It's the plants and the soil which normally take up time in the garden, so hard landscaping materials are a necessary expense in low maintenance gardens. But splitting the project into stages spreads the cost.

If you put off installing the main framework of the garden for too long, you'll resort to the attractively cheap make-do measure of turf, which inevitably becomes a major, permanent and very time-consuming feature that is hard work to remove too.

Avoid this temptation by tackling the hard landscaping as soon as you can. With the paths and patios in place as a priority, you won't be treading mud and grit into your floorcoverings and you'll have an area for sitting out. The garden will have its main shape defined to complement your home, with only the boundaries and planting to tackle later at your leisure.