New build villa landscaping: a checklist before you plant
A new build hands over with a house and a plot, and the plot is usually compacted subsoil with construction debris in it. Planting into that produces a garden that looks acceptable for one season and then stalls. The order that works is unglamorous: fix the ground, fix the water, lay the services, then plant. Everything on this checklist is cheaper now than it will ever be again.
Key takeaways
- Every machine that built the house drove across the garden, so the top half metre is compacted.
- Drainage and ducting have to go in before any surface is laid over them.
- Imported topsoil is a real line in the budget and it is often left out of a builder specification.
- Nothing is easier to do than while the plot is still empty and machinery can still reach it.
Check what the contract actually included
Read the specification before assuming anything. Many new build contracts on Mallorca stop at a levelled plot, and topsoil, drainage and irrigation are extras that were quietly never priced. Knowing where the builder stopped tells you where your garden budget starts.
The checklist, in order
- Break up the compaction across the whole planted area, not just the beds.
- Remove the buried debris. Sand, cement washings, offcuts and broken block are all normal finds.
- Check the levels and the falls, and make sure water runs away from the house rather than towards it.
- Resolve drainage before anything is surfaced, including where storm water leaves the plot.
- Lay ducting for irrigation and lighting while trenching is still cheap.
- Decide the terrace and path layout against where the sun actually falls, not against the sales drawing.
- Import real topsoil and improve it, rather than spreading a thin layer over the subsoil.
- Only then plant, and plan the planting for the autumn window.
- Agree a watering and care plan for the first two summers.
Why compaction matters more than the plant list
Roots need air as much as water. Ground that has been driven over holds neither, so a plant put into it sits in what amounts to a pot with no drainage: fine through a mild spring, dead after the first wet autumn or the first real heat. This is the single most common reason a new build garden underperforms, and it is invisible from the surface.
What to sort out while the plot is empty
| Do it now | Because later it means |
|---|---|
| Drainage and soakaways | Lifting a finished terrace |
| Irrigation and lighting ducting | Surface cable and visible pipe |
| Levels and retaining | Rebuilding what has just been planted |
| Access for machinery | Everything arriving by wheelbarrow |
| Screening from neighbouring plots | Waiting several seasons for privacy |
Do not forget the neighbours
On a new development the plots either side are often still building. Screening planted now has a few years to establish before those gardens are finished, and it is far easier to agree boundary heights with a neighbour who has not yet moved in than with one who has.
How the matching works
We do not do the work. Describe the plot, say what the builder left and we pass it to vetted companies that take on new build gardens in your area. Request free quotes and compare what each of them has allowed for below the surface, which is where the differences usually are.
Is the garden included in a new build contract?
Often only as far as a levelled plot. Check whether topsoil, drainage and irrigation are in the specification before budgeting for planting.
How soon can I plant a new build garden?
Once the ground has been opened up, the drainage resolved and the ducting laid. Planting into compacted builder ground is the most common expensive mistake here.
How much topsoil does a new build plot need?
Enough for the planting depth you want, which usually means importing rather than reusing. A company quoting should tell you the volume and where it goes.
Can the garden be done in phases?
Yes, provided the buried work comes first. Drainage, ducting and levels are the parts that hurt to add afterwards.
Where to start
Photograph the plot including the access, and dig one hole half a metre deep to see what is actually under the surface. That single hole tells a contractor more than a page of description. Send it through with the photographs.
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