How Planning Can Save Money In Your Landscaping Project

Without careful planning, your landscaping project could end up costing you much more than you can realistically afford. It may even be left half finished, turning your yard into an eyesore rather than the attractive space you hoped it would be. By planning everything from the very beginning, however, you can stand to save a considerable amount of money that could be spent on other aspects of your home or put to a more leisurely use, such as a holiday.

You should begin by setting a landscaping budget. This will help to ensure that you do not spend more money than you have. You could also consider undertaking your new landscaping design in stages so that you aren't spending thousands of dollars in one go. If you do make this decision, however, you need to set a limit on how much money you can spend at each stage of the project.

But how do you know if you have set a realistic budget or not? Well, the general rule of thumb is that landscaping comprises somewhere between 5 and 10 percent of the value of your home. This cost includes absolutely everything, including decks, patios, irrigation, fencing, ponds, and so on - if you feel that your landscaping is costing you more than 5 to 10 percent of your home's value, then you should probably look at cutting back some of the more expensive elements.

Once you have set your budget, it is time to begin planning your landscaping design and working out what materials and vegetation you are going to need to purchase. At this point, however, many homeowners forget about a number of hidden costs, which is where their budget gets completely blown. Some of the unforeseen costs of landscaping include:

• Features that require lighting, as many homeowners only factor in the cost of the initial purchase and installation, not the cost of running these features. Try and opt for energy saving lighting where possible.

• Features that require a substantial amount of water (such as sprinkler systems, ponds and fountains), as homeowners make the same mistake as they do with lighting and do not account for their water bills.

• Soil improvement, as fertilisers need to be added to the soil to ensure that the vegetation in the landscaping project is kept healthy. Instead, choose plants that exist naturally in your climate to lessen the need for improvement.

As you can see, careful planning is the only way to ensure that your landscaping project doesn't become a financial nightmare from hell. By setting a budget at the very beginning (not just an estimate, an exact number) and by taking into account all of the hidden costs that come with some of the most beloved landscaping features, you can ensure that your project goes off without a hitch and doesn't land you in a world of debt.