17 ways to landscape on the cheap

With the continuing topic of landscaping for a successful sale this week, we will talk today about 17 ways to landscape on the cheap. Some expert say that you should expect to pay anywhere from 5 - 15% of your homes value on landscaping. This mean that with the median home value around $213,000 your looking to spend around $10,500 at the low end. This show that being smart with your landscaping decisions can save you lots of money. Here are the 17 ways to save.

1. Take advantage of freebies
- Your city & Friends - Cities give away trees, compost and mulch
- Demolition sites - Demolition sites are great for getting bricks and stones
- Fellow Gardeners - set up a seed exchanges with neighbors

2. Avoid costly exchange
- By planning your project out you can save lots of money

3. Work with what you have
- preserving what you have can save time and money

4. Hire yourself
- Doing the work yourself can save lots of money

5. Know when to hire the pros
- Things like designing or very physical labor is smart to hire out

6. When using the pros, try to get a packaged deal
- Most nursery's have landscaper that will also give you discounts to buy the plants from them

7. Hire a consultant
- It just depends on the size of the job but if it is a big job a consultant will save time and money by giving you advise on plant types and ways to maximize the most bang for your buck

8. Take a phased approach
- By dividing your project into phases you can pay with money on hand and not use those dreaded credit cards

9. Time your purchases
- Buy your shrubs, trees, and other plants in late season when retailers are trying to get rid of them

10. Check alternative resources
- Look beyond retailers for bargains and find botanical gardens or plant societies that are willing to sell plants.

11. Buy small
- Purchase smaller 1 gallon plants instead of 3 or 4 gallon plants

12. Protect foundations
- Roots can damage foundations so keep trees at least 30 feet from foundations

13. Divide
- By dividing larger perennials that are already established can save lots of money

14. Compost
- Save money by saving your yard waste and food scraping in a compost pile

15. Think about maintenance
- Larger yards are nice but if you pay someone to cut it factor that into your landscaping budget

16. Be water smart
- Look for plants that are drought hardy so that your water will isn't sky high

17. Get the most visual bang for your buck
- With a small budget experts agree that planting trees and improving the soil is most important

Feel free to call us with any questions you have on landscaping tips to sell your home fast at

Nolting Real Estate
140 Enchanted Pkwy. Suite 203
Manchester, Mo 63021

(636) 391-9997 and/or
noltingrealestate.com