A new garden is one of the few renovations whose result gets better every year, provided the foundations are right. What you see after the landscaping is the plants, the grass and the paving. What determines whether the garden will still be good in ten years' time lies underneath: the quality of the soil, the way rainwater drains away, the foundation under the paving and the position of cables and pipes. This article explains how a garden comes about from design to planting, in which order a landscaper works, which rules apply to digging, drainage, structures and planting near the boundary, and what to look out for when choosing a tradesperson and reading the quote.
Design and construction: two different steps
With a garden, a distinction is often made between the design and the construction. A garden designer or a landscaper with a design department first draws up a plan: where will the patio go, where the lawn or the borders, how does the path run, where do trees and a shed go, and how does the rainwater drain away. A good design takes into account the sun (where is it sunny in the afternoon and evening), the soil type (sand, clay or peat), the level relative to the house and the neighbours, and what you want to do with the garden: children playing, low maintenance, a vegetable patch or, on the contrary, lots of flowers for insects.
For a smaller garden, the landscaper often makes a sketch with a planting proposal as part of the quote. For a larger or more complex garden, with differences in level, a pond or structures, a fully worked-out design with a scale drawing and a planting plan pays off. You can then also have different landscapers quote on the same plan, which makes comparing them a lot easier.
Before any digging: the KLIC notification and cables and pipes
In and under almost every garden there are cables and pipes: the connections for electricity, gas, water, telecoms and sewerage, and sometimes grid operators' pipes running through the garden. Anyone who is going to dig mechanically, for example with a mini digger, must notify the Kadaster (the Dutch Land Registry) in advance with a KLIC-melding (excavation notification). That obligation is laid down in the Wet informatie-uitwisseling bovengrondse en ondergrondse netten en netwerken (Wibon, the Dutch act on information exchange about above-ground and underground networks). The notification is made by the grondroerder (excavator): the person under whose responsibility or direction the digging is carried out. If a landscaper digs with a machine, they normally make the notification; if you hire a mini digger yourself, you are the excavator. According to the Kadaster, the notification is also mandatory if you let others dig on your land with an excavator. As the client, the law also requires you to ensure that the digging can be carried out carefully.
You make the notification at least 3 and at most 20 working days before the digging starts; if the work does not start within 20 working days of the confirmation, a new notification is needed. If you dig by hand, a notification is not mandatory, but the Kadaster does recommend it. For making a design you can submit an oriëntatieverzoek (orientation request); however, you may not dig on the basis of it.
Note: the KLIC information is not always complete for the last few metres. Service connections between the house and the boundary of the plot are sometimes missing; for those you can contact the grid operator. And cables and pipes that you have had laid yourself, such as garden lighting, an outside tap, a pump or the drain from a downpipe, are not included at all. Tell the landscaper beforehand what you know, and have new cables and pipes in the garden laid at depth in a protective conduit and recorded on a drawing. Electrics in the garden must be installed just as safely as indoors; see May I do my own electrical work.
The order of the work
A garden is built from the bottom up. A skilled landscaper works roughly in this order:
- Clearing and demolition. Old paving, foundations, planting and building waste are removed and taken away. With new builds, the garden often contains rubble, sand and compacted soil from the building site.
- Groundwork. The site is brought to level and laid to falls. Compacted soil is loosened, poor soil is improved or replaced with topsoil, and where paving will go, the subsoil is in fact compacted.
- Drainage and water run-off. Drainage pipes, infiltration systems, the connection of downpipes and possibly a wadi (rain garden) are installed while the ground is still open.
- Cables and pipes. Conduits for garden lighting, power points, an outside tap or an irrigation system now go into the ground, before the paving.
- Structures. Foundations for a shed, canopy, retaining walls, fence or decking are made.
- Paving. Paths and patios are laid, with edging kerbs along the sides.
- Planting and lawn. Trees, shrubs, hedges and perennials are planted, and grass is sown or laid as turf.
- Finishing. Ground cover, mulch or bark, and a final check of the drainage after a heavy shower.
If the garden is being landscaped after a renovation or extension, only plan the garden once the heavy building traffic has finished. Scaffolding, skips and building materials compact the soil and damage new paving.
Drainage, rainwater and less paving
The most important principle is simple: rainwater must run away from the house. Paving around the house is therefore laid to a slight fall, away from the wall, towards the garden, a channel or a gully. Also, do not lay the paving higher than necessary against the wall: keep enough distance from the underside of the door thresholds and keep the crawl space air vents clear, otherwise water can get in and the crawl space becomes poorly ventilated.
