Keeping a holiday rental garden looking right in Mallorca
A rental garden is judged every week by people who have never seen it before, which changes what it needs. The planting has to look presentable in the middle of August, the work has to happen between changeovers, and nothing can be left half done. Regular maintenance on a medium garden runs €2,500 to €3,500 a year, and rental properties usually sit at the upper end.
Key takeaways
- The garden is part of what guests are paying for, so the standard is weekly rather than seasonal.
- Work has to fit changeover days, which is the main reason rental quotes are higher.
- Planting that recovers quickly matters more than planting that looks perfect on the day it goes in.
- Irrigation failures are the most common cause of a garden looking bad in a review.
What is different about a rental garden?
Timing and tolerance. A private owner can accept a scruffy fortnight in August. A rental cannot, because there are guests in the house every week of it and photographs being compared with what they were promised. The garden also takes more traffic: furniture dragged around, towels on shrubs, children on beds that were not designed to be walked through.
The practical result is a planting scheme built around resilience rather than delicacy, and a maintenance round timed to arrive when the house is empty.
What does it cost?
| Garden size | Regular maintenance per year |
|---|---|
| Small, up to about 200 m² | €1,500 to €2,100 |
| Medium, about 200 to 500 m² | €2,500 to €3,500 |
| Large, about 500 to 1,000 m² | €4,200 to €6,000 |
Rental gardens land at the top of each band because visits are more frequent through the season and have to happen on specific days. If the property has a pool, planting around it needs clearing more often, which is worth pricing in from the start.
What should be planted?
Species that take heat, take a bit of abuse and come back. Rosemary, lavender, oleander, bougainvillea and mastic all shrug off a hard week. Keep the fragile and the fussy out of reach of the pool and the barbecue, and leave clear circulation so nobody has to walk through a bed to reach a sunbed. Anything with thorns near where children play is a complaint waiting to happen.
Pots deserve a mention because they fail fastest. A terracotta pot in full sun dries in a day, and a dead pot by the front door is the first thing an arriving guest sees. Either put pots on their own irrigation line or use fewer, bigger ones.
How should the schedule work?
Around changeovers, not around convenience. That usually means a visit the morning of or the day before arrival, with the noisy work done well clear of anyone sitting outside. Owners who manage remotely also want a report: a note that says the irrigation on zone three was blocked and is now fixed is worth more than a tidy garden nobody explained.
What goes wrong most often?
- Irrigation failing quietly while the house is occupied, so nobody notices until the planting is dead.
- Green waste left on site over a changeover day.
- Watering scheduled during the day when a municipality permits only the cool hours.
- Pool surrounds left with leaf litter after a windy week.
How the matching works
We do not maintain gardens. We keep a list of vetted maintenance companies on Mallorca and pass your job to those covering your area, including ones used to holiday rental properties. Say how many changeovers you have in a season and the quotes will reflect the real work.
How much does a holiday rental garden cost to maintain in Mallorca?
About €2,500 to €3,500 a year for a medium garden. Rental properties usually sit at the top of the range because visits are frequent and tied to changeover days.
What plants suit a rental garden?
Tough Mediterranean species that recover quickly: rosemary, lavender, oleander, bougainvillea and mastic. Keep thorny or fragile planting away from pools, seating and play areas.
When should the gardener visit a rental?
Around changeovers, ideally the day before or the morning of arrival, so guests are not sharing the garden with a strimmer.
What causes most rental garden problems?
Irrigation failing unnoticed while the house is occupied. A visit schedule that includes a zone-by-zone check catches it before the planting dies.
Book the year, not the visit
A rental garden works when the schedule is agreed for the whole season in advance. Send the property details through and vetted Mallorca companies will quote a plan around your changeovers.
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