The Do’s and Dont's of Decorating
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A well-maintained landscape adds curb appeal and value to your home, but installation and maintenance costs can quickly add up and break your landscaping budget. Instead of investing thousands of dollars into high-end landscaping materials and plants, selectively assign portions of your budget to specific landscaping projects that deliver the most visual impact in a cost-effective manner. Sufficient planning, low-cost materials and minimal maintenance expenses translate into an inexpensive landscape that delivers resale value.
A lush, verdant lawn is standard fare for most residential landscapes. Although the initial cost of seeding is budget-friendly, the year to year maintenance costs include reseeding, watering and chemical treatments, which quickly add up to a high-cost landscaping fixture. To keep your budget in check, choose only small sections of your yard to serve as grass areas. Not only will you cut down on installation costs, but you save both time and money when it comes time to cut and water your grass. Surround the naturally occurring features of your landscape, like trees or boulders, with mulch or gravel rather than grass to cut down costs and play up the natural features.
Though limiting the parts of your lawn that are grass covered saves money, it leaves you with the challenge of filling in the excess areas. Instead of planting expensive trees that require yearly upkeep, consider alternative groundcover to add variety to your landscape with minimal additional costs. Instead of grass, replant moss to cover damp, shaded portions of your lawn. Low plants like creeping phlox are fast-growing foliage that quickly expand to cover large portions of your lawn and add texture to your landscape. Be vigilant about trimming to prevent creeping vines from damaging other landscape plants.
Even inexperienced gardeners can enjoy the vibrancy of a garden with low-maintenance, low-cost flower beds. Instead of lining the front of your home with shrubs, which can be expensive, use sections of reclaimed logs or wood to create individual flower beds along the foundation of your home. Choose hardy perennials that thrive in a variety of climates to avoid the cost of maintenance and replanting. Opt for bulbous allium, dainty Black-eyed Susan or sunny wild buckwheat to add color that is easy to maintain and cheap to install.
Cut and stained natural stone pavers are elegant but expensive options for front walks or garden paths. To designate walking areas throughout your landscape without breaking your budget, speak with a local concrete contractor about procuring broken and discarded sections of concrete; dig a shallow trench for the concrete blocks to create a walkway up to your front door. A local quarry may also provide gravel or fill for a walkway at a lower price than what you would pay at a landscaping supply store. If you want to include a path through a garden area, choose natural materials like sand and mulch to create inexpensive walking areas that do not disrupt the flow of the natural landscape.
Decorative and functional accessories add personality and visual interest to your landscape, but several accessories may quickly add up and bring you in over budget. Instead, select a few accessories to transform your landscape into an outdoor living space. Though pond installations and waterfalls add beauty and tranquility to your yard, they are also costly to install and maintain; instead, select a single stone fountain or birdbath with built-in motor as an inexpensive alternative water feature. Decorate your patio with weather treated outdoor wicker furniture and a pressure treated wood coffee table for simple, rustic outdoor dining.
