Landscaping should be a process of evolution of your garden. However, if you want the quick fix and have an established garden all in one process, be prepared for the expense - it will be large. For most people, the money factor is the determining influence on just what your landscape is going to consist of, how you are going to use it, and therefore look like.
If you have heaps of money to spare and could not care less about the cost of landscaping, go away, I do not want to talk to you. It is not unusual for folks to get excited about the vision of grand vistas, hidden arbours, statuary and sweeping, manicured lawns - the imagination can get away from us when we are dreaming of the perfect garden. The reality is that it all costs money. Whether you hire someone to do all the work for you, or do most of it yourself, consideration must be given to - the hardscape: any structures incorporated, decks, patios, pergolas; features such as ponds waterfalls or significant rocks; soil - are you going to bring it in, or make do with what you've got; irrigation - will there be automated sprinkler systems or, are you going to water by hand; Lighting. Now, these are all major structural elements of the landscape, the backbone of your garden.
So, let us now look at some of the hidden expenses of landscaping that you probably didn't think about before - when you were dreaming about what your garden would turn out like. If your dreams were too grand, you may find the need for some rapid revising. Let us presume that you already have the major elements installed.
Features that include, or require, lighting and water, can be an enormous hidden drain on your finances. It must be taken into consideration how much money it will take in the form of paying for increased energy and water usage, to keep these things running. With outdoor lighting, okay, only on at night, energy efficient bulbs, and only turning them on when there is a special occasion - tend to make one feel that this is not all that expensive. Well, keep in mind that a light globe is a miniaturised version of a bar-heater. Not enough to warm yourself by, but most of the energy is wasted in heat. Multiply this by what may have turned into your private version of disneyland, and the costs are going to surprise you. Flashing, blinking, or winking lights, use even more energy as, it is that initial moment getting the globe hot enough to throw some light, that chews up all the energy. There are, ofcourse, solar lights, that store energy during the sunlight hours and turn themselves on as the day darkens. However, these lights are generally about as bright as a mandarin in the dark. I have actually seen luminous fungi that give off more light. Personally, I feel that a bunch of candles, in suitable containers, is the best alternative. This idea gives a soft glow to everything, enough light to see someone across the table and if you want to read the paper - go back inside.
Water features, whether you like it or not, need a re-circulatory system - this means a water-pump. Apart from the fact that a pump is essential if you want a waterfall, or fountain, the essential element is that the water is kept in circulation in order to maintain oxygenisation. This benefits the water-plants and will prevent any fish from carking it through oxygen deprivation. Also, without oxygenisation, ponds can become stagnent pools - highly unattractive. So, the size of the water feature determines how big the pump must be and therefore your ongoing meter costs. Ponds the size of small lakes , will need either a very large capacity pump, or several small ones.
Speaking of water, your garden is going to need it, to survive. Water, too, becomes more expensive with time. Hard-fixed watering systems, those that are buried under the garden, are generally set-up with automatic timers. If you are in the habit of forgetting the sprinklers are on, at least this system will turn them of for you. With sprinklers, be they hard-fixed systems, or something on the end of a hose, it is important to have them set relatively low on the ground and on a coarse setting, this way there is less chance of the wind dispersing the water to places you don't need - like the driveway, or the neighbors garden. The most efficient way to water your garden is by hand, unless your idea of a landscape is a bowling lawn. To water one small area at a time for 15 minutes, once a week, will benefit your garden far more, than throwing water all over the place and just making things wet, every day. If you find that the water is running off the top of the soil, either you have given too much, or the ground needs a little aeration. Aeration is easily achieved by sticking a garden fork into the ground, about half its depth, and waggling the fork back and forth to create drain-holes. This then puts the water where it is needed - at the roots.
Soil, is expensive. If your soil is poor, in order for plants to grow healthy, something must be done about it. You can have good soil shipped in - most expensive. You can add fertiliser - this is an on-going expense. Artificial fertilisers must be re-applied on a regular basis and can be expensive, although easy to apply. Organic fertilisers, although cheaper and longer lasting, also need replacing as they deplete. There are a number of odour-free pelletised organic fertilisers available, for those with sensitive noses. Compost, either store bought or produced yourself, can become physically expensive. It's heavier, you must lug it and spread it. I will not go into the benefits of organic over artificial, suffice to say - organic is better and less expensive.
If your dreamscape landscape consisted of large expanses of manicured lawn, get out your wallet and leave it out. If you don't have the time yourself to tend this element, certainly hire someone to do it for you - but I would shop around for comparable prices between contractors. If you are going to do it yourself, take into consideration, not just the amount of time needed, but also the machinery. Additional expenses include: a lawn mower, petrol, oil, blade sharpening or replacement, general maintenance on not just the mower, but also the edger, line trimmer, aerator and fertiliser spreader. Let us not forget the cost of watering to keep it alive. Maybe a lawn the size of a football field is not for you after all.
Costs can also be incurred physically and emotionally, too. If in order to keep down the costs, you have decided to do it all yourself, please take a moment to consider the cost to you physically. To go about this sort of project rationally, try not to do it all at once - that's what labourers are for.
If you attack the project with an idea to get it all done by dinner-time, somethings got to give - I expect it will be your back, if you haven't already hit your thumb with the hammer and put the fork through your foot. Take it easy, a bit at a time. The expense emotionally, comes into play when your expectations have been too high. If, indeed physical damage has occurred - how embarrassing, to see the grand plan still sitting there maybe months later, half finished, strewn with abondoned tools. Often a trap for new players, completing the landscaping yourself and feeling pretty good about it, if not downright proud - then expecting it all to grow over-night. This will not happen. The growth of a garden is a time consuming process and time, is necessary. This cannot be forced - watering, or fertilising more often will only be waste-cost and cause grief to the plants, if not ultimately to your emotinal state whilst watching everything die on you. Generally speaking, if you take you time and create your landscape in phases, your body will thank you, there will be no stress, problems can be attended to without having to destroy everything in the process, and you can have small areas established and growing whilst you are attending the next phase, without the need for a second mortgage, or a doctor.
I hope this article has given pause for thought about The Hidden Expenses of Landscaping.
