Landscaping your new home can be an expensive proposition. Trees and shrubs are expensive. Hardscaping can also take a chunk of change. But that doesn’t mean you have to grass it all over to save money.
While your home is being built, you have time to create your landscaping plan. Your builder can provide you with an outline of your yard to work from, then work on your yard design from the ground up. Cut the plan into affordable chunks. Always begin with your front yard in order to stay in compliance with your HOA and to keep your neighbors happy.
Once you divide your plan into stages and choose the hardscaping, add plants that will enhance the hardscape. Add a little more every year until it’s just right. And be sure to include the following into your plan.
Watering systems
How will you bring water to all of your plants. Create a watering system that can be changed as your yard grows. You can hire a professional to put in your system or take a class at your local big box store. Just a walk through the isles will give you plenty of food for thought.
Weed control.
Any part of your yard that isn’t covered by healthy grass will develop weeds. Weed barriers can keep the weeds down for a while but need to be covered with at least 4” of some type of mulch or ground cover after that. Grass is a cheap alternative to landscaping. And you can easily dig it up to replace it with hardscaping or gardens later.
Trees
In order to get a big healthy oak, you usually have to plant a little seeding. The bigger the tree the bigger the cost. If you want your trees to provide shade in a reasonable amount of time, you need to purchase your tree as big as you can afford and plant it ASAP.
Trees also come in fast growing and slow growing varieties. If you want shade in just a couple of years instead of decades, you will want to plant a fast growing tree that can be cut down once the slow growing tree gets to a shady height.
Hardscaping
Yards are more interesting and visually pleasing when they have hardscaped areas on different levels. Yards with lots of places to sit are more welcoming than yards with large expanses of grass. Swings invite both children and adults to come and play. Running water is very relaxing. Hardscapes can be cut into zones to be added as finances allow.
Flowers
A mix of perennials and annuals help keep your yard colorful year round. Choose flowers that bloom in Spring, Summer, and Fall. Choose plants not only for their colors, but for their height, width, and the amount of time they bloom. Visually interesting yards often have a mix of grasses, flowers, and shrubs.
Shrubs
There are more to shrubs than boxwoods and evergreens. Shrubs come in flowering varieties and non flowering. Some have red or bright green stems the stay colorful all winter. Planting new shrubs too close together will make them crowded once they reach full size, so read planting recommendations before making your choices.
