Backyard Landscaping on a Budget

Landscaping adds a finished touch to a home like nothing else can. Beautiful hedges, flowering perennials and neatly edged gardens complete the exterior of a home. Landscaping on a budget begins with the knowledge that you'll be doing your own work. Hiring a contractor to beautify your backyard offers a beautiful landscape and an empty wallet. You'll need to arm yourself with knowledge about landscaping, soil preparation and the best plants for your area to create a plan for the ideal backyard landscape.

1. Creating a Plan

   • Grab a piece of graph paper and sketch out your home exterior, including any permanent features. If you have a plan, you'll be able to control the spending. Backyard landscaping often presents difficulties with design and expense because of the increased amount of space. Focal points can be just about anything from a pool to a special tree or plant, a wooden deck or patio. Choosing a center point helps with symmetrical design, as well as limiting the expense of plants and shrubs.
     Choosing a few types of plants and scattering these throughout the landscape creates a sense of unity to the backyard. In the same vein, choose three to four colors of flowering annuals or perennials for a sense of continuity. Vary heights of plants in a single garden with tallest at the center or back, working by height to the lowest plants in the front. This gives the illusion of many plants in the garden. If you've got a fence, don't assume you need to line the fence with a long rectangular garden. Save money and create a pleasing landscape by simply creating an irregularly shaped garden in the corner of the fence.

   Choosing Plants

   • Variegated hosta.

     Plants often overwhelm new landscapers with choices and decisions. Landscaping tends to be a rather permanent addition to your home, so you want to do it right the first time. Consult with your local garden center for recommendations before making any purchases. Always read the attached information tab on every plant for sale. These cards provide planting information, sunlight requirements and watering recommendations. Save money and time by doing research to choose the best plants for your backyard.
     Annuals offer immediate color but only last one season. Perennials and shrubs bloom year after year and often expand in size. This expansion often results in thinning, which creates more plants that will need a home in your backyard. Keep propagation in mind when initially purchasing plants. Plants can be quite expensive, but it lessens the punch a little when you realize you'll get more than one plant out of a gallon pot.
     Choose plants that grow best in your area and limit the number of chosen plants. Although your garden might seem sparse the first year, new growth and expansion will use up those blank spaces quickly. Add any choices to your backyard design plan. Make sure you take into account any soil conditions, as well as shade/nonshade areas before making any plant purchases.

   Soil Preparation, Mulch and Edging

   • Consider any purchased plant an investment that needs a proper place to thrive. Most likely, your backyard is unconsolidated fill dirt put in place by the builder. Soil preparation will help protect your investment and should be figured into your landscape budget. Add soil conditioners, such as peat moss and compost, by simply dumping these products into the garden area. Turn over the top 12 inches of soil with a rototiller or by hand.
     Mulch adds a finished look to any landscape and aids your plants by retaining water. Mulch has the added benefit of suppressing weed growth. Bags of mulch cost about $3 (sometimes less on sale), and you just can't beat this addition for creating a groomed look to your backyard. This investment also helps over time as the mulch breaks down and enriches the soil. Edging around the gardens also adds a finished look to the backyard and helps retain the mulch inside the garden. Garden borders come in many materials, such as plastic, wood or more expensive stone.   http://www.ehow.com/way_5272329_backyard-landscaping-budget.html

How to Landscape on a Small Budget

Plan carefully to make the most of your landscape dollars. Sketch out your yard and include the contours of your home along with any patios or decks, walkways, driveways, paths, flower beds and retaining walls. Add features you want, and then split the project into phases so you can complete a little at a time to minimize the amount of money you need to spend all at once. Consider setting up a consultation with a landscape architect and having her look over your sketch. You can get advice for much less than you would spend if you had the plans drawn up from scratch.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. • 1
     Use gravel, concrete pavers or poured concrete for the most inexpensive paths and walkways. If using gravel, select small pieces of angular gravel (labeled "1/4-inch minus") for the least amount of slippage underfoot. Avoid pea gravel or other smooth stones. Attack weeds as you see them pop up.
   • 2
     Furnish existing decks and patios with inexpensive seating and occasional tables. Check big box stores, thrift stores and yard sales. Deals can often be found at summer's end. Dress up the area with a thrifty outdoor rug, some plants in containers, and perhaps some garden-style wall art. Add tiki torches, outdoor lamps, post lights or candle lanterns for evening ambiance.
   • 3
     Add a do-it-yourself water feature. Liners, pumps and fountains are available at home improvement stores and can easily be added to your yard, deck or patio. Create a retaining wall wherever you need one using textured concrete blocks made for this purpose. A trellis or arbor is another easy addition and can be enchanting and create privacy.
   • 4
     Sharpen lawn mower blades approximately every six weeks during summer months so the lawn stays healthy. Use thin layers of chopped-up grass clippings and some slow-release nitrogen to fertilize the lawn and help keep it green. Consider planting fescue seed, which is drought-resistant and doesn't need a lot of fertilizer to flourish.
   • 5
     Outline new flower beds with a garden hose to achieve contemporary curved shapes, and then install edging to define the beds and keep the lawn from encroaching. Enrich the soil properly with compost and other add-ins according to the advice of nursery personnel or the cooperative extension office in your area. Mulch with organic materials such as pine needles or shredded leaves, and check with your city to see if it will provide free mulch. You can apply these over layers of newspaper for extra weed control.
   • 6
     Invest most of your plants budget in trees, shrubs and flowers native to your area since these are most likely to flourish. Plant perennials and put in fewer than you think you need. You can divide them next year and fill in the beds then. Start plants indoors from seed, purchase plants and trees in late summer when they are on sale.
     It often pays to invest in the biggest trees you can afford since they grow slowly and larger ones have much more impact on a landscape. However, investigate carefully. With some species, smaller trees are set back less by transplanting than larger trees, and will actually grow large faster.

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