How difficult is it to do your own landscaping?

Question

My wife and I just bought a house. How much time and money would one have to invest in maintaining a modest amount of landscaping without the assistance of a landscaper?

Answer 1

Completely depends on several various factors. Timbers vs. decorative brick edging, annual flowers vs. periennial plants, japanese maple vs. yew bush, cedar mulch vs. rocks, and so on and so on. It's going to be some vigorous physical labor and time consuming no matter what you choose, but it will increase the curb appeal, and possibly property value, of your home.

Answer 2

I do all of my own landscaping and mantaining on my own lawn,yard.It will cost you thousands if yiou plan on getting everything done the first year.Iplanted just a few plants at a time and put them where I knew I wanted to have my gardens.And after 3 years my yard is the nicest in the neighborhood.Also I do not plant annuals in my gardens at all because you will just be replanting next year anyways.It will cost you more at first but, the amount of work will be less.So buy perennials only.Good Luck!

Answer 3

Not difficult at all, with a little planning.  I suggest these steps:

1.  Mark the outline of your landscaping with marking paint, using a string for any stretches that you want to be straight.

2.  Decide on edging:  there is vinyl, steel, fiberglass, brick, retaining block, and probably more.  Each requires digging a slightly different trench to hold the edging.  Install your edging high enough to hold in either stones or mulch, but also install it so that water will drain away from your foundation.  If you use bricks or blocks, use a level as you lay the block to ensure a nice even finish.

3.  Remove sod if you want/need to.  Another alternative is to leave the sod, and spray the area with RoundUp.

4.  Decide what to plant and where.  Be sure to leave enough room for the plantings to mature.  For instance, you can buy a blue spruce tree that is one foot tall, and less than one foot across, but at maturity, that tree could be up to twelve feet across--plant accordingly!  Follow planting directions on the plants you purchase.

5.  Lay down your weed barrier.  Buy the strongest/thickest barrier you can afford.  Cut Xes in the barrier to go over your plantings.

6.  Lay down stones or mulch over the barrier.  Consider using different colors strategically to create visual interest.

7.  Now, relax and maintain.  Be sure your plantings receive plenty of water the first year to establish them.

Some ideas for selecting plants:

1.  Perennials come back year after year, but they generally flower for only a portion of the summer.  Select a variety of plants that bloom at different times.  Perennials will need to be trimmed down to the groud after the frost kills them.  Also, some perennials spread aggressively--to the point of being invasive.  Ask at the garden center.

2.  Annuals must be planted every year, but they typically flower for most or all of the summer and provide a color blast for your yard.  If you like flowers, consider leaving some places in your landscaping for annuals.

3.  Shrubs require annual trimming and shaping.  Consider how big they will become over time, and how much trimming you like to do.  Some shrubs also require trimming at different times of the year, or they will not bloom the next year (hydrangeas, for example).  You might want to maintain a notebook with maintenance instructions.

4.  For all of your plants, realize that color and texture create visual interest.  For instance, Brown Eyed Susans (yellow flower with a brown center) are about two or three feet tall, and look nice behind dark purple Coral Bells (which are less than one foot tall).  Fountain grasses look nice planted in the back, with shorter plants in front.

Also, your landscape can evolve over time--perhaps some plants you put in this year might die in a year or two, and that's your opportunity to change a planting.  You can also add plants over the years, so don't feel obligated to do it all at once.

Best of luck, I hope this helps.

Answer 4

It all depends on how much landscaping you need to do and the size area you have to work with.  Is there grass or do you need to plant some.  Do you prefer different rockscapes to reduce the water usage for grass?  What planting zone you  are in is important to know so that you can select the correct plants for your climate.  Depending on the size of trees you want to plant makes a difference in the price. There is the choice to go with perrenials or annuals for flowers, perrenials cost more but come back year after year.  Annuals cost less but you will have to buy and plant them every year.  Then there are the issues of maintaining gardens, trees, and lawns. Investing in fertilzers, insect control  and mowing equipment all have differing costs attached to them depending on the products you choose to use.

There are so many factors involved that only you can decide how much time and energy you want to spend.