Landscaping costs in North Texas can add up quickly. Due to our climate, we don’t have much of an off-season and landscaping can be a year-round expense. Along with that, our intense summers can pose unique challenges.
You want to have a great-looking landscape, but you don’t want to break the bank. For that reason, you might be looking into how you can save money on landscaping in North Texas.
While we know it sounds like a bit of a catch-22, this is one of those situations where spending money will ultimately help you save money in the long-run. That’s because upgrading certain elements of the landscape and keeping up with routine expenses will help prevent major landscaping costs down the road.
We’ll explain…and we’ll share more on how to save money on landscaping. We’ll talk about both routine maintenance as well as landscape enhancement projects that can be wise investments.
The bottom line is that you should not have to compromise on quality in order to have a cost-effective and budget-friendly landscape!
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Landscape maintenance is a great example of how you need to spend some money to ultimately save money in the long run. That’s because keeping up with routine maintenance is more cost-effective than having to perform more significant landscaping tasks due to lack of upkeep.
Here are some prime examples.
Trimming shrubs at least on a monthly basis during the growing season will save you from more time-consuming trimming jobs down the road, which will cost more because a pro will have to spend more time doing the work.
Regular shrub trimming can be done with more efficient tools, which makes the job easier and less time-consuming. Also, for some species, you can promote healthy growth and fullness by pruning on a regular basis.
On the other hand, if you wait to trim back plants until the branches you want to remove are finger-sized or larger, the job could require cutting branches one by one. Plus, this can also promote a more rapid growth response. The appearance won’t be what you expected.
Weather conditions are also a factor in how often you need to trim shrubs. For example, during the cooler season in North Texas, you might not need to trim shrubs as often. Sure, plants are still growing, but not at a rapid pace that calls for frequent trimming.
The bottom line is, you can reduce landscaping costs by keeping up with trimming shrubs regularly throughout the year.
And, if you truly want to avoid excessive trimming, consider changing out high-maintenance shrubs for ornamental grasses or slower-growing landscape plants.
Weeds are a typical problem in North Texas. Weeds grow in any soil, and they love the high soil temperatures. Weeds thrive with little water, so when your landscape plants are suffering in the hot, dry weather, weeds are thriving.
Weeds are aggressive, and you have to be just as persistent to manage them. If you skimp on weeding your landscape (trying to only tend to them every couple months or so) you’ll pay by having to spend more time manually removing weeds later. You’ll also have to deal with having overrun plant beds that become an eyesore.
The bottom line: Don’t wait to control weeds. A continuous weeding program will minimize weeds in your landscape while they are a smaller issue, reducing the added time and cost of a landscape crew spending a good part of a day (or several) pulling weeds that have gotten out of control.
Although it may be a necessity at the beginning (if your landscape is in bad shape), preventing and dealing with weeds proactively is more affordable than waiting until weeds become a big problem later.
If you hire a pro to manage landscape weeds, your service will cost more if a landscaper has to completely clear out a weed-filled bed vs. spot-spraying a few tiny weeds here and there.
You will also save on landscape maintenance costs with a year-round weed control program that includes pre-emergent to help prevent weeds from growing and post-emergent to address weeds that are growing in the landscape. This will drastically reduce a pro’s need to hand-weed a landscape bed, as they apply appropriate weed control treatments on a regular basis.
Pre-emergent weed controls help to prevent weeds from reaching past the soil line after they’ve germinated. Pre-emergent won’t stop all the weeds, nor will it work on all weed types. But, we know that pre-emergent makes a measurable, positive impact on minimizing weed pressure in landscape beds when used in combination with post-emergent treatments.
Keeping up with routine maintenance is one way to save money on landscaping in North Texas. But there are also upgrades that you can make to your landscape that will also be cost effective in the long run.
Here are some examples of landscape upgrades that save money.
Skipping mulch can be tempting because you might figure, “The landscape beds still have some mulch leftover from last year. They aren’t totally bare. Is this necessary?” Even if your beds still have a thin layer of mulch that looks pretty good, that doesn’t mean the mulch is actually doing its job.
It also may be completely gone by mid-season after a few downpours of rain.
Mulching is one of those landscaping tasks that does help you save money on landscaping in North Texas. It serves a very protective role. The purpose of mulch is to help stabilize soil temperature, retain moisture, and suppress weeds. This helps support optimal plant health.
