Landscaping

To save yourself and your landscape contractor time and energy, try to do the following –

• Try to commit to a “real budget”. Know what you can spend. Your landscaper needs real numbers to work with when creating a plan to bid.
• Make a list of dream ideas. If you should have room in your budget and would love to add an item or two, we’ll be prepared to easily identify options.
• Be realistic about what you can really do. Do not waste your time and confuse the issue. For example, planting a few flowers is one thing, but multiple shrubs and small tree are entirely another matter.
• Do not put yourself at risk. Trenching and digging require machines that can hurt and dismember you as well as hit septic system, water lines and power lines. Running a machine is one thing. Operating a machine effectively and safely is another matter.

Let’s begin by saying nothing is for free. Any company providing a design for free has to recover the time and resources in some fashion. Generally, a relatively basic design will cost approximately $500. More complexity will increase the cost. Most home designs will not exceed $1000. Most contractors will charge for the designs, then credit them back when a project is committed to.

The old saying ‘a failure to plan is planning to fail’. Without being specific, expenditures will get out of control. Costs for materials, labor costs, supplies and equipment all have big price tags. Changes from false starts will evaporate a budget quickly. No plan is  path to wasted money and poor execution.

Plants! Plants! Plants! They all have life expectancies. They begin to look ragged over time. Plants switch out easily and can change the character of any area immediately.