Planting and landscaping
What is done once and looked at for ten years: a lawn, a hedge, a fence, a path.
Three jobs, three seasons
A lawn is prepared far more than it is laid. The ground is cleared, decompacted, levelled, then either seeded or covered with turf. Seed costs less but needs six weeks and constant watering; turf gives an instant lawn, provided it makes perfect contact with the soil. Around Toulouse, autumn is the best window: the ground is still warm and the rains do the work for you.
Planting follows: evergreen or deciduous hedges, ornamental shrubs, beds, herbs, a vegetable square. Every plant goes in with a hole twice the width of its root ball, added compost and a watering basin. Mulch and weed membrane laid straight after cut the weeding of the following seasons — that is half the benefit.
The structure of the garden closes the list: edging, fencing, wire mesh, screening, a side gate, stabilised gravel, terrace slabs, stepping stones, and the light earthworks or levelling that come before them. These jobs are best planned before planting: a fence post goes into bare ground far more easily than into a freshly planted bed.
Landscaping: what to decide
Seed or turf?
Turf if you want a lawn usable immediately, if the ground slopes, or if children and pets will be on it soon. Seed if budget comes first and the plot can wait a season. In both cases, watering during the first weeks is what separates success from failure.
Does a fence need permission?
Depending on the commune and the height, a prior declaration at the town hall may be required, and some housing estates impose a style or a colour. That step is yours to take, but I flag it before the work rather than after: a fence taken down for non-compliance is paid for twice.
How far from the boundary can a hedge be planted?
French civil law requires half a metre for planting up to two metres tall, and two metres beyond that, unless local custom or a written agreement with the neighbour says otherwise. Marking the exact boundary before planting avoids having to move twenty metres of hedge three years later.
A plan, even a hand-drawn one
A photo of the plot and a few measurements are enough to price a lawn, a hedge or a fence.