When you redesign your garden, you don't start from scratch. There are trees you want to keep, there are pipes and cables in the ground, and for years the rainwater has been running into the same corner. A garden makeover therefore succeeds above all through the right order: first work out what's there and what you're allowed to do, then build from the rough to the fine. This article takes you through these steps. It shows what can be split into stages, which jobs you can do yourself and when each job fits best. What a makeover costs is covered in How much does garden design cost?. Who can plan the garden for you is explained in Having your garden planned.
At a glance
- Survey first, then plan: trees, pipes and cables, slope, soil and light all shape what's possible.
- Ask first: there are rules for trees, hedges, walls and patio roofs. They differ by municipality and federal state.
- From rough to fine: demolition, earthworks and utility lines come first, then paths, patio and walls, then the plants. The lawn comes last.
- Stages are normal: plan the whole garden, but build first what can only be changed later by tearing it out.
- Yourself or a contractor: you can do the planting yourself. For sub-base, drainage, retaining walls and electrics it's better to hand the work over, and for electrics a professional is mandatory.
1. Take stock: what stays, what's in the way, what's in the ground
Before you think about style and plants, write down what's already there. Photograph the garden from the places you see it from most often: from the patio, from the living-room window and from the far end back towards the house. Add a simple sketch with dimensions, north direction and the house. These photos of the current state will help you compare later. A contractor can also do more with them than with a description.
These points belong in your survey:
- Trees and shrubs: which trees, hedges and large shrubs should stay? A large tree takes decades to grow. If it stays, it becomes the fixed point the new plan is built around.
- Built elements: patio, paths, walls, steps, fence, garden shed. What's still in good condition and can be reused?
- Utility lines: house connections for water, electricity, gas and telephone, plus your own lines such as outdoor sockets, garden water, downpipes, drainage or a rainwater tank.
- Slope and water: where does water stand after heavy rain? Where does it run from the roof and the patio?
- Soil: dig a test hole with a spade. Is the soil loamy, sandy or compacted? In gardens of new-build homes in particular, it is not uncommon to find building rubble or compacted subsoil under a thin layer of topsoil.
- Light: where is the sun in the morning, at midday and in the evening? A seating area belongs where you want to be outside when you have time.
You protect trees that stay from the planning stage onwards. Under the German standard for protecting trees on construction sites (DIN 18920), the root zone is the area under the crown plus 1.50 metres. No machines should drive there and no material should be stored there. Digging or piling up soil there is also off-limits. Cities refer to exactly this rule in their tree-protection guidance.
You clarify utility lines before the first dig. The German gas and water industry association (DVGW) points out that lines can also run under gardens. Anyone who digs must first ask the network operator about their position and depth. For your own lines on the property, the documents for the house and the installer who laid them can help.
2. What you're allowed to do: trees, hedges, structures, neighbours
A makeover almost always touches on rules. It's best to know the most important ones before you remove trees and shrubs or build anything. This section gives an overview of the situation in Germany and doesn't replace information from your local authority.
Trees: your municipality's tree protection bylaw. Many towns and municipalities protect trees above a certain trunk circumference, including on private property. In Berlin, for example, deciduous trees with a trunk circumference of 80 centimetres or more are protected, measured at a height of 1.30 metres. Most fruit trees are exempt. Anyone who wants to fell a protected tree there needs a permit first. Other places have other thresholds, and some have no bylaw at all. So ask your municipality before you fell a larger tree.
Hedges and shrubs: the closed season from 1 March to 30 September. During this period the Federal Nature Conservation Act prohibits cutting back, coppicing or removing hedges, bushes and other woody plants (§ 39(5) BNatSchG). Gentle shaping and maintenance cuts that only remove new growth are allowed. Trees on land used for gardening are exempt from this seasonal rule, and that usually includes private gardens. The tree protection bylaw still applies to them, though. In addition, it is prohibited all year round to destroy nests and other breeding and resting places of protected animals (§ 44 BNatSchG). That's why you schedule clearing and heavy cutting back for October to February.
Structures: your federal state decides what needs no permit. Whether you need a building application for a patio roof, a wall, a privacy fence or a garden shed is set out in your federal state's building code. The thresholds differ from state to state. In Bavaria, for example, patio roofs up to 30 square metres in area need no permit. The same applies there to walls and privacy fences up to 2 metres high, except in undeveloped outlying areas. But no permit doesn't mean no rules. Setback areas and the requirements of the local development plan still apply. For anything that goes on the boundary or gets taller, it's best to ask the building authority.
