Can I do Landscaping Myself?

Can I do Landscaping Myself? You want to landscape your garden, but landscaping cost is an issue as you don’t want to spend too much money. The good news is if you do most of the labor yourself you will come in on budget.

For various reasons a budget is essential, and if you are selling your property, you want to add value without spending too much money. What you are planning should be kept simple when doing landscaping DIY.

Landscaping DIY

When planting shrubs for your garden, they will grow better if your selection is based on trees and shrubs which are native to your area. Buy one tree as the tree will provide shade in really hot weather You can only afford one tree so choose a local native, costs around $200 which will be your big expense.

When growing shrubs, select hardy low maintenance plants, suitable for your climate zone, preferably something that will look good all year-round. Some shrubs have amazing colors and will give a ‘lift’ to your garden while requiring little work.

The small tree will be the centerpiece of the front garden with eight shrubs four on each side allowing balance. The tree and shrubs require daily watering when first planted for about 12 weeks ( unless there is a lot of rain), so keep them well watered until they are established.

The idea with both trees and shrubs is to get the roots to branch out and to establish in their new earth, once they are established they will start to grow

Water Feature

You have chosen a cost-effective urn style which reticulates water up the center and down the sides and is the simplest form of a fountain. Fortunately, it is perfect for landscaping DIY projects and easy to erect, so you take it home, and install it without problems.

Water features are essential in a hot climate, providing a cooling effect and water for the birdlife. Sprinkle some lawn seed around the edges and establish some nice green lawn, as this always looks cool.

If you plan to have mainly lawn in the front garden you will need to put a simple watering system in place.

Landscaping Cost Boundary Line

In keeping with the local area, you don’t have a front fence, but the boundary line looks uncared for and requires definition. So you decide on a line of native grasses that will be very low maintenance and will hide any rubbish that blows in.

This will set off a low maintenance attractive front area that will draw the eye and the buyer. You decide on some taller more hardy varieties Blue Fescue and Prairie Dropseed, they won’t need special soil because they are native grasses.

You manage to plant them and water them in and in reality, because they are native grasses they won’t need much care. The grasses will withstand the hotter summer weather but will need quite a lot of water to establish them, and you will have time to do that and get them growing, after that they will only require minimal care.

Landscaping Cost Budget

You have now finished your project, except for the intense watering that accompanies all new plantings. This garden is a great landscaping DIY project, and to complete it all you really have to do is to put in a gravel pathway up to the front door.

Because you already have a sandy pathway use the same track. You will need to get a load of gravel delivered and rake it along the track to form a smoother pathway, gravel makes a good path as when anyone is coming you will hear the gravel crunch underfoot.

This is the hardest part of your landscaping DIY project, but the important thing with laying the gravel is to make sure that the earth under the pathway has been raked and evened out. Then put the gravel down, making sure that grass has been removed from where the gravel will be.

Can I do Landscaping Myself? – Conclusion

Six weeks later everything is growing well. You have had some rain and the plantings look great. keep mowing the lawn to give the area a finished look. The blue fountain urn works well, and the birds like it and come to bathe on the top of it.

Take photos of your landscaping, so that you can have good memories of all the hard work.