If you skip mulch one year, you likely will spend more on weed control and possibly replacing plants that struggle because of poor soil. Not to mention, your landscape just won’t look as neat and attractive.
Mulch landscape beds every year to gain soil and plant health benefits, and to help suppress weeds. We have many clients that mulch twice a year or more! It’s a landscaping addition that really helps to upgrade the overall aesthetics of your property with a minimal investment.
Do you have plants on your property that seem to require a ton of upkeep? These types of plants can be a money drain.
Instead, consider switching to a lower maintenance choice, like a Texas-native plant.
Plants that are native to North Texas thrive in this environment and will require less care in terms of water, fertilizer and maintenance. Native plants can essentially survive more easily because they are adapted to the local soil and weather conditions.
An added benefit of native plants is that many attract pollinators like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, which is important for sustaining north Texas wildlife. Before planting a new landscape bed, consult with a professional who can guide you toward native plants.
Sloped areas of your landscape can be challenging spaces to manage, and you may also deal with erosion concerns if a slope leads down to a bank. You can reduce landscaping costs in these areas by installing groundcovers that will help prevent erosion and not require weekly care.
There are a number of low-maintenance groundcovers that grow well in Flower Mound, Lewisville, Highland Village, TX. On slopes, Carolina Jessamine is a vine that thrives in full sun to part-shade. Cyperus grows in sun or shade, is drought-tolerant and does well in wet areas. Its roots “clump” and help prevent soil erosion. Coleus also does well in landscape beds, if you prefer to have an area of groundcover as opposed to a variety of plants.
In general, if you have areas where grass is struggling to grow, you might want to consider an alternative option. Some ideas include mulched areas, a shade garden, or rock enhancements. Sometimes it’s more cost-effective to accept that you are fighting an un-winnable battle!
Water restrictions in North Texas confine when and how often you can irrigate plants. Sure, using less water saves money, and we should work to conserve water. But we recommend watering landscape plants when restrictions allow so they get this vital resource.
Without ample water, plants can become more susceptible to diseases and pests, and a dry landscape bed will be more likely to grow weeds.
Upgrading to smart irrigation is another example of how you might need to be willing to put out some money to ultimately save money on landscaping in North Texas. Smart irrigation can be an expensive upfront investment but it does remove all of the guesswork from watering and will help protect your investment in your landscape, which is very valuable.
One way that homeowners attempt to save money on landscaping costs in North Texas is to take matters into their own hands. That might be a completely reasonable thing to do if you’re someone who enjoys landscaping tasks like gardening (and you’re comfortable handling these tasks).
However, if you aren’t entirely sure what you’re doing, you could end up making costly mistakes that require you to spend more money to fix.
It’s important to be realistic about what you’re comfortable handling yourself. And keep in mind that your time really is worth something. We know that you have better things to do on your weekends than work in the yard.
You are wise to look for ways to reduce your landscape maintenance cost, and it’s a good idea to establish a budget for landscaping services so you can get the best value. But often, you can have the best of both worlds by hiring a professional landscaper who has your best interest at heart.
A lot of people think they’ll save money if they reduce the frequency of landscaping services, eliminate some “extras” like mulch or plant replacement, or cut back on activities like weeding and trimming shrubs.
We understand why. But the reality is, you’ll spend more in the long run because your landscape will decline, and the time and resources required to get it back into shape will far surpass what you would have invested by simply maintaining a routine landscaping schedule of essential services.
The cost of landscaping services might seem daunting but it’s important to remember that it’s an investment in your property that will help increase its value…and your enjoyment!
You want to save money on landscaping when it makes sense so you can spend it on other things in life you enjoy and still feel like a responsible homeowner. With some of these ideas on how to reduce landscaping costs, your property might actually get more maintenance but you’ll spend less over time.
The key is to partner with the right landscaping professional.
If you are on the hunt for a landscape provider in North Texas to help, we’d love for you to consider Grassperson. We’ll help you put your worries to rest by making helpful recommendations that will protect your investment in your property without overspending. At the end of the day, we want the best for you!
If you want to reduce landscaping costs but still take good care of your property, it’s possible! You can get the best landscape while staying on budget—seriously. Get a free quote and see how a comprehensive landscape maintenance program will give you the results you deserve.