Whether you’re planning to spruce up your front yard or are embarking on a full-scale landscape remodel, determining where to invest your budget can feel like navigating an endless stream of decisions that is not always straightforward.
To help with this decision process, we have tapped professionals in the landscape design field to discuss where you might want to splurge and where you can save in a landscape redesign. First, we’ll cover where it makes sense to invest your budget, including a master plan, high-impact elements, long-lasting materials, outdoor furniture and more.
1. A Master Plan
Just as you wouldn’t embark on a substantial trip without a clear map, don’t start a large-scale landscape overhaul without a master plan, even if you plan to accomplish the project in phases. Your master plan will act as a blueprint for your yard, with a complete mapping of plants, hardscape, shade structures, water features and anything else you’re planning to include in your landscape design. It also will include practical elements, like where to extend utility lines if needed.
Even if you don’t plan to renovate your entire landscape at once, consider commissioning a master plan for what you’d like to achieve with your outdoor space. “With a complete master plan, a client can break a project into logical and affordable phases of construction,” says landscape architect Steve Kikuchi of Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group. It allows the designer and homeowner to map out a logical design and construction schedule, preventing costly and avoidable surprises, like needing to dig through planted beds to trench utility lines or haul heavy equipment over a newly installed patio, down the line.