The neighbourhood also plays a role. The Burgerlijk Wetboek (Dutch Civil Code) provides that lower-lying plots must accept the water that naturally runs off higher-lying plots. This applies to water that flows off naturally, not to water that you channel there yourself: an owner may not change the course of the water in such a way that the neighbours suffer unlawful nuisance from it, and the roof of a building or structure must be designed so that the water does not run off onto the neighbours' plot. So if you raise the level of the garden or build a canopy, you need to check where the water goes.
There are various ways to collect rainwater in your own garden:
- Infiltration: water soaks into the ground via grass, planting, permeable paving or underground infiltration crates.
- Water butt: a butt on the downpipe collects water that you can later use to water the garden.
- Wadi: a lowered part of the garden, planted or sown with grass, that temporarily fills up during a heavy shower and then lets the water slowly soak away. On clay soil, where water drains poorly, a wadi is less suitable.
- Disconnecting: the downpipe is disconnected from the sewer, so that the roof water is collected in the garden instead of loading the sewer.
Many municipalities encourage disconnecting downpipes and greening gardens, and some offer a grant for it. In a number of municipalities, the omgevingsplan (the municipal environment plan) also contains rules on collecting rainwater or on the amount of paving, especially for new builds. Ask your municipality what applies before the garden is designed. Disconnecting only works if the ground can actually handle the water; on poorly draining soil or with a high water table, a proper calculation by the landscaper is needed.
A paved garden seems low-maintenance, but it has drawbacks. Paving lets hardly any rainwater through, so in a downpour it runs across the patio towards the house or the sewer. In summer, stone heats up considerably and releases that heat in the evening, whereas planting has a cooling effect. And a garden with few plants offers little food and shelter for insects, birds and hedgehogs. Milieu Centraal (the Dutch independent information centre on energy and the environment) therefore advises keeping paving to a minimum and, where possible, using semi-permeable surfaces such as gravel or shells, through which water soaks away. Initiatives such as Operatie Steenbreek campaign for greener gardens.
A green garden does not automatically mean a lot of work. A good planting plan with ground cover and perennials that suit the soil and the sun leaves little room for weeds. A patio where you sit and a path where you walk are functional paving; the rest of the garden can be green.
Paving: the build-up under the slabs
Paving that subsides, ripples or forms puddles after a few years almost always has a problem in the sub-base. Good paving work consists of:
- a firm, compacted subsoil, where soft soil, peat and humus-rich topsoil under the paving are replaced with sand;
- a foundation layer of compacted sand, and for a driveway often also a layer of mixed aggregate or crushed rubble;
- a flat-screeded bed of paving sand on which the bricks or slabs are laid;
- edging kerbs along the sides, so that the paving does not spread apart;
- brushing in the joints and compacting the paving with a plate compactor, so that everything is held firmly in place.
On clay and peat soils, paving almost always settles somewhat over time. A good tradesperson takes this into account in the build-up and can explain what you can expect. Different rules apply to ceramic tiles on pedestals or on a bound bed; ask which method the landscaper proposes and why.
Structures in the garden: permit-free or not
A shed, summerhouse, canopy or pergola is a structure. In the achtererfgebied (the back garden area as defined in Dutch building rules), many of these structures need no permit, provided they stay within the national rules on height, floor area and distance from the house and the boundary. Your municipality may have additional rules in the omgevingsplan, and other rules apply to a listed building or in a protected townscape or village view. If in doubt, do the permit check in the Omgevingsloket (the government's online permit portal). The rules for the back garden are explained in Building an extension without a permit, and for fences and gates in Putting up a fence or boundary partition.
Removing existing trees may also require a permit; your municipality decides that. For more on this, see Felling a tree in your garden, and only let the landscaper start once it is clear which trees may stay and which may go.
Landscaper, paver or contractor?
A landscaper (hovenier) is the all-rounder of the garden: design, groundwork, paving, planting, lawn, fences and maintenance. For most private gardens, a landscaper is the logical point of contact, partly because they can see how paving, drainage and planting fit together. A paver (stratenmaker) specialises in paving and is a good choice for a large driveway or a garden that consists mainly of hard surfaces; many landscapers bring in a paver themselves for large paving jobs. A contractor is the more obvious choice if the garden is part of a larger renovation, for example with an extension, a cellar or heavy retaining walls, or if foundations and sewerage need to be installed that fall outside ordinary landscaping work.
