This is the first article in the series "How Much Does a Garden Cost in Marbella." Across four parts, I break down all three budgets every property owner on the Costa del Sol eventually faces: the cost of the design project, the cost of execution, and the cost of monthly maintenance. This is Part 1 — the design project.

One of my clients invested around € 5,000 in restoring her garden. An older house, a neglected plot, a garden that had survived a fire — not exactly the most promising property on paper. She sold it for € 90,000 more than she had originally expected.

This isn’t an exception. It’s simply how the Costa del Sol property market works: the first impression of a property forms right at the gate — and the garden either works in favour of the price, or quietly pulls it down.

I hear the question "how much does a garden cost" constantly. And almost every time, it’s not really one question — it’s three, even though most people don’t realise it yet. That’s exactly why I wrote this article: so you understand what the price is actually made of, where you can save without losing quality, and where you really shouldn’t cut corners — and why a well-designed garden in Marbella isn’t an expense, but one of the clearest ways to increase the value of your property.

When a property owner asks "how much does a garden cost," they usually have one single number in mind. In reality, the question covers three entirely different categories of expense. Confusing them is one of the main reasons negotiations stall, budgets blow out, and expectations end up clashing with reality.

When it comes to the cost of a landscape project, the first thing to understand is this: a "project" isn’t one single service — it’s several fundamentally different formats. Their prices vary by multiples, and confusing them is a bit like comparing an architect’s napkin sketch with a full set of construction documents.

Concept design — the light version
This is the starting point: style direction, overall idea, zoning, an approximate plant palette. Sometimes it includes hand-drawn sketches or reference examples of similar solutions. A concept conveys the mood and direction — but it doesn’t contain the technical drawings needed to actually build anything. It’s a conversation about what the garden will be like. Not an instruction manual for how to build it.
This format works well if you want to understand the general direction, or if your plot is small and uncomplicated.
Cost: from € 700−1,000.

Full working project
This is an entirely different level. A full project includes the complete set of documentation needed for execution:

• Master plan — the overall site layout with zoning, paths, paved areas and water features
• Planting plan and layout drawings — the exact position of every plant, its species, size at planting and at maturity, and spacing between specimens
• Hard landscaping plan — which material goes where, and how it’s laid
• Drainage and water management plan — especially critical for sloped sites or problematic soil
• Lighting design — fixture types, lighting scenarios, zones, wattage
• Automatic irrigation plan — zones, drip vs. spray, pipe and controller layout

This is the document every contractor works from independently — and the result still comes together as a cohesive whole. Without all parties working from a coordinated plan, expensive rework becomes almost inevitable, with irrigation pipes ending up exactly where large trees were meant to go, or lighting conflicting with the planting scheme.

Cost of a full project for a private property in Marbella: from € 5,000.

3D visualisation
This is a separate story, and one that significantly affects the final figure. Visualisation can be included in the project price or quoted separately — it depends on the agreement with the designer.

The quality of the visualisation depends on the software used and the time invested. Simple software gives a general impression within a few days. Lumion already produces photorealistic results, requiring one to two weeks of work. 3ds Max or Corona represent a level where the render is nearly indistinguishable from a photograph — that work takes anywhere from three weeks to a month. The price difference between these formats is substantial, and it’s justified: a high-quality visualisation is what allows a client to truly see the future garden before a single euro goes into the ground.

For the premium segment, good 3D visualisation isn’t an option — it’s the standard.

The price of a project isn’t pulled out of thin air. There’s clear logic behind it.

Plot size isn’t the main factor. A common misconception is that a smaller plot should automatically cost less. In reality, professional designers price plots under 1,000 m² much the same way they price 1,000 m² plots — because the designer’s workload is essentially the same. A site visit, studying the topographic survey and soil conditions, gathering the owner’s wishes, developing the concept, working out the engineering solutions, putting together the planting plan — on a 300 m² plot and a 1,000 m² plot, this process takes roughly the same amount of time. What’s more, on a smaller plot, the price per square metre and the stakes of every decision are actually higher — there’s no room for error.
On very large plots — from 4,000−5,000 m² and up — the cost per unit of area can decrease, but only if the site is sparsely developed. If a hectare is planned with flower beds throughout, several zones, full irrigation, drainage and lighting across the whole area, the cost per unit area ends up the same as on a mid-sized plot.

Terrain is one of the main cost drivers. A plot with a 20−30 cm gradient is a manageable situation, solved through surface grading. A drop of more than a metre already calls for retaining walls, slopes, and terracing. A gradient of 3, 6, or 10 metres is a serious engineering challenge that multiplies the scope of design work considerably. On the hilly terrain around Marbella, sloped plots are the norm — and that’s something to be prepared for.

New garden or renovation. Designing a renovation is more complex than designing a new garden: the designer has to work with what’s already there — assessing existing plants, deciding what to keep, what to relocate, what to remove, and how to integrate the new design with the old. This takes extra time and carries extra responsibility.

Type of client. A private client usually means one decision-maker, or a small family group. A commercial property involves multiple levels of approval, different stakeholders, and revisions from each of them. A government or municipal project means approvals, inspections, and documentation requirements that are far more complex. The more people involved in decision-making, the more time the process takes — and that’s directly reflected in the price.

Engineering complexity of the site. Standing water, a high water table, difficult soil, existing utilities, construction debris buried in the ground — all of this requires additional work at the design stage. A good designer doesn’t just draw a beautiful plan; they solve the real engineering challenges of a specific site.

Remote design or with a site visit. Working with an in-person site visit — topographic survey, personal inspection, measurements — costs more than a remote project. The topographic survey itself is billed separately: in Marbella, this typically runs € 1,500−3,000. A remote format is possible for clients based in other cities or countries, provided good-quality material on the site is available.

These are benchmarks, not a price list. The final figure is always calculated individually — based on plot size, terrain, scope of documentation, visualisation format and overall complexity.

One of the most telling cases in my practice involved a property in one of the most prestigious urbanisations in Marbella. A home worth around € 10 million. The owners invited me in for a consultation.

I proposed a full project: topographic survey, detailed documentation, design supervision included. The total for the design work came to around € 12,000. For a property of that calibre, this is entirely standard.

The client’s reaction: "We don’t need pictures. We want to spend the money and get a beautiful garden." They didn’t understand why they should pay for documentation when they could put that money straight into plants and labour instead.

In the end, they hired someone else — no project, no topographic survey, no coordination.
What they got: complete disappointment, along with wasted time and nerves spent driving around garden centres trying to figure things out themselves. This was never really about the money — for clients at that budget level, the cost of the project is negligible. It’s a question of understanding that the project isn’t an extra expense layered on top of the garden — it’s the one thing that turns a collection of plants and materials into a genuinely thought-out space.

The cost of that mistake on this particular property wasn’t only financial. It was the lost potential of a garden that could have looked entirely different.

In Part 2 of this series, I cover what people usually ask about first: how much it costs to actually build a garden in Marbella — both for a brand-new plot and for renovating an existing one. I’ll share real figures across segments, from basic to ultra-luxury, along with a case study that shows the difference — in money and in results — between a garden built with a project and one built without.

→ Read Part 2: "How Much Does Garden Execution and Maintenance Cost in Marbella"

If you’re currently choosing a designer, or just starting to think about your garden — message me on WhatsApp or fill out the form on the website. The first call is free. After it, you’ll have clarity on your budget and your next steps.