One of the most unfortunate obstacles in a landscaping project is the budget set aside to complete the task. Too many people have an unrealistic view of what can be achieved with a certain amount of money, and as a result, set themselves low budgets for their landscaping projects. This leads to disappointment when the costs are calculated, and often these people will trim their dream garden down to match their budget, or go without completely. This is a big mistake! Never let a budget get in the way of creating the perfect environment for you. After all, if you are going to be living there for a long time, you don't want to be reminded of how dreary your outdoor areas are for all those years.

So what do we do if we don't have lots of money to undertake such expensive projects? Well, there are several avenues to take. You could split the entire garden up into sections, and complete one at a time, thereby spreading the cost over a longer period of time. The overall expense is not as noticeable this way, and is much easier to manage. A garden bed here, a tree there, and before you know it, you have your dream garden! Another way to get around a budget crisis would be to do some of the work yourself on weekends, etc to reduce the labour costs of professionals. You could get in contractors to do the large or difficult parts, and complete the other bits and pieces, like planting, marking out, etc yourself. You could save money on plants for your creation by taking cuttings from friends and striking them yourself. You could end up striking the entire garden's worth of plants all for an extremely little amount of money, leaving more of your budget for the more complex and labour intensive parts of the project (i.e. retaining walls, ponds, etc).

Getting Quotes

Getting a quote from a landscaping professional will give you an idea of how much your dream garden will cost. There will be a difference in price between different contractors in your area, but be sure to check exactly what is included in each quote. DON'T fall into the trap of only comparing the end dollar value, and going with the cheapest. The old saying "You get what you pay for" is good to remember when comparing quotes. Example: You have received two quotes to complete your new garden. One is $10,000 and the other is $16,500. Most people would go straight for the cheapest one, but wait!! Have they included everything? Will you get the same amount of plants in each job? Have the same types of soils, mulches, pavers, irrigation products been used? There is a vast difference between the qualities of certain products on the market, and it is not uncommon for some contractors to quote the cheapest products to secure the job. A good example is the use of recycled mulch from some recycling facilities, versus properly composted mulch, like cottage mulch. The former is only half the price, but is typically high in carbon and low in nitrogen and other essential nutrients. It will cover the soil and keep the roots of plants cool, but will not break down very well, and will lack essential nutrients. Cottage mulch, and other well composted mulches, or fresh tree pruning's, have much more nitrogen and essential nutrients, and a much lower carbon factor, so they break down much easier, and are much better for your garden. So in the end, which would you prefer?

As a general rule, the higher the budget available for a project, the better the outcome will be for both you and the garden. Some projects are very expensive, while others are only a few thousand, depending on what is being created. If you are on a sloping site, and would love to have a woodland, with flowing creeks and waterfalls running throughout the entire garden, with lots of meandering paths, bridges crossing flowing streams, rocky outcrops, walls to separate different levels, fully planted out with a high quality, fully automatic irrigation system, then it is reasonable to assume that this would cost a lot more than a simple fence-to-fence lawn, running the entire length of the site. The size of the area set aside for the new garden will also have a major impact on the overall cost to create it, as will access for machinery, etc if there is to be lots of earthmoving, or material carting involved. A small area can quickly become extremely expensive to create a garden in if there is a lot of earthworks to be done, and you only have room for a wheelbarrow to get into the back yard. Some projects have been created by carting all soils, concrete, pavers, etc through the house and out through the back door because there was no side access. This is especially becoming a major problem in areas where housing blocks have been crammed too close together, to allow for more blocks within a large area. Houses are built right up to the side boundaries, with no forethought to future renovations, or garden creations in the back yard, and as the landscaping is generally not thought of until the last minute, or until the house is finished, it can be too late to create your ideal paradise. "The landscape advice should come before the bulldozer, not after as is usually the case." If you are building a new home, think about what you would like to do in the garden whilst the house is still in the planning stages, to give you time to organise things like soil drops, mulch deliveries, etc if you know there will be no room afterwards to get all that into your yard.

Another common mistake when building a house is made when clearing the site. Many vacant blocks of land already have trees and shrubs growing on them, well established, and in no need for any extra watering. Quite often, these existing plants are not in the way of the building site, but are senselessly removed anyway to 'start a fresh'. What the hell? I have seen beautiful wood lots that would make a perfect canopy for an under-story garden, removed to ground level to make way for a house that would have easily fit in front of the trees, without the need to remove any of them. Then, the new owners have enlisted the help of landscapers to plant out a new garden for them full of trees!! Does this make any sense? Why remove trees to plant trees?? The existing trees would have needed little attention, if any, and the new owners are now having to pay out thousands of dollars to create a garden. A little forethought would have made it obvious that their garden was already there, and they would not have needed such a large budget to create their dream garden. Consulting with Devic Realms "before the bulldozer" may save you lots of money in the long run, and may give the added benefit of having an established garden instantly. Wouldn't this be better than trying to come up with an expensive budget to re-create what was already there?