If you are planning to update your landscaping while on a budget, there are many ways for you to save money. You can still make your home look great while spending less.
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Updating your landscaping is a project that requires a lot of planning. If you are on a budget, there are many ways for you to save money. Use a bit of creativity to source the materials required for the project. You can also make substitutions with low cost product options. If you have never done landscaping on your own before, your best bet might be to hire a low cost landscaping service.
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If you are planning a new design for your landscaping while on a budget, you are probably looking for ways that you can save money. Installing new plants, walkways and other features are all part of a well-planned landscaping design.
Before you get started, it’s a good idea to do some research. Decide on some designs that might fit your budget. You should also consider your lifestyle, so that you can choose plants that won’t require more maintenance than you have the time or money to support. Here are some tips to help you save money on your landscaping while creating a design that will meet your expectations.
Plan Your Landscaping
Creating a plan to update your landscaping should be the first step. A landscaping plan should include step-by-step instructions that explain how you will execute the redesign of your landscaping. It should also include the details of how you will keep up the new design. By creating a plan, you can make sure that you think carefully about every detail that will go into the new design.
You can obtain inspiration for the redesign of your landscaping by looking at gardening and home magazines. Visit home websites to get some ideas on how to create a design that will work well with the style of your home. Your plan should include a complete list of the plants that are required for the new design. Select plants that will be cost-effective to purchase and maintain.
By coming up with a plan for your landscaping, you can ensure that you don’t act on spur of the moment decisions that can leave you paying higher prices than expected for materials. If you plan your landscaping project months before you decide to execute the plan, you will have the option to shop for deals on materials or find free alternate sources for materials that will help make your landscaping project cheaper.
The plan will also allow you to predict how much it will cost to make changes later on after the initial design has been created. All professional landscaping services work from plans and so should you.
Use Grass Seed Instead of Sod
Grass seed may take longer to get established than planting sod. However, using grass seed can reduce the costs of your project, as sod is more expensive than grass seed. Before you select grass seed for your lawn, you should make sure that you test the soil. A soil test can show you what your soil lacks so that you don’t use the wrong nutrients on your lawn. Make sure that you select the right kind of grass, as different types of grasses do well in different settings.
Buy Plants At the Right Time
At certain times of the year, plants are discounted by many garden centers. Consider delaying the start of your landscaping project until these sales happen so that you can get the best deals on plants. At certain stores, you may even be able to haggle on pricing, if you are buying in bulk or buying at the end of the season. However, if you choose to purchase plants later in the season, make sure that the plants are healthy and don’t have any issues with diseases or insects.
Buy Mulch in Bulk Quantities
If you need sawdust or woodchips, some places give these things away for free, as long as you handle the hauling yourself. If you need woodchips, consider calling a tree trimming service to find out if they will sell or give away the woodchips that are leftover from tree cutting jobs. However, you should watch out for wood chips that have been cut from poisonous growths, such as poison ivy, lest the wood chips irritate your skin.
For sawdust, a sawmill or woodworking factory might be able to give you the sawdust that you need at a discount or for free. Sawdust is perfect for landscaping and should be added to your compost pile. You can also mix it in with fertilizer and add it around your plants.
Work With a Professional Landscaping Service
If you have never completed a landscaping project on your own before, or you are not quite sure what you want or how to do the work, working with a professional landscaping service might be best. Working with a professional landscaping service will also ensure that you don’t overlook the hidden requirements of your landscaping plan. “It comes as a surprise to have money spent on something you don’t see because it’s underground,” says Robert Schucker, president of R&S Landscaping in Midland Park, N.J. “But if you ignore things like drainage issues, it can wind up costing you a lot more to fix after the fact.”
Although you might not want to pay someone to create your landscaping project, the truth is that you will likely end up with a nicer, more organized design than if you had done it on your own. The design will also have a maintenance schedule fits your lifestyle. The landscaping service will provide clear instructions on how to care for your new landscaping. Working with a landscaping service can help you eliminate the guesswork of updating your landscaping so that you don’t have to worry about figuring it out on your own.