How to Save Money on Professional Landscaping

Get a good idea of what you want your yard to look like before hiring a professional landscaper.

Professional landscaping can be a costly expenditure, but a good landscape can save you money, add curb appeal and even boost the value of your home. If done right, you can also cut down on yard maintenance. So, if you've been thinking about giving your yard a facelift, consider these points before you hire a professional to do your landscaping.

Things You'll Need

• Research
• Local well stocked nursery
• Home and Garden magazines
• Reputable professional landscaper

Instructions

1. Scour magazines and your neighborhood for ideas of the type of professional landscape you want. The better idea you have of what you want, the more control you will have over the professional landscaping bid because the landscaper will spend less time coming up with ideas she thinks you might like.

2. Plant for your climate. If you live in a dry area, you don't want to have a tropical rain forest landscape. The cost in water resources will be high, and it's likely that you'll lose plants. Visit local nurseries and talk to horticulturists about what's appropriate for your area.

3. Skip the grass, especially if you're professional landscaping the front yard. Grass is high maintenance and costly to keep green. Instead, think about adding paths, rocks or other visually interesting elements to your professional landscape.

4. Know how large the plants you like will get. A plant that looks so beautiful in its diminutive size might grow into an uncontrollable monster bush when mature. Think ahead about how your landscape will look a year after planting.

5. Insist on composting and mulching the soil instead of adding chemical fertilizers. More money should be spent on amending poor soil than adding quick-fix fertilizers which will need more and more as the original doses wear off. Compost is healthier for the soil, less costly to you and your plants will love it.

6. Think spacing. Landscapers will often overplant, so that the finished product will look fuller. But remember that your plants will grow. Proper spacing of plants will save you money on professional landscaping.

7. Think small. Ask for plants in 1-gallon containers instead of 5 gallons or larger. Your plants will grow, and grow well if your soil has been properly amended, and you're planting for your climate. The difference in price between a 1-gallon and a 5-gallon plant can be significant when multiplied by 50.

8. Ask for low-flow drip irrigation systems that will water just the plant or small areas. You save water and money, and the systems are easy to install. You could even install them yourself, saving more money on your professionally landscaped yard.

Tips & Warnings

• Never pay your landscaper in full before a job. Sign a contract and make sure your landscaper is licensed and bonded.