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8 Ways to Landscape on a Budget
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We welcome your opinions. These are some comments/ideas that readers wanted to share. Link to original article here.

Insider Report

I am a landscape designer and installer, and if I could recommend one thing to do to save money in the long run, it would be to spend some money up front and have a plan drawn up by a professional. My job as a designer is to assess your site for soil amendments, drainage issues, sun/shade requirements, as well as help you determine your plant preferences. I do many plans for do-it-yourselfers, enabling them to do the labor and thereby save tons of money. Or, if they wish to have it installed by a landscape contractor, they have one plan to submit to several contractors for bids, comparing apples to apples to shop for the best price. How much does this cost? Most of my residential plans run $200-$300. The plan is drawn to scale and shows plant placement, quantities and proper names. It also includes soil and mulch quantities, soil preparation instructions and maintenance notes for the plants. Going this route a homeowner can have a professional-looking landscape without paying the big buck for it.
Maggie

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