Budget: setting up a garden with €100 versus €1,000

A beautiful garden doesn't depend so much on money as on decisions. With €100 well spent you get a pleasant space in two years; with €1,000 badly spent, an expensive, soulless garden that also gives a lot of work. Here are two realistic lists and how the strategy of each differs.

Garden with €100: time instead of money

Strategy: small plants or from seed, free cuttings and prioritising what can't be improvised (a decent secateur and improving the soil).

Get cuttings of lavender, rosemary, salvia, geranium and herbs from neighbours and family: they root easily in spring or autumn and multiply your garden at no cost. In the second year, divide the perennials you already have to fill more space and collect seeds from the annuals.

Affiliate link: if you buy through it, TuJardínPerfecto may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. More information in the affiliate disclosure.

Garden with €1,000: mature structure and automatic watering

What NOT to spend on (with any budget)

• Large, expensive plants to "fill it now": a 15 L specimen costs 3-4 times more than a 3 L one and, after two years, they're the same size because the small one establishes better.
• 40-piece tool kits: you'll use four and the rest takes up space.
• Miracle products: stimulants, "soil activators", premium-brand fertilisers. Compost does the same for a fraction of the price.
• Decoration before plants: first the living, healthy garden, then the ornaments, the lights and the furniture.
• Natural lawn in shady or high-traffic areas: it will always cause problems; better ground covers or permeable paving.

What is worth investing in

1. Good secateurs: you'll use them every week for years (see professional secateurs).
2. Automatic watering, even basic: it saves your garden in August and when you go on holiday.
3. Improving the soil from the start with organic matter: it's the basis of everything else.
4. Quality structural shrubs: they're the garden's permanent skeleton and what shows the most.

Annual maintenance cost

• Small garden (25-50 m²): €40-80 a year (compost, mulch, replacing annuals, the odd pest product).
• Medium garden with a lawn (200-400 m²): €150-300 (the above + reseeding seed, lawn fertiliser, water).

Frequently asked questions

How much does a "turnkey" garden done by professionals cost?

As a very general guide, from €30 to €120/m² depending on the level (earthworks, irrigation, paving, plant size). A simple 100 m² garden can be around €3,000-8,000.

Is it worth buying plants online?

For small perennials and bulbs, yes: they arrive well and there's more variety. For large shrubs and trees, better a local nursery: you avoid the stress of transport and see what you're buying.

Where do I get cheap mulch?

Many recycling centres and municipal gardening services give away shredded pruning chippings. Cereal straw is also cheap. Decorative pine bark is the most expensive option.

Can I set up the garden in phases?

It's the recommended way. First the soil and the irrigation, then the structural shrubs, and in the following seasons you fill in with perennials and annuals as the budget allows.