Landscaping costs can be great or small, depending on how expansive your vision is, and how far you want to go to implement it. Most often, homeowners assume landscaping won’t cost much, and then when faced with meeting the requirements of their subdivision, or moving to finally achieve their grand vision, they are taken by surprise. A good rule of thumb to use when determining budgets is to afford anywhere from 15-20% the value of your home. That way, when it comes time to landscape, you will have reserved enough money to at least get the basics completed, if not more, depending on your area of the country. We find that people are relatively mum about their available landscape budgets when meeting with a Landscape Architect, in efforts to spend as little as they can. You may find the car analogy helpful when discussing your ideas, so that the end result is not you driving away in a clunker when your designer attempted to sell you a tesla. Be encouraged to give some direction there, in terms of whether you’d like a volkswagen, a volvo, or a mercedes. That will help eliminate disappointments and improve efficiency in the design process. When it comes to small, isolated improvements, request itemization of costs from your Landscape Architect, so that when it comes time for installations, you can determine which pieces you might want to afford, and save other efforts for later. Oftentimes a contractor will attempt to give you the lump sum version, which doesn’t allow you to effectively determine which parts of the project are essential to you, relative to the costs you wish to expend.
Landscaping done correctly should start with a good irrigation system, This is the best way
to protect your investment. of approx 12 to 14% of home value.
Landscaping costs vary greatly based upon the size of the project, the amount of vegetation or sod, as well as the complexity of design. You can call any landscaper in your area to get firm budgets based upon your intended results. Get a minimum of three quotes but go with the person that you feel like will please you the most, not necessarily the cheapest bid…also don’t forget to compare scope when deciding of the cost.
Landscaping can be very costly and depending on the selected materials you decide to use can become extremely costly. For example, if you wish to have a small to medium sized ornamental tree in your yard you could go with a Goshiki Shidare Japanese Maple $4,000.00 a comparable sized standard Lace Leafed Japanese Maple $1,200.00, Straight Japanese Red Maple $500.00 or a Red Plum $250.00. Each plant would give you a red colored small tree but with a very different cost associated with it. Same goes with small hedges, English Boxwood could cost 2 to 3 times as much as compact Holly with similar look. Put 30 Dwarf English Boxwood in at $50.00 each compared to 30 Compact Holly in at $20.00 each. Big price difference similar look. I am not saying it is the exact same look, maintenance requirements or status, just similar look.
Same thing as plants, paving materials for walks and patios can vary greatly in cost. Bluestone patios approximately $22.00 per square foot will cost more than concrete paving ( appx. $10.00 per square foot ) patios but, in turn would cost less than Granite Patios approximately $35.00 per square foot. Steps are time consuming to build and require footings and permits which in turn means EXPENSIVE. Try to minimize the number of steps you work into your plans. Working with someone that would compare the cost of materials with you and explain the pros and cons of each would help you correctly budget you project and get you closer to what you have to spend.
Bringing in and or taking away soil/dirt is very expensive also. Try and work your project without bring much soil in or taking much away.
Just remember, plant sizes, types and quantities will greatly affect the project cost. Materials selected will greatly effect project cost and amount of removed and or delivered soil/dirt/gravel greatly effects projects cost.
Of course I have only hit on a few factors.
Dwight
Landscaping costs will all depend on how elaborate your vision is and how patient you are.
The more extravagant you vision the larger the area the more it will cost. Also the larger the plants the more it will cost. You can save money on plants by selecting smaller sizes and allowing them to grow in. Think of it like this, eith you watch them grow or you pay for someone else to watch them grow.
We have a lot of clients that want to save some money on their project so we sometimes come back and do planting at a later date. In the mean time the client can enjoy their yard.
Also avoid working backwards. Do not start a project until you have a complete vision or plan. So many people waste a ton of money changing their mind after the project has already started.
I have always understood the rule of thumb to be approximately 15% of the homes value. A well designed landscape can fetch as high as $2 for every $1 spent. This makes it more important than kitchen and bath remodels which, at best, will go $1 for $1 spent. If this is explained to your customer and backed up with easily found, viable studies online it can ease the sticker shock. A better return on investment makes it a wise decision.