What does a garden cost? The key price factors

How to arrive at a reliable budget

At Fuchs baut Gärten, a sound price is reached in three steps: in the free initial consultation we clarify your wishes, the plot and the framework. Next comes the garden design – its fee depends on size and complexity, and the result is a standalone, reliable concept. On this basis we calculate the quote, in which every element is precisely defined – with no nasty surprises.

If the budget is limited, we plan in stages: the garden takes shape step by step without losing the overall picture.

The cost drivers nobody has on their list

Everyone thinks about materials and size. What really makes quotes diverge are usually five less obvious points:

Access. Can an excavator get onto the plot, or is the work done by hand? Weeks lie between the two. In extreme cases we lift machinery over the house with a crane – we have done that before, but it then appears in the quote too.

Excavation and disposal. Soil is heavy, and taking it away costs money. We have our own lever for this: our Erdenwerk in Reichersbeuern turns excavated material back into planting soil – what is recycled there does not have to go to landfill.

The ground. In our area the soil changes over short distances between glacial gravel and boggy pockets. On one, a wall almost needs no foundation work; on the other, it takes real effort. Looking at the ground before planning is therefore no formality.

The gradient. A slope is a gift in terms of design and a cost item in terms of calculation: every level needs a wall or embankment to hold it. See how this becomes an advantage in our sloping gardens.

Existing features. The cheapest item is the one that stays: established trees, sound surfaces, a wall that only needs new joints. Good planning starts by deciding what does not need to be new.

Where saving is smart – and where it gets expensive

Save smart: build in stages. Choose smaller plant sizes – a young tree that establishes well often overtakes one planted too large within a few years. Use reclaimed natural stone where it fits: at the Zehenthof in Kirchheim, the large boulders and crusted slabs are reclaimed granite – more beautiful than new, because they look as if they had always been there. And use simpler surfacing for secondary areas than for the terrace.

Never save on: the sub-base, waterproofing and drainage, or the soil for planting. None of it shows in photos – but all of it decides how the garden looks in ten years. The most expensive thing in garden building is building twice.

And the order: structure comes first – earthworks, walls, surfaces; this is the expensive part and can hardly be corrected later. Plants come afterwards: comparatively inexpensive, with the greatest impact. Features such as lighting or irrigation can wait – but their empty conduits cannot. They cost almost nothing during construction and save digging things up later.