Spring is in the air. This is the perfect time to emerge from winter hibernation and get down and dirty in your front yard. Generally, one spends between 5-15% of their home’s value on initial landscaping. Initial landscaping is what is done in the yard when you first movie in. Even if the initial landscaping was done by a professional, the homeowner usually needs to maintain the landscaping every year. This would include, for example, replacing plants and mulch. With the economy in the state it is, who can afford sprucing up existing landscaping? There are plenty of ways you can create an aesthetically pleasing yard and spend much less.
Do it yourself. Skip the Professionals.
Although the professional landscapers make your yard look gorgeous in a short amount of time, you can do most of the job on your own, for a fraction of the cost. According to Susan Schlenger, a landscape designer, professionals add between 40-60% of the cost onto your bill, just for installation of the plants. By landscaping yourself, you will only have to pay for the cost of the plants. “You can do a whole lot with a couple hundred dollars,” said Dan Woldhuis, owner of Sunrise Greenhouse in Grant Park, Il.
Plan your layout.
Measure the space you have to plant in. When choosing plants to add to your project, consider:
- the maximum size these plants can grow
- how much space is required to separate each of them
- exactly how many of each plant will fit into the area you have
Knowing precisely what you need will help you save time at the nursery and avoid impulse buys.
Make sure you have a good soil foundation for your plants.
Plants need good soil to grow in. “Soil, especially in our area [Chicago], has been excavated and backlogged with clay, which is unsuitable for plant growth. Before planting you should amend the soil with peat moss or top soil,” advised Woldhuis.
Choose quality plants that are appropriate for your space.
Plants are very temperamental beings. If a plant does not get the correct amount of sunlight and is not planted in the appropriate environment it will die. If you have an area that gets a lot of sun, choose plants that need full sun. However, if you have a flowerbed that is in the shade, choose plants that like a shady environment. “Plant your plants during the appropriate time of year. If you are planting now, for example, choose plants that can handle a potential frost. Plant during the season that your flowers can survive,” said Woldhuis.
Mix perennials and annuals to lower the overall cost of the project.
Perennials can be expensive. However, with the right amount of love and care, perennials only need to be planted once. Annuals are usually much cheaper, but only survive one growing season. “Mixing annuals into your perennial flower beds allows you to have constant color during the season and can save you money,” said Woldhuis.
Adding mulch around your trees and shrubs provides multiple benefits.
Adding mulch can:
- help hold water in the soil
- cut down on the weeds
- protect plants from frost damage and cold winters.
Watering the plants less and buying less weed killer translates into saving money. You can usually find deals on mulch at your local greenhouse or garden center. Many tree trimmers do not use the mulch they create from local jobs. In some cases, you can contact a local tree trimmer and ask if you can have their leftover mulch.
Choose smaller plants and watch them grow.
Greenhouses usually sell the same plant in multiple sizes. The smaller, not fully-grown plants are cheaper than the full grown ones. Although choosing the smaller plants may make your front yard seem empty and incomplete at first, the flowers and plants will grow into the full size. Why not save money and let the flowers grow in your yard instead of in a bucket in a greenhouse?
Share your overgrown plants with neighbors and friends.
Choose plants for your landscaping project that can be split. Splitting a plant involves digging up a plant and dividing the plant and the roots into portions. Each of these parts of the plant is able to survive on its own. Plants that can be split grow quickly and tend to be quite hardy. If you purchase one or two of these plants, within a year or two they will be large enough to split and plant in other locations. You can even trade plants with neighbors and friends or take some of their plants they split. Ultimately, this provides you with more than enough individual plants while you only paid for a fraction of them.
Using these tips you can create a landscaping project that does not break the bank and looks as wonderful as a professional creation. You can be proud that you landscaped your yard on a tight budget. Check out this photo slideshow of plants that are suitable for Chicago’s climate.
