Building a house: the right order for the garden

With a new build, the garden doesn't simply come after the house. Part of the work has to happen during construction, because later no excavator can get in or the trenches are already closed. Another part is better left until the scaffolding and construction vehicles are gone, because otherwise it gets damaged. This article matches the garden work to the construction phases: from planning before the building application to the lawn. What you should clarify in each phase in detail is in the checklist for home builders. If you aren't building new but remodelling an existing garden, Redesigning your garden: step by step is a better fit.

Rules and dates in this article refer to Germany.

At a glance

Before construction: plan the garden roughly. Levels, rainwater and utility lines depend on it.
With the excavation: secure the topsoil and put everything into the ground that belongs in open trenches.
During the shell and fit-out: the garden is a building site. Protect it rather than build in it.
After the scaffolding: loosen the soil, shape the ground, then paths, patio and walls.
At the end: trees and shrubs, perennials and finally the lawn, each in the right season.

The sequence at a glance

Construction phase	What happens in the garden
Planning, building application	Plan the garden roughly, clarify levels and rainwater
Start of work, excavation	Strip and store the topsoil, lay the site road
Basement, floor slab, house connections	Rainwater tank, pipes, cables, conduits
Shell	Backfill the trench at the house, protect the garden
Fit-out, façade	Finish planning the garden, get quotes
Scaffolding is gone	Loosen soil, put topsoil back, shape the ground
Outdoor works	Driveway, paths, patio, walls, edges
Planting season	Trees, hedges, shrubs, perennials
Sowing season	Lawn

The phases overlap, and not every house has a basement. The order of the garden work stays the same, though: whatever moves earth or needs heavy machinery comes before anything that would be damaged in the process.

1. Before construction: plan the garden roughly

The garden doesn't have to be fully designed when the building application is submitted. But a few things should be settled, because they feed into the plans for the house:

Where the patio goes and at what height. The patio door, slope and drainage depend on it.
Where the rainwater goes: into the sewer, into a soakaway or into a rainwater tank.
Where water and power are needed in the garden, for example at the patio, at the garden shed or at the gate.
Where the driveway and parking space go. That's also where the site road should run.

Some German municipalities require an outdoor design plan with the building application. In that case the garden planning has to be further along at this point. Ask your building authority whether this applies to you.

Watercolour sketch of a garden seen from a patio with sofas: in the middle a multi-stemmed, white-flowering tree in a round gravel bed, behind it a water basin with stepping slabs, a lawn, on the left a pergola with roses and a seating group, at the back a house with a timber façade — A design idea as a sketch: from the patio, the view falls on the tree in the round bed.AI visualization by GardenPilot

Plan view as a watercolour: at the bottom a slab patio with a sofa, in the middle a round gravel bed with a tree, to its left a long water basin with a fire bowl and stepping slabs, above it a lawn, on the left a pergola with roses, beds and hedges all around — The same idea from above: you can see where the patio, water, lawn and beds lie.AI visualization by GardenPilot

The two sketches show the same design idea, once from the patio and once from above. They are AI visualisations without a scale, not construction plans. But they show what this phase is about: once you know where the patio, water basin and tree should go, you can align pipes, cables, levels and drainage with them. A water basin like the one in the sketch usually needs power for a pump, and a tap nearby makes refilling easier. The lines for this must be in the ground before any paving is laid.

2. Start of work and excavation: secure the topsoil

Before the building pit is dug, the top layer of soil is stripped. In Germany, you have to preserve this topsoil (Section 202 of the Federal Building Code, BauGB). It is stored separately from the rest of the excavated soil, not driven over and sown if stored for a longer time. The details are in the checklist.

This phase also decides where the site road, storage area and skip go. Ideally they are where paving will go later anyway, i.e. on the future driveway or parking space. There the compaction does no harm.

Trees and shrubs that have to make way for the building fall under the closed season: from 1 March to 30 September, German law prohibits removing hedges, bushes and other woody plants (Section 39 (5) BNatSchG). Larger trees may also be protected by your municipality's tree protection bylaw. So schedule clearing before construction starts and check with your municipality.

3. Basement, floor slab and house connections: what belongs in open trenches

As long as the building pit is open and an excavator is on site, some things can be built in with little effort that would otherwise need a construction site of their own later:

a rainwater tank or a soakaway for the roof water,
lines for outdoor taps and outdoor power,
empty conduits to the places where lighting, a pump or a garden shed will need power later.

Whatever is missing here can be retrofitted, but then through a garden that may already be laid out.

