When I first started to blog, it was for one reason only, to keep track of our home projects. That way I could look back at them and see the progression of what we had accomplished. I also could use our blog as a way to document how I did something and that way when I needed the steps I could go back and look at them. I have done that several times. Like when I made Jude’s Crib to Upholstered Headboard I used Gavin’s Nailhead Upholstered Headboard DIY. It’s always great to look back on things but it’s even better to look back on projects we’ve invested in and know we made good decisions like working a landscaper’s plan on a budget.
In about a month we are going to be celebrating the second year in our home. The first big project we conqured was our front landscaping. We actually ended up doing some of the work ourselves but the majority was done by a professional landscaper. We really weighed the options of Professional Landscaping Vs. DIY and choose to go with the Pro for landscaping design and the bulk of the work.
Our Landscape Designer, from South Branch Nursery, conveniently located right next to our neighborhood, developed this amazing plan for us.
Our budget was $1500.oo however, the estimate came in for about $500.00 over this. So naturally we did what we had to do. We made some cuts. If you see the tiniest circles nearest to the sidewalk, those perennials got cut. Clint, our landscaper left them out and gave us space for future planting. The plan still looked great and we stayed within our budget.
Keep in mind a landscaping plan can cost a minimum to a maximum amount depending upon some factors….
- amount of space being landscaped
- the amount of plants being used
- the type of plants chosen
- treatments used on soil
- removals before work begins (ie rock removal, stump removal, prior landscaping removal and take-away)
- pretreatments before work begins (weed or grass killers) they had to kill grass a few weeks prior to our project
There are always things you can do to make cuts or save on landscaping costs. Not all plants are created equal in the price department. For example we wanted a statement Topiary (that costs $). We could have chosen a different route and just put another bush there. You may want your space filled with a 100 plants but at the time can only afford 50. Start with 50 and add the following season. Do some of the work yourself. I had tons of pea gravel that needed removal, it would have cost several hundreds of dollars for the pros to remove it. Instead I did it myself. What a pain. What a work out. What a savings.
Now let’s take a look at the progression of the professionally landscaped home. You can easily compare year one and year two and see the growth. Hopefully this will help anyone that is looking to purchase plants or come up with a plan of their own. Make sure you look back at our post from year one so you see what we were dealing with it was pretty awful, all those rocks and overgrown bushes. EEK
Year two the bushes are much fuller all around. Everything has grown, especially the Kaleidoscope Abelia (the yellow bushes) they don’t only grow wide they have branches that grow up and give them height. Honestly, I need to go out and trim them but it is hot!
In Year 1 you didn’t see all the pops of purple Salvia. This is what we choose to fill in where Clint left us for future planting. What he was going to charge $500 cost us $40 and a lot of our sanity. Because once again Jude was terrorizing the front yard and I didn’t mention the ground was rock solid. It was worth saving the $500 in the end but I’m not going to sugar coat it planting all those suckers was a two person job and it was hard.
The two Oakleaf Hydrangeas in the back row make us so happy when they bloom each spring. From this picture you can’t tell but they bloom huge white blooms and stay that way for months. Our Red Japanese Maple is doing great as well. I’ve even trimmed up its lower branches. Lastly, we replaced all the brownish mulch with black mulch. You can compare the difference in the first two pictures it makes a huge difference with our house. The brown mulch was brought to us by mistake. It is way to red for the color of our brick.
Another one of our favorite plants is our French Blue Scotch Topiary. I get my Mr. Miyagi on every once in a while with it. You see it gets these spurs that you have to trim with tiny sheers. It’s quite calming.
Although our front landscaping was a large investment it really added some major curb appeal to our home. It made it our home not just a home we moved in to. And now that I personally know how hard the soil is here in Middle Tennessee I am positive it was worth every penny to hire a professional.
Have you ever hired a landscaper? What were your favorite plants? Did you have to make any cuts or switches to their plans? Were they as helpful as ours was?
We just finished our backyard and patio too…. come check out the budget and see where the money went…..