A carpenter can be brought in for a summerhouse or canopy, and an electrician for garden lighting and power points. In that case, agree who does the coordination, so that the conduits are already in place before the paving goes on top.
The planting season
Not everything can be planted all year round. According to Milieu Centraal, trees and large shrubs are best planted in autumn; in winter it is also possible during a period without hard frost, and early spring is suitable too. This certainly applies to bare-root plants and root-balled plants, which are lifted and transplanted during the dormant period, roughly from autumn to spring. Plants in pots can in principle be planted all year round, but need a lot of water in summer.
According to Milieu Centraal, after planting, young trees and shrubs need extra water for one to two years during the period when they are in leaf, especially in dry spells. A water butt is handy for this. Sowing grass is best done in spring or late summer, when the soil is warm and moist; turf can be laid during a larger part of the year. Plan the landscaping so that the heavy work, such as groundwork and paving, is finished before the planting season starts.
Trees, hedges and the neighbours
When planting along the boundary, neighbour law applies. Under article 5:42 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek (Dutch Civil Code), trees may not stand within 2 metres of the boundary, measured from the centre of the base of the tree, and shrubs and hedges not within 0.5 metres. A local by-law or local custom may allow a smaller distance; check with your municipality whether such a rule applies there. The rule does not apply if the neighbour has given permission or if the neighbouring plot is a public road or public water, and the neighbour cannot object to planting that does not rise above the dividing wall between the plots; according to the law, an opaque fence also counts as such a wall.
Your neighbour may cut back branches that overhang the boundary themselves if you fail to do so after a formal request, and may remove roots that have grown through as far as they are on their plot. In the design, therefore, take into account the mature size of trees and shrubs, not the size at which they are planted. Discuss a new hedge or tree near the boundary with the neighbours beforehand; tips on this can be found in Renovating and the neighbours.
Choosing a landscaper and the quote
Ask for two or three quotes based on a visit to the garden, and preferably based on the same design. When choosing, look at experience with similar gardens, references and photos of previous work, registration with the KvK (Chamber of Commerce) and liability insurance. The trade association for landscapers and green-space contractors is the Koninklijke VHG. According to the VHG, members work for private clients under the VHG consumer terms and conditions; in a dispute you can go to the independent Geschillencommissie (disputes committee), with a guarantee that rulings will be honoured. There is also the independent quality mark Groenkeur for landscaping companies, with certification and checks by certification bodies. A quality mark or membership is no guarantee of good work, but it is a sign that the company commits itself to agreements and inspection.
A good quote for landscaping a garden contains at least:
- a description per component: demolition, groundwork, drainage, paving, structures, planting and lawn;
- the quantities: square metres of paving, cubic metres of soil and sand, and the number and size of the plants;
- the materials: type and colour of paving, build-up of the foundation, type of soil or topsoil, and the plant list with sizes;
- the removal of soil, rubble, old paving and green waste;
- who makes the KLIC notification and how unexpected cables, pipes or obstacles in the ground will be dealt with;
- the schedule, with its dependence on the weather and the planting season;
- the guarantee, for example on the planting taking root and under which conditions, such as watering;
- the payment terms and any provisional sums.
How to compare quotes fairly side by side is explained in Comparing quotes, and what is reasonable for a deposit in Paying a deposit to the contractor.
Maintenance after landscaping
The first years after landscaping are decisive. New planting needs water in dry spells, new lawns may only be mown once the grass has properly taken root, and weeds grow between young plants as long as the soil is not yet covered. Paving can settle a little in the first year and the joints sometimes need to be brushed in again. Also plan the regular maintenance: trimming hedges, keeping borders tidy, clearing leaves in autumn and keeping gullies and gutters clean, so that the drainage keeps working.
Many landscapers offer a maintenance contract, with a number of fixed visits per year. When the garden is landscaped, also agree what is covered by the guarantee if a plant does not take, and what you must do yourself for that. In the Maintenance calendar for your home you can see which garden jobs are due each season.
In summary: start with a design that takes sun, soil and water into account, have the KLIC notification made before any mechanical digging, make sure rainwater drains away from the house and into your own garden, limit paving, plant in the right season and take the distances to the boundary into account. On VerbouwPro you post your garden job free of charge and landscapers and contractors from your area respond.