog. Our neighbor also constantly picks fallen leaves out of the small gravel stones by hand, which is quite a lot of work.
Best regards,
Sabine
Best regards,
Sabine
Curly schrieb:
Our neighbor also always picks the fallen leaves out of the small gravel by hand, which is quite a bit of work.
Best regards
SabineMe too.
We have the same issue with leaves, including gravel with stone slabs.
Individual leaves don’t stand out if you accept some tolerance, but they do accumulate over time. Then I take the entire batch, or the oak leaves from the nearby avenue.
It’s not ideal, but it’s something you have to live with… even if it’s difficult.
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