Landscaping Tips
Low Cost Landscaping Tips and Inspiration
Either you love it or you hate it, landscaping, no matter what the season, is just one of those things that doesn’t have a whole lot of middle ground. There are all types of ways to go about landscaping. You can do it yourself, you can hire ‘professionals’, or you can let Mother Nature do her thing and enjoy the ‘natural yet lazy’ look. We’re taking a small step away from winter gardening as a whole in this article, yet touching on some powerful basic concepts that hold strength whether you’re working your garden in winter or any other season.
There are two guiding principles to low cost landscaping: Keep it simple, and do it yourself. Also, plan ahead, but remember it’s ok to adapt and change your plans as your landscape is developed.
Now, let’s get things rolling by sharing some tips to remember and follow as you begin the down and dirty task of creating your masterpiece. Our focus is on keeping the costs low and creating an affordably beautiful landscape.
The first thing for someone to take into account when beginning to create a landscape, is taking the time to plan carefully. It is important not to speed through the process only to end up with something you may not want.
Next, remember to take little bits at a time, especially when money is involved. The safest and most stress free way to begin, is decide the maximum amount of money you’d want to spend on your landscape in the 6 months to a year.
Walking around your property is another good first-step action. Hands-on visualization is most effective, especially in landscaping. It’s also saves money by giving you the chance to take notice of what you already have; using resources already on your property will save you money, time, and can be a great source of inspiration.
Something that you want to have in your landscape, (you may already have a great focal point in your existing landscape, so take notice as you look around!), is a focal point. A focal point is your center, the main attraction of your garden. For example, a tree decorated with flowers at its base; a gorgeous view off your back porch; maybe a wooden bench in the center of tulips.
Next, its time to think about your lawn. What kind of lawn best fits your ideas? If you have more time, a lush green lawn often makes a gorgeous setting for your landscape. For people without a lot of time to maintain a lot, there’s ground cover, or even raked gravel. Remember to take into account the time you’ll have available for maintenance after the landscape is finished, and also how you’ll be using the yard. Children or pets can influence your ideas very quickly. Take your lifestyle into account as you make your choices.
Two more very important steps that happen to go hand in hand together, is making a budget, and keeping a record of your expenses. Make sure you decide before hand how much money you’ll be willing to spend on your landscape, or if you’ll need help once it’s finished. If you don’t have the time to take care of your garden, plan a garden that will care for itself, (i.e. gravel, shrubs fit to your climate, trees, etc).
As you keep a record of your expenses, be sure to record the other details as well. Keep a record of which plants you planted, which dates you planted them on, and how fast they sprouted. This will help you when it comes time to play the landscape game again next season.
Just because you’ve opted to make this a do-it-yourself project, don’t think you can’t ask for advice. Sometimes going over your plans with a friend or an experienced landscaper can give you a great supply of inspiration and new ideas. Friends are great for this because they can share their own experiences, knowledge, and tips on which plants would work for you based on their knowledge of you.
Another interesting idea that can be extremely cost effective or even free of charge, is visiting your local community college. Look into their classes in agriculture and landscaping, and ask some of the students to practice their newly learned skills on your property. This will give them hands on practice, while also helping you out with your landscaping venture.
Now get out there and create your masterpiece!
