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How much should I budget for backyard Landscaping?

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Zara, Staff Writer

Thursday, 24 June 2021

Transforming your backyard can be one of the most rewarding things you can do. But, wait, isn’t landscaping hugely costly? Not necessarily! 

With a strict budget and a few creative ideas, backyard landscaping doesn’t have to be the bank-breaking stress that it is often thought to be.

Of course, it’s never a case of getting materials and services for free but being clever in the way you budget for backyard landscaping and come up with budget landscaping ideas.

Let’s take a look at how much budget landscaping really costs and how to save as you go.     

An important rule of thumb

Generally speaking, you can get a general feel for the cost of landscaping depending on the size and value of your home. Most full-scale landscaping projects come in at around 10% of the total value of your home. This means that if your garden is attached to a $100,000 home, full landscaping of this garden will be around the $10,000 mark.

This may seem extortionately high. But, keep in mind that this is based on an elaborate design, using top quality materials and without a thought for budget landscaping methods.

Taking this general rule of thumb, we can then find new ways of saving money on the overall budget without falling into these expensive traps. After all, we’re allowed to break away from the rules now and again.

Tip 1: Plan, plan, plan!!

By thinking through your changes and improvements early on, you can help budget a realistic landscape design cost before you have committed to anything at all. Making a plan of the whole backyard will also help you see where you can make cuts to your plans, materials and styles - all of which can save you money further down the line.

Tip 2: Shop around for supplies   

Another way to save a few dollars on your budget landscaping ideas is to shop around for your supplies. Although it might seem natural to head straight to your local garden centre or hardware store, supplies here are likely to be at their most expensive. Shopping at local garage sales and even junkyards can uncover some unusual money-saving surprises. 

Tip 3: Scale down your lawn

One of the biggest things to really affect your landscape design costs is the size of your backyard lawn. Reconsider trading in your huge lawn for a selection of hardy shrubs, local plants, or flower beds. This will keep the maintenance cost down low and will cost far less to implement compared to a flat lawn.

Tip 4: Mulch is your best friend

Another fantastic way of saving money on your backyard landscaping budget is to invest in a few bags of mulch. This natural mixture is often made up of chopped leaves, straw, grass clippings, compost, wood chips and shredded bark. Laying this material over flower beds is a quick and cheap way of instantly tidying the overall look of your yard.

To sum up

As we have seen from just these few examples, there are endless ways you can save on your landscaping budget. Knowing how much you should budget for backyard landscaping can be a difficult number to know but with careful pre-planning, you won’t leave yourself in for any nasty shocks at the end.

Backyard landscaping really doesn’t have to cost the earth, and with a few careful corners cut, you can carry out a full transformation on a small to non-existent budget. It also leads you to be far more creative - something that adds so much more fun to the project!

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