Plan ahead to save money: It is very important to budget. Budgets help you know what you can afford without spending too much and can help you make better decisions about what you do buy.
- The average landscaping budget should be 5-10% of the value of your home. That amount includes decks, patios, and irrigation.
- Phase in; don’t think you have to have the whole yard landscaped in one pay out. Phase in landscaping over time so that shrubs and lawn are done first as a backdrop to tress and flowers. Hardscape can come last.
- Pay cash; don’t go into debt to landscape. It’s better to phase in landscaping, paying with cash as you go. If you roll $20,000 into your mortgage for landscaping, you end up paying interest on that money for up to 30 years!
- Include monthly costs in your landscaping budget. Landscaping requires electrical and irrigation costs as well as maintenance costs.
Reduce Landscape Costs
- Lighting – To reduce electrical costs for landscape lights, plan carefully by placing lights where there will be most effective, or use solar energy or energy saving lighting fixtures.
- Water – Water can be expensive and may involve electrical costs for delivery (well pumps). It is best to keep sprinkling needs to a minimum by planning carefully and using xeriscape design. Also, think carefully about adding ponds and fountains to your landscaping; are they worth it?
- Soil – improving and fertilizing your soil can be costly year-to-year. If you use native plants, they will survive in the soil you have.
Other Savings. Here are some quick tips to save while landscaping your home.
- Rent machinery with neighbors.
- Use clover in your lawns; it’s self-fertilizing.
- Buy lumber for decking in the winter and forage construction sites for free stone for hardscape projects.
- Drip irrigation is more cost effective than sprinklers. Sprinkled water goes into the air first and can blow away, while drip irrigation concentrates right at the root of plants and shrubs for the best soaking.
- Don’t buy garden art and furniture new. Look at yard sales, antique shops, and used furniture places. Paint can do wonders.
- Buy plants cheap. Look on e-Bay; go to box stores and grocery stores. Buy annuals after July and shrubs in the fall.
- If you have a pool, heat it with solar power and save. See www.builditsolar.com for do-it-yourself-kits.