Are you thinking of hiring a landscaper to whip your yard into shape this year? If this is your first time doing this sort of thing then you might just get the shock of your life at just how high the cost of landscaping costs really is.
Landscaping Costs
When you work with landscaping costs designers you stand to benefit from the designer’s skills and experience to produce a professionally designed garden landscape. In turn, your garden will look good, be functional, and even suit the architecture of your house. Plus, you won’t have to redo it in a few years.
However, the cost of landscaping is not cheap. Many professionals have been known to charge outrageous prices and this has not rendered well with most people who are struggling to make ends meet. A professional takes into consideration a variety of factors when he decides to create your personal plan. Such factors may include shade, slope, sunlight, soil conditions and many more.
He may also include unexpected additions and this may send you over your budget limit.In this article I am going to touch on tips and strategies of how to lower the cost of landscaping while still getting a superb front and back yard. I will expound on simple methods that are certain to lower your budget and greatly lower the cost of landscaping your yard.
So how can you landscape cheap?
One of the ways you can do this is by working with what you have.
It has been said that the best way to save money when it comes to landscaping is to do as much work as possible yourself. Not to worry, I have provided a few guidelines on how to achieve this.
The first step in lowering landscaping costs is to sit down and create a budget.
The notion here is that if you know what you have to work with before you begin your project then you will have the proper mindset that is conducive to keeping costs down.Just remember to do it in small steps. Everyone seems to desire to get everything done all at once. Be willing to focus a little. Completing one step of your project at a time has been known to greatly lower the cost of landscaping costs.
When it comes to plants, select only the native species of trees, shrubs or flowers to place in your landscape. I say this because this will help you save on costly soil amendments that you would incur if you decide to settle on other kinds that cannot thrive in your existing soil.
Another advantage of native species is that they require less supplements of water and thus are pocket friendly.
It is also advisable to preserve existing plants as this will in turn help reduce the costs for materials and resources needed to establish a new planting. Smaller, younger plant materials, compared to more mature plants will drive costs down. So will substituting a stone retaining wall with a less expensive timber retainer.
When it comes to the lawns, I highly recommend that you select a drought tolerant variety of grass that will save you future expenses on watering costs. Grasses of this nature include the Kentucky blue grass and the Perennial rye. These grasses have been known to require less water during dry periods and hence are more suitable for your landscape.
If at the end of all this you still decide to use the services of a designer, then I advise you to try and forgo the obvious. Don’t call them and ask for their opinion of your lawn or backyard. Landscape designers have been known to talk people into designing everything with hopes of realizing huge profits.
Instead, I suggest you draw up your own landscaping plans before indulging in a consultation session. The plan here is to draw your own design and hire a landscape designer to review it. This is a less expensive route that will, more than often, work out in your favor.