Neighbours: planting distances at the boundary. How far hedges, trees and shrubs must stand from the boundary is set by your federal state's neighbour law. In Bavaria, for example, the neighbour can require a distance of 0.50 metres, and 2 metres for plants over 2 metres tall.
3. The order: from rough to fine
The basic rule is simple. Anything that needs heavy machinery or moves soil comes before anything that would get damaged in the process. If you sow the lawn first and then build the patio, you'll drive the wheelbarrow and the digger right across that lawn.
- Demolition and disposal. Old paving, walls, foundations and any trees and shrubs that are to go come out first. The closed seasons from section 2 apply to trees and shrubs. Strip the top, humus-rich layer of soil beforehand and store it separately. The German Federal Building Code explicitly requires excavated topsoil to be kept in a usable condition (§ 202 BauGB). You'll need it again for the beds anyway.
- Earthworks and utility lines. Now the ground is shaped, the slope is created and the drainage is built. Cables, pipes and empty conduits also go into the ground now, for example for lighting, sockets or irrigation. Retrofitting them later under a finished patio means lifting the slabs again.
- Paths, patio, walls, steps. These are the hard elements that structure the garden. Paving next to the house needs a fall away from the house. Set edges such as lawn edging or bed borders at the same time, because they define the shape of the beds.
- Prepare the soil. Where vehicles have stood, the soil is compacted. Loosen it, put the topsoil back and improve it where needed.
- Trees and shrubs. Trees, hedges and large shrubs come before the smaller plants. They need large planting holes and sometimes machinery.
- Perennials, grasses and bulbs. They form the planting between the trees and shrubs.
- Lawn last. It's the most sensitive to anything that rolls over it or is set down on it.
4. Redesigning in stages: what comes first when the budget won't stretch to everything
Many gardens are redesigned over several years. That's not a disadvantage as long as the order is right. What matters is that you plan the whole garden before you build the first stage. Otherwise the path from year one won't fit the patio from year three.
What comes first is anything that can only be changed later by tearing it out:
- ground levels, slope and drainage,
- cables, pipes and empty conduits, including for things that only come later,
- position and sub-base of the patio and main path.
What can come later is anything you can add without a digger: more beds, perennials, furniture, lighting on prepared conduits, planters and decoration.
A simple question helps with priorities: what bothers you most today? At the top are things that can cause damage or accidents, such as water running towards the house or loose slabs. Next comes the space you use most often, usually the seating area by the house. Everything else follows.
One exception to "plants last" is worth making: trees and hedges grow slowly. If their position is fixed and no machine will need to get through there later, plant them in the first stage. Areas that will only be built later can simply be sown with lawn or a green manure in the meantime. That way they don't lie bare and don't fill up with weeds.
5. Do it yourself or hire a contractor? The decision for each job
Whether you do a job yourself depends on four questions:
- How much strength and time does it take?
- Which machines does it need? You can hire a mini digger or a plate compactor, but you need to know how to operate them.
- What happens if it goes wrong? A badly placed perennial bed can be moved. A patio with the wrong fall sends water to the house wall, and a poor sub-base sinks after a few years.
- Who is liable? For a contractor's work you have statutory warranty claims. Depending on the type of work, they become time-barred after two or after five years (§ 634a of the German Civil Code). If you do it yourself, you carry the risk alone.
With electrics there's no choice. Work on the electrical installation behind the house connection may only be carried out by the network operator or by an electrical contractor registered with the network operator (§ 13 NAV). That also applies to a new outdoor socket or mains-powered garden lighting.
| Job | Tool | Risk | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lift paving | Chisel | low | DIY |
| Fell trees | Chainsaw | high | pro |
| Earthworks | Digger | medium | mixed |
| Drainage | Digger | high | pro |
| Electrics | – | required | pro |
| Paving, patio | Compactor | high | pro |
| Retaining wall | Digger | high | pro |
| Timber deck | Saw, drill | medium | mixed |
| Fence, screen | Auger | medium | DIY |
| Trees, perennials | Spade | low | DIY |
| Lawn | Rake, roller | low | DIY |
"DIY" means you do it yourself. "Pro" means a contractor, for electrics a registered electrical contractor. "Mixed" means: doable with experience, otherwise hand over parts of it. The table is a guide for typical private gardens, not a rule.
