Where to Save Money on a Landscape Renovation

Where to Save Money on a Landscape Renovation


When spring kicks off, it can be tempting to grab a selection of cheerful plants to add instant garden color. However, without a little planning, it's easy to end up with an incoherent design. To ensure a successful design, experienced landscape pros suggest visualizing the whole, thinking in four dimensions, and considering the fact that plants are constantly changing. Patricia Tyrrell of Patricia Tyrrell Living Landscapes suggests treating plants like the furnishings of a house, with low-growing, mainly perennial plants being the carpet and shrubs being the furniture. John Brennan of Yorkshire Gardens suggests that trees and shrubs should sit on low-growing plants in a layer, just like furniture would sit on carpet in a room.

The classic landscape layout consists of a central lawn and narrow flowerbeds around the outside, but Peter Reader of Peter Reader Landscapes suggests enlarging the planting space to introduce more interest and color. Deep beds are easier to maintain, while planting features emerging into the central spaces create interest and structure. When choosing plants, it is important to do your research and go for what will grow well in the landscape's conditions.