Don’t despair. You can create a beautiful landscape – even with a professional.

After all, landscaping is certainly less expensive than knocking out a wall and renovating the inside of your home, which also increases the value of your real estate.

By getting rid of some eye sores and knowing how to landscape on a budget, you can create a green oasis  – an oasis that you will love and your neighbors will both envy and admire.

First – Get Rid of the Distractions

First, let’s look at what you can do to save money or increase the value of your real estate – just by getting rid of some of the distractions.

It may take a bit of muscle, but you won’t have to spend a lot of money or keep spending money if you get rid of or improve on the following landscape mistakes.

Landscape Mistakes that Devalue Your Real Estate

Before you develop a budget-friendly landscaping plan, you need to get rid of the blunders that will take away from your property’s value. Professional landscapers must often fix the following problems when revitalizing a landscape’s design.

Too Much Concrete

Too much concrete can give your yard a concrete jungle look that detracts and makes your design look unbalanced. Break up the concrete with soft scaping to level everything out.

Too Many Lawn Ornaments

A menagerie of gnomes and birdbaths will devalue your property and give it an unkempt appearance. While one or two well-placed ornaments won’t take away from the value of your real estate, too many ornaments will make it stand out and reduce its curb appeal. It’s better to add pops of color with shrubs and plants and get rid of the ornament surplus. 

Too Many Trees

It’s nice to find comfort in the shade on a hot summer’s day, but too many trees can hurt your property’s value – plus they can become a maintenance and safety issue. For example, a yard with dying or dead trees can impact a home’s worth.

Plus, one or more trees (or their limbs) can easily fall on a neighbor’s building or on your own house in a storm. 

Some limbs can also get entangled in power lines – another real hazard. 

With a lack of open space, you’ll find it difficult to beautify your yard, relax, or entertain. Too many shrubs and trees can also attract pests (two-legged, four-legged, and six-legged varieties), which also makes it easier for break-ins to occur.

A Landscape that Looks Disjointed

Some people think they can save money with “piecemeal” landscaping. However, you’ll save more money and increase your property’s value by working with a pro and creating a plan.

By following the plan over time, you will spend less money and balance out your yard’s appearance so it has a curb-friendly appeal.

Overgrowth

If you want your property to stand out and increase in value, you must eliminate weeds and similar overgrowth. Weeds certainly will make a home stand out, albeit negatively. Regular mowing and mulching are important to keeping your yard trimmed and green.

Rotted Wood Decks and Fences

Don’t allow a wood deck or fence to rot or feature a fence, patio, driveway, or deck in a state of disrepair. 

If you’re on a budget, choose a wood-look vinyl fence or select an affordable, non-rotting alternative like PVC or high-quality aluminum. You might also add rubber pavers or consider interlocking stone tiles for a smaller deck or patio.

Adding colored concrete to your drive or asphalting are affordable alternatives as is gravel, railboard ballast, or paving stones.

Landscaping Tips that Will Help You Save Money and Increase Your Property’s Value

Now that you know what not to do, the following tips will help you improve the looks of your yard and save money at the same time.

Have a Plan and Work with a Pro

As noted, it’s best to have a landscaping plan in place before forging ahead on a budget. You can also save money by working with a landscaping pro. That way, you can make sure that your landscape project is successful – that it won’t conflict with your budget and will increase your home’s value over time.

If you have a plan in place, you know how far you can stretch your money and what soft-scaping and hardscaping options you can choose. That way, you can create a curb-friendly yard with both money and time to spare.

Carefully Research the Plants You’re Adding in Your Design Plan

To save on plants and their placement, make sure they are well-suited to the areas where they are placed. Also, beware of flora that attracts bees. Make sure you don’t place these plants near a patio or deck – where you plan to relax or entertain. Also, note any plants that may be poisonous to pets or children.

Use Budget-Friendly Hardscaping Materials

You can save money on hardscaping by focusing on affordable materials like pavers or gravel when you’re building a path or driveway. If you plan to add a retaining wall, poured concrete is the cheapest material, followed by pressure-treated pine. You might also consider granite a less expensive option than stone products for your design.

Place the Focus on Low-Maintenance

Low-maintenance plants help you save time and money on your yard’s design. Plus, many of the plants bud and add color to your yard with a minimal investment. Review such plants as grasses, perennials, and succulents and learn more about their care online.

Schedule Regular Maintenance

A regular plan of maintenance includes cutting your grass, mulching, and trimming and pruning plants. If you want to cut down on the time spent on these tasks, including the expense, choose artificial turf or grasses and plants that do not grow or spread out as fast. 

Why It Pays to Mulch

Mulch helps to retain the moisture in plants which keeps them beautiful and prevents problems with waste or overwatering.

Why It Pays to Trim and Prune

Trimming and pruning shrubs and trees keep them healthy and vibrant. Pruning is necessary, as it prevents the development of dying and dead limbs and reduces the risk of storm damage. 

If you have any stumps in your yard, you also want to get rid of these tripping hazards – hazards that can lead to a jump in your insurance costs or an increased risk of liability.

Choose These Types of Easy-Care Solutions

You can find shrubs that are easy-care, which cuts down on the expenses of plant care. 

For example, the dwarf shrub, the Yuki Cherry deutzia, attracts hummingbirds with its soft pink blooms in the spring and is also deer-resistant. It proves to be a great choice if you’re seeking an edging plant for your pathway.

California fuchsia and Bird of Paradise are stand-out easy-to-care flowers that look great in California gardens and yards.

Use Reclaimed Materials for Your Hardscape – Think Outside the Window Box

Instead of splurging on expensive stones, you might be able to use bricks or pieces of concrete to create a patio or walkway. You might also use repurposed gravel to pare down the expense.

Make the Most of Your Garden Space – Vertically

Use fences, trellises, and walls to support the growth of climbing plants, such as vines, or feature potted plants or hanging baskets that you can display inside or outside your home.

Save on Water

Again, drought-resistant and hardy plants are always welcome in a budget-friendly landscape.

You can also use drip irrigation to save on the water you use. Adding rain sensors to your irrigation system will also prevent you from overwatering your shrubs and plants.

Contact a Professional Landscaper Now

Indeed, landscaping your yard does not have to empty out your wallet. By using the above tips to save money, you can create a beautiful landscape that is as impressive as affordable. See where the creative process takes you. Start creating and planning your landscape design project now.