The grounds of your home are full of possibilities. It doesn’t matter how big or how small of a space you have, either. A well-designed, thoughtfully put together garden in a small plot can enhance your home just as much as a large-scale garden on an estate would. The difference, of course, is scale. With scale comes a host of considerations from whether you can DIY it to even what plants to choose to minimize the amount of active gardening you’ll need to do.
While some projects are going to cost a pretty penny, all projects can be done for less. To create your dream garden and landscaping design for less, get started with this guide today.
Can You DIY It?
Naturally, the best way to save money and bring a stunning garden to life is to do it yourself completely. While this is possible for some properties, it’s not an option for all. It’s also not going to be a realistic option if you have grand design ideas for your space.
So, when can you go to your backyard yourself? The answer is simple — when traditional gardening is enough. If you’re not playing around with structure, adding water features, and so on, you can start planting and tending to your garden. To save here, buy small and let things grow into place. You can then add touchups like statues or lattices for design and interest. You can even add arches easily because you can buy the arch fully made and then install it in a few steps at home.
Where you won’t want to, or are not able to, you need the professionals in these situations:
1. You Have Grand Ideas that Include Structural Changes
If your garden or landscaping design idea includes structural changes like adding a wall, a platform, a patio, and especially a swimming pool or shed, then you’ll absolutely need professionals on hand to at a minimum handle those aspects of your dream design. You can do a mix of both — have the pros come in to clear the way for a patio and then you can add the flowers, shrubs, and trees after the fact, or you can have the pros do it all so you can get to enjoying your amazing new space once and for all, sooner rather than later.
2. You Want a Fully Realized Garden Space Now
Doing things yourself, and for less, takes time. It means that you need to acknowledge and prepare for the fact that your amazing garden isn’t going to be ready overnight. It isn’t going to look the way that you picture it in a year, or maybe even three years. It takes years of dedication, tweaking, and, of course, care to bring your property to life with a well-crafted and beautifully presented garden.
If you have that patience and dedication, and what you want to do with your space isn’t overly complicated or dangerous (this includes working with overly heavy trees), then you can do it on your own. You’ll just need to be prepared to go into it slowly, step by step.
3. You Have a Large Property
A large property is ultimately cheaper to have the professionals handle outright, at least if you want it done well and in a short period of time. When you’re returfing your property, adding plant beds, and so on, you don’t want to have to pay through the nose for consumer-facing products. Not only is this the most inefficient way to, say, add soil to your property, but it’s also the most expensive.
When you hire a landscaping business that has access to wholesale landscaping supplies, you immediately have access to the bulk materials you need for less. Yes, you’ll pay more for labor, but in exchange, you’ll have your entire design done up properly. Since you’ll be saving on the materials, you can then put that money towards the labor, making it actually a far more cost-effective option than you think.
How to Save On Your Transformation
Regardless of whether you do it yourself or you hire professionals, these tips can help you save when bringing your design idea to life.
1. Use Design Tools to Visualize Your Idea
Regardless of whether you’re doing it on your own or hiring others, it’s so, so important to have your idea visually printed out for others to see. You can use free design tools to do this easily or create a series of drawings for yourself. This is how you can take your design idea to the pros and get exactly what you want (with minor changes to reflect what’s physically possible). You’ll also need that picture to help you when shopping for supplies at gardening centers or plant nurseries.
In short, it’s hard to convey precise visual ideas verbally. So don’t! Instead, make that mockup with design tools or by hand and you’ll be able to clearly convey what you want without paying for a professional design service.
2. Buy On Sale
When it comes to things like décor, furniture, lights, and even planters or plants, waiting for a sale is always a great idea. These items are usually things you add after the professional landscapers have come and gone if you’re using them, so you’re not on a time limit.
Set up price alerts, look into the second-hand market, and so on. You’d be surprised at how many potted plants you can get for very little from people who are moving away or don’t have space for them anymore. Using this tip, alongside others in this guide, can help you really customize your space and fill your garden with stunning planters and other decorative pieces for less.
3. Buy Wholesale
Wholesale is a great way to get all the materials that you need for your entire outdoor space. One thing to keep in mind, of course, is that wholesale is typically only available to the professionals. The only exception is if you can personally use the entire minimum bulk order yourself. For example, if you have an estate and massive property, you may be able to order the bulk supplies yourself and then have laborers come and use those supplies as needed.
