New garden build from bare ground

Housebuilders often finish gardens quickly: subsoil compacted by machinery during construction, a thin layer of topsoil, and turf laid on top. Under that there can be buried bricks, concrete washout, plastic and offcuts. The lawn may look fine in the first summer and then sit wet all winter, because water cannot drain through the compacted layer beneath.

A landscaper building a proper garden will dig trial holes to see what is there, break up compacted ground, remove buried rubbish and bring in topsoil where needed. Topsoil quality varies widely. Good suppliers sell topsoil to the British Standard for topsoil, BS 3882, and can show test results; cheap screened soil may be full of weed roots or subsoil.

On many new estates, the planning permission for the development removed some permitted development rights, or restrictive covenants in the title limit what owners may build. Open-plan front gardens where fences and hedges are not allowed, limits on sheds or garden buildings, and rules about boundary heights are common examples. Check your title deeds and the planning permission for the estate, or ask the council, before designing walls, fences or a garden room.

Many new-build gardens also have drainage runs, inspection chambers and service ducts crossing them. The house's as-built drainage plan, if you have it, shows where they are. A landscaper must keep chambers accessible and not build walls or ponds on top of them.

• trial holes and a note of what they found
• breaking up compacted subsoil and removing buried debris
• topsoil to BS 3882, depth over lawns and beds
• drainage for wet areas and connection points
• levels, steps and retaining walls where the ground slopes
• position of inspection chambers, services and boundary lines
• phases, if the build is spread over more than one season

Clay soils are common in many parts of England. Clay holds nutrients and grows good plants, but it drains slowly, shrinks and cracks in dry summers and turns to mud in wet winters. On clay, a new garden needs thought about where water goes: lawns may need drainage, paved areas need a fall away from the house, and planting beds can be raised or improved with organic matter.

Sloping plots are common on newer estates. Terracing with retaining walls creates usable flat areas but is structural work; tall retaining walls hold back a great deal of soil and water and need proper design and foundations. Significant embanking or terracing can also need planning permission. Ask the landscaper who designs the walls and what they are built from.

A full garden in one go can be a large sum, especially after buying a new house. Many people phase it: groundworks, drainage and hard landscaping first, because they need machinery and are disruptive, then lawns, planting and finishing touches later. Doing it in that order avoids tracking diggers across a new lawn.

If you phase, get an overall plan first so that the first phase does not block the second. Services for garden lighting or a future garden room, ducts under paving and water points are cheap to lay while the ground is open and expensive later.

Laying turf straight onto compacted subsoil is the most common. So is building a patio too close to the damp-proof course of the house, or putting raised beds against the house wall so that soil sits above it. Planting trees that will grow large within a few metres of the house on shrinkable clay can contribute to subsidence later; ask the landscaper about mature size and distance from buildings.

Leaving no access to the back garden is another. On terraced and semi-detached plots where everything has to come through the house, plan the order of work so that heavy materials come in before new floors, doors or kitchens are fitted.

Describe the plot, its size, the soil if you know it, and what you want. After confirming your phone and email, your request is offered without your personal details to landscapers covering your area. One firm can buy it. We send you its name, address and phone number before the firm sees yours. You pay nothing, and you do not have to accept a quote. We check only that the firm is a registered business, so ask for examples of gardens it built from scratch.