Landscaping a plot in Batumi: slopes, water, fence, paths, garden

Landscaping a plot in Batumi: where we start

When a house is finished, the plot around it usually looks like a building site: churned-up ground, tracks from machinery, debris, puddles after rain. Landscaping a plot in Batumi turns it into a place to live: level terraces and paths, water going where it should, a fence and gate around the boundary, lights in the evening, and a lawn and trees that water themselves. We do this on plots around the houses we build and on existing plots where the landscaping was never finished, or was done so that water stands after every downpour.

We start with a site visit and survey. We look at the levels and slopes, where water runs in a downpour, where service entries, the septic tank and inspection chambers are, and which trees are worth keeping. If you need a design with a site plan and planting, a landscape designer prepares it, as described on the landscape design page. For a simple plot a layout with falls, routes and dimensions is enough.

Order of works: underground first

The most common landscaping mistake is to lay the lawn and paving first and only then remember the cable to the gate and the stormwater pipe. We work in this order:

• grading the plot and removing construction debris;
• retaining walls and slope stabilisation;
• drainage, stormwater, cables for lights and gates, irrigation pipes;
• sub-bases for paths and hardstanding, edging, paving;
• fence and gate with automation;
• topsoil, planting, lawn and irrigation start-up.

That way nothing has to be dug up again, and machinery does not drive over a finished lawn.

Water on the plot

Batumi gets a great deal of rain in a year, and water decides almost everything in landscaping. If it is not led away, it undermines paths, floods the basement, washes out the slope and turns the lawn into a bog. So terraces and paths are laid to fall away from the house, a concrete apron runs along the house, wet areas get drainage, and water from the roof and hardstanding is collected in a stormwater system and led to the city network, a roadside ditch or a soakaway. How this works is described on the drainage and stormwater drainage pages.

Slope, walls and terraces

Many plots in and around Batumi are on a slope. Level areas on such a plot are made by terracing, and the ground is held by retaining walls. A wall taller than a person, or one next to the house, a road or the neighbour's boundary, is calculated by a structural engineer from ground investigation data, and every wall gets drainage behind it. More on the retaining walls page. If the house on the slope is still being built, start with the foundation on a slope page.

Boundary, entrance and lighting

We choose the fence by its purpose: to screen the yard from the street, keep the sea view, or simply mark the boundary. An automatic gate and a pedestrian gate with an intercom open from your phone, which is convenient for an owner who lives in another country. Lighting on the plot is grouped: paths, entrance, facade, garden, switched on by a sensor or timer. Cables to the gate, lights and cameras are laid in advance, together with the stormwater pipes. The height and style of a street-side fence in the city are checked against the building rules before ordering, and the boundary fence is agreed with the neighbour in advance so it does not have to be redone.

Parking and hardstanding

We size the drive and parking for the vehicles that will actually come in. Block paving on a crushed stone sub-base is enough for a car, while a concrete truck, gas tanker or septic emptying truck needs a reinforced concrete slab. On a slope the drive is built at a gradient a car can climb in the rain, and always with a channel at the entrance so water from the street does not run into the yard. For a house to let, we plan how many cars can park at once, where they turn and how a guest finds the door in the dark.

Lawn, garden and upkeep

Adjara's subtropical climate suits plants: palms, magnolias, camellias, citrus and bay grow here, and the lawn stays green almost all year. But everything grows fast, and without care a garden loses its shape in one season. In summer heat the lawn needs watering, so irrigation is installed together with the planting. If you are rarely in Batumi, garden care can be handed to us on a subscription.

How much landscaping a plot costs

Turnkey landscaping with lawn, planting, paths and lighting costs from 89 ₾ per m² of plot. A landscape design from 14 ₾ per m², grading with clearance and levelling from 17 ₾ per m². A retaining wall on a slope from 360 ₾ per m², a profiled steel sheet fence from 205 ₾ per linear metre, a sliding gate without automation from 6 000 ₾. Plot drainage from 87 ₾ per linear metre, block paving from 125 ₾ per m², a garden light with connection from 480 ₾. Lawn irrigation from 14 ₾ per m², turf from 20 ₾ per m². The final cost is set after a site visit and an agreed estimate.