A common and sensible middle way: the contractor builds the sub-base, paving and walls, and you take on the planting and the lawn. In that case, agree in writing beforehand who does which work and who is responsible for it. If one layer is yours and the next is the contractor's, it's otherwise hard to say what caused a defect.
What a makeover costs and what drives the price is covered in How much does garden design cost?. If you want to hand over the planning, Having your garden planned shows who offers which kind of planning.
6. Which job suits which season
- Planning and clarifying permits: in autumn and winter. Then building can start in spring.
- Clearing trees and shrubs, cutting hedges back hard: from October to February, because of the closed season from 1 March to 30 September.
- Building: here the weather matters more than the season. Frozen or waterlogged ground can't be worked properly. Use mortar and concrete only at the temperatures the manufacturer specifies.
- Planting trees and shrubs: according to the Bavarian Garden Academy, bare-root trees and shrubs are best planted from late September to early December or from early March to late April, on frost-free days. Pot-grown plants (container stock) extend the planting season, but you should still avoid frost and great heat.
- Planting perennials: in autumn or spring, frost-sensitive species in spring.
- Sowing a lawn: the Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture names mid-April to mid-June and August to mid-September as the best periods. The soil should be at least 8 °C warm.
This results in a common sequence: you plan in winter, build in spring and summer and plant in autumn. You sow the lawn in late summer or the following spring.
7. Where GardenPilot helps with a redesign – and where it doesn't
The hardest question in a makeover comes before the first stone is moved: what should the garden look like in the end? GardenPilot helps with that. You upload a photo of your garden and see it as a design idea, from the same viewpoint and with your house. You can compare different variants side by side before you tear anything out. How exactly that works, what it costs and where the limits are is shown with a real example in AI garden design with a photo.
For the makeover, three building blocks are useful after that:
- Concept details: they show which materials and plants are planned in your favourite image and which areas the garden has.
- Garden plan: it shows the idea as a top view with outer dimensions, north arrow and legend. That way you can see where the patio, paths and beds are. The proportions are estimated, and the plan doesn't replace a survey.
- Implementation planning: if you build it yourself, it puts the work into steps. Materials, tools and estimated costs for doing it yourself are added.
What GardenPilot doesn't do: the images are AI visualisations, not construction drawings. GardenPilot doesn't replace a survey or detailed construction planning. Nor does it give you binding costs or legal or planning-authority advice. The feasibility check only gives a first assessment. For the questions from section 2, your municipality and building authority remain responsible, and for sub-base and structural matters a contractor.
What could your garden look like after the makeover? Upload a photo and see your own space as a design idea. The first image is free. Start free with your photo
Frequently asked questions
In what order do you redesign a garden?
From rough to fine. First come demolition and disposal, then earthworks, drainage and utility lines. After that come paths, patio and walls, then the soil, the trees and shrubs, and the perennials. The lawn comes last. That way nothing that's already finished gets damaged.
When is the best time to redesign a garden?
Plan in winter, build in spring and summer and plant in autumn. Clearing and heavy cutting back of hedges and shrubs is prohibited between 1 March and 30 September. It therefore belongs in the period from October to February.
Do I need a permit for a garden makeover?
Usually not for beds, paths and lawn. Felling protected trees, patio roofs, taller walls and structures on the property boundary may need one. That depends on your municipality's tree protection bylaw and your federal state's building code. If in doubt, ask your municipality or building authority beforehand.
What can I do myself in a garden makeover?
Most people can manage planting, lawn, clearing old paving and simple fences themselves. It's better to hand sub-base and paving, drainage and retaining walls to a contractor. Work on the electrical installation may only be carried out by a registered electrical contractor.
Further reading
What would this look like in your garden?
Upload a photo of your garden and see design ideas on your own space. The first image is free.
Start free with your photoMore articles from AI in the Garden
AI Garden Design with a Photo: See Your Own Garden in a New Light
How AI garden design works with your own garden photo: the process, a before/after example, what's free, what it costs afterwards – and what the AI can't do.
Having Your Garden Designed: Garden Concept, Costs and Who Plans What
What is a garden concept, who creates it and what does it cost? The options compared, the HOAI values with a worked example, a concept in 5 steps you can do yourself and a checklist for the meeting.