Landscaping Your Yard
- Posted on June 08, 2015
Everyone wants a beautiful landscaped yard. The good news is that you can have one; however, you do need to carefully consider a few key factors, namely:
- Cost to do
- Cost to maintain
- Ease of maintenance
Most people consider the first item, how much their initial costs will be, but they fail to consider the other two points.
Cost to Do
Landscaping can be very costly if you’re not careful. Plants in general tend to be more expensive, though it depends on how many you’re planting and what kind. Trees are obviously more expensive than flowers, but it also takes a lot of flowers to take up as much space as a tree does.
If you’re considering putting down mulch or rocks in certain areas of your yard, make sure that you get price quotes for the areas in question. Wood mulch, for instance, is usually pretty inexpensive. But higher quality items will cost more, and if you’re trying to cover a big area, the costs could go up pretty quickly.
Apart from the actual supplies, you will also have the cost of hiring a landscaper to design your yard and then do everything. However, if you are good with plants and you have done DIY projects before, you can always do the planning and work on your own to save money.
Cost and Ease of Maintenance
If you spend hundreds of dollars on flowers, you will probably end up with a beautiful yard. However, if all of your flowers were annuals, meaning they only last for one year, you’ll have to spend that same money every year to have your yard look the same. Likewise, some mulches, like hardwood mulches, need to be replaced more frequently. Not only will you run into expenses each year with these issues, you’ll also have to take the time to remove old mulch, put in new mulch, and plant new flowers.
To keep maintenance costs and time down, try to implement items that last into your landscaping project. For example, plant mostly perennials, flowers that last for several years, in your flowerbeds. You can plant a variety, choosing flowers that will bloom at different times to make sure you will have flowers all season. You can then supplement your flowerbeds with some annuals each year. If you’re using mulch, look for mulches that last longer, don’t blow around, and don’t need to be replaced as often.
When designing your yard, think about how much time you have. If you love yardwork, then you can do whatever you want. But if you have limited time to spend in your yard, consider ideas that will lower the required maintenance. For instance, if you have trees, plants, and flowerbeds scattered throughout your yard, mowing your lawn is going to take a lot longer. You’ll also have to maintain each of the areas, trimming around areas that the lawnmower won’t reach, and weeding any flowerbeds.
The bottom line is, make sure you consider not just the upfront costs and work of landscaping your yard, but the future costs and work involved in making it look good every year.