12 Ways to Save Money on Landscaping Improvements

Ready to revitalize your home’s landscaping? As long as you plan, you can save money while enhancing your property. Here are 12 tips for landscaping on a budget.

Make a Plan

Sketch things out and make a budget. With ideas from professionals, refine your plan and divide it into steps so it’s less overwhelming.

Decide How Far You Want to Go

Check the plan against your long-term property plans on a regular basis. If the project involves more work and money than you want to invest, consider scaling it down or hire a professional to take care of the labor.

Hire an Architect

The more changes you have in store for your property, the more you’re likely to benefit from consulting with an Architect or Landscape Designer along the way. This way, you might actually spend less by saving time and materials.

Purchase in Parts

Don’t fret about buying everything at once. Break your project into sections that you can pay for over time. This way, you can modify plans as necessary and save more money by avoiding loans.

Be Prepared to Pay for Quality

Big retailers may have the lowest prices around on materials and plants, but their expertise and quality can be lacking. While you might pay a bit more at a smaller, specialized landscaping company, you can also expect more personalized service, installation and guarantees that make up for the price difference.

Opt for Low Cost When Necessary

In some cases, you might actually do better dealing with warehouse retailers. Common items are likely to be cheaper there, and advice and installation may not be necessary on certain plants and building materials. Don’t be afraid to pick up discarded plants and materials, either. When homeowners throw away perfectly good plants, wood and bricks, their loss can become your gain.

Buy Low at the Right Time

Picking up plants and building materials at certain times of year can save big money. Plants and building materials are cheap late in the season, so stock up and keep them on hand for when the weather’s perfect for landscaping. Save coupons from the newspapers to increase your savings.

Order Online

You can’t beat the price and convenience of buying landscaping supplies from online catalogs. Exotic plants and unusual decorations are available from the right suppliers, but be sure to consider shipping costs before passing up local retailers.

Consider Alternative Suppliers

Online and offline stores may offer bargains on a regular basis, but you can often find even better deals from botanical gardens, neighbours or markets.

Maintain Connections

Keeping in touch with local gardeners through neighborhood associations and clubs may allow you to get in on bulk purchases of plants and supplies. You can also arrange to share rentals of landscaping equipment with friends and neighbors to cut costs.

Buy Landscaping Materials in Bulk

Estimating your needs for soil, sand, mulch, rocks and other materials can be complicated because of differences in density.

Do Your Own Work

If you avoid hiring a Landscaper for all but the hardest jobs, you’ll save money that you can put to better use on plants and materials. Instead, enjoy putting your own touch on the improvement of your property.

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