4. Shell construction: the garden is a building site

While the shell is going up, garden work on the plot is out of the question. Scaffolding, materials and vehicles need space. Three things still matter:

The trench around the house is backfilled. Ask the site manager how it is filled and compacted. Poorly compacted backfill can settle. Paving or a patio right next to the house will then sink.
Protect trees. In the root zone, meaning under the crown and 1.50 metres beyond it, nothing drives and nothing is stored (German standard DIN 18920).
No building rubble in the garden. Whatever gets buried now, you'll find again when planting.

5. Fit-out: time to plan

While screed, tiles and kitchen go in indoors, there's usually little happening outside. That's the right time to finish planning the garden and get quotes. Plan the whole garden, even if you build it in stages. Otherwise the path from year one won't fit the patio from year three. What that costs and how to spread it over stages is covered in Creating a garden for a new build: costs and budget.

The garden is rarely finished when you move in. That's normal. For the meantime, a paved path to the front door and somewhere to put things are enough. Areas that will only be planted later can be sown with grass or a green manure. Then they don't lie bare and get fewer weeds.

6. When the scaffolding is gone: soil and ground

Now the actual garden work begins, starting with the soil:

Remove building rubble and leftovers.
Loosen compacted soil, especially where vehicles stood and where beds or lawn will go later.
Shape the ground with a slope away from the house.
Put the topsoil back, loosely and in dry weather. Areas that have been prepared are not driven over afterwards.

7. Driveway, paths, patio, walls

Large stepping slabs of light natural stone in a gravel bed lead to a lawn, behind them a dry stone wall, a wooden teepee and a pergola with roses and a swing in front of a rendered house — Paths, walls and edges are in place before anything is planted or sown.AI visualization by GardenPilot

Next come the fixed elements that structure the garden: driveway, paths, patio, walls and steps. They need heavy equipment, materials and space to work. If you plant or sow first, the wheelbarrow and plate compactor will run right over it.

Edges belong in the same phase: lawn edging, bed borders and kerbs set the shape of the areas that are planted afterwards.

8. Trees, shrubs and perennials: in the planting season

Trees, hedges and large shrubs go in before the smaller plants. They need large planting holes and sometimes a machine. Because they take years to grow, it's worth planting them early, as soon as their place is fixed and no machine needs to drive there any more.

When to plant depends on the season. The Bavarian Garden Academy recommends late September to early December and early March to late April for bare-root trees and shrubs, on frost-free days. Container plants can be planted over a longer period. Plant perennials in autumn or spring, and frost-sensitive species in spring.

9. The lawn comes last

Lawn is the most sensitive to anything that rolls over it or is put down on it. That's why it comes at the very end. The Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture names mid-April to mid-June and August to mid-September as the best times for sowing. The soil should be at least 8 °C.

This often results in a process lasting more than a year. If the house is finished in spring, paths and patio are built in summer, trees and shrubs are planted in autumn and the lawn is sown in late summer or the following spring. If it's finished in autumn, the building work usually moves to the next year. How long it takes for you depends on the weather, the contractors and your budget.

Where GardenPilot helps – and where it doesn't

At the start of the sequence comes the question of what the garden should look like. GardenPilot helps with that: you upload a photo of your plot and see design ideas on your own space, with your house. That way you can compare variants before the patio and utility lines are fixed. The garden plan, which you unlock with credits, shows the idea as a plan view with estimated proportions. It doesn't replace a survey or construction planning, and coordinating with your architect and building contractor stays with you. How it works and what it costs is shown in AI garden design with a photo.

Where should the patio go, and where the tree? Upload a photo of your plot and see ideas on your own space. The first image is free. Start free with your photo

Frequently asked questions

In what order do you create a garden for a new build?

First plan, then secure the topsoil and put lines into the open trenches. After the shell is built and the scaffolding is down, the soil is loosened and the ground shaped. Then come the driveway, paths, patio and walls, then trees, shrubs and perennials. The lawn comes last.

When should the patio be built for a new build?

Once the scaffolding is gone, the façade is finished and the trench at the house has been backfilled and compacted. Its position and height should be fixed before construction, though, because the patio door and drainage depend on it.

Can I move in before the garden is finished?

Yes, that's the normal case. To begin with, a paved path to the front door and a place to put things are enough. Areas that will be planted later can be sown with grass or a green manure.

When is the best time of year to sow a lawn and plant a hedge?

According to the Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture, sow lawn between mid-April and mid-June or between August and mid-September. Plant bare-root hedge plants in autumn up to early December or in March and April.

Order of Work When Building a House: When What Happens in the Garden