The first question: what budget do you have?
During the first meeting, the question of budget quickly comes up: what budget do you have in mind for the garden of your dreams?
Many of our customers admit that they don’t have a realistic idea of the budget for their project, and are quick to ask: “Do you have an idea of the approximate cost?
Below, we’ll try to provide you with some information to help you answer this question as fully, fairly and realistically as possible. After all, there’s no magic formula that applies to every garden.
Every garden varies in terms of size, customer wish list, design and choice of materials. Location and access can also have a major impact on the cost of labor on the final bill, for example.
Prices for materials and labor fluctuate and are therefore difficult to estimate accurately. The garden contractor will then be in a better position to submit a bid for specific materials and the labor of his staff that is in line with the current market price.
Wishlist
The variability of the cost will also strongly depend on the customer’s wishlist. Today’s garden no longer consists solely of a terrace, lawn, fences and a few flower beds. Our aim is to provide a more qualitative experience that includes the garden as a real living space in the customer’s daily life. In combination with plants and nature, there is now a list of elements that are essential to include in a contemporary garden, such as :
- Covered terrace
- Pergola
- Parasols, solar canvases/tents or other shading solutions
- Garden furniture
- Outdoor kitchen
- Jacuzzi / sauna / shower
- Pond or water features
- Garden sheds
- Waste bin/wood storage
- Custom furniture or masonry
- Lighting
- Carport / Bicycle shelter
- Fire pit or outdoor fireplace
- Children’s play area: huts, swings and trampolines
- Planting of “remarkable” trees (trellised, multi-trunk, etc.)
- Sustainable furniture
- Decoration and pots
- Automatic gates
- Parking lots with access to an electric terminal
Each of these elements can have a completely different price, depending on its degree of finish, whether it’s made-to-measure or not, and so on.
The type of garden
The type and location of the garden will also influence the cost of installation. A garden in a recently built villa, where you’re starting from scratch, won’t have the same needs as an old city garden in need of renovation. Soil preparation, waste disposal (mineral and green) and even access will vary according to the site. In the case of a villa, access is directly into the garden, whereas for a townhouse, you’ll need to plan for manpower to get back and forth through the house. This means extra labor costs.
Another example: if you’re planning a small balcony terrace, the cost can quickly escalate if it’s a penthouse and a crane is needed to bring supplies and plants to the top floor.
The specifics of the site will also determine any additional costs required to improve the quality of the soil for planting, reinforce or increase the foundations of structures to guarantee their durability, solve a problem with surface water drainage, etc.
What’s more, as garden designers, we pay particular attention to creating timeless gardens that harmonize with the architecture of the house and its surroundings. The type of house will influence the choice of materials and plants. For example, an architect-designed villa will require materials that match its architecture, while a simple, modest home will have fewer constraints in this respect.
Guide price
At our first meeting, we’ll go over the above points and give you a price per square metre that applies to your situation and garden.
On average, the complete landscaping of a city garden costs between 450 and 650 euros per square meter. Larger gardens, on the other hand, are less expensive, costing between 350 and 450 euros per square metre. This price can go up or down, depending on your wishes, surface area, accessibility and choice of materials.
The importance of knowing your budget
Even if the garden can be built in different phases depending on the budget available. It’s still important for us to have an idea of your overall final budget. Because the whole point of using our services is to have a clear idea of the direction and destination. By having a clear plan of what you want to achieve, you can avoid mistakes and deviations along the way, which can cost you time and money.
Our mission when designing your garden is to maximize its potential while remaining realistic and in line with the means you want to devote to it.
Together we can then design a garden that meets your wishes, and possibly find solutions to achieve this goal within your budget. Choosing less expensive materials, simpler finishes, retaining existing plants or materials, working in phases are all examples of how to reduce the cost of garden design.