| Landscape Gardening - Building on a budget? | | | | Landscaping materials are relatively cheap in |
| You have just moved into a new house or you have | | | | comparison to other materials you may buy for inside |
| been putting off designing and landscaping your | | | | your house, where the real expense happens in |
| garden but can not last another year with it the way | | | | landscaping is labour and removing any debris, soil etc |
| it is. You probably have lots of ideas and have done | | | | to roadside skips. In 3 years the price of a skip has |
| a calculation on how much it is all going to cost which | | | | risen by up to 50% due to rising landfill costs. If you |
| if the winter was not depressing enough the cost of | | | | live in a city then your probably unlucky enough not |
| your new garden is. However you can get the | | | | to have side or rear access to your garden, so any |
| garden you want by utilising the myriad of alternative | | | | excavated waste will have to be individually bagged |
| landscaping options available to you. You may have | | | | and carefully taken through the house, thus adding |
| to compromise on a few material choices but after | | | | greatly to time and labour costs. A good solution to |
| all, what is better, to have a landscaped garden now | | | | this problem is by raising areas rather than excavating |
| to enjoy this summer or keep putting it off and then | | | | them, for example, if you are putting a new patio |
| when we have that record breaking summer and | | | | area down, rather than dig out the soil approximately |
| autumn regret that you spent the whole summer | | | | 15-20 cm needed for the whole area of your new |
| around your friends and neighbours because you | | | | patio (10cm needed for foundations, 5 cm for the |
| were too embarrassed to ask them to your garden | | | | mortar bed plus the depth of the paver) consider |
| for a BBQ. | | | | raising the new patio instead, this is not always |
| Firstly, if you have not got a good knowledge of | | | | possible if the patio is adjacent to the house because |
| garden landscaping then you should seriously consider | | | | of damp issues and water run off but if the new |
| using the services of a garden designer. Although you | | | | patio is located away from the house there is no |
| will have to pay for a garden design drawing you will | | | | reason why you can not. |
| have the peace of mind knowing that you will have | | | | By raising the height of your your patio you will save |
| an estimate of how much the finished garden will | | | | considerable money by reducing labour and refuse |
| cost. Also if you tell a designer from the start what | | | | costs. Another cost saving tip is if you are breaking |
| your budget is they will design to that budget, it | | | | up another patio or concrete area, use this material |
| makes sense at this point to find a designer that also | | | | as the foundations for your new patio or any other |
| carries out or has experience in landscaping work as | | | | project you have going on in the garden,remember |
| when they are in the design stage, producing the | | | | the more waste that has to leave the property the |
| scale drawing for you they will have your budget in | | | | more money will leave your pocket. Also you can be |
| mind. Remember too, a professional designed garden | | | | proud of yourself for not adding to the ever |
| drawing will be to scale, normally 1:50 (depending on | | | | increasing landfill and by recycling what you have, |
| your size of garden) and should include any relevant | | | | good for the environment and good for the budget. |
| construction drawings so you can use this drawing to | | | | Garden landscaping does not have to be hideously |
| get quotations from various garden landscapers or | | | | expensive, just plenty of thought and a good |
| even carry out some of the work yourself to save | | | | imagination will go a long way in providing you with an |
| money. | | | | attractive, fully functional garden. |