Wouldn’t it be great if you could snap your fingers and make the yard of your dreams a reality? Suddenly your pathetic, desolate landscape is teeming with life and you have a gorgeous, fully-functional outdoor living space. Unfortunately, we all know life doesn’t work like that.
Landscaping takes time, planning, and money. When your resources are limited but your vision is extensive, you sometimes need to make compromises and be patient in order to create the outdoor space you’ve always wanted. But when your wish list is a mile and a half long, how are you supposed to figure out what to tackle first and what to save for later?
Here are a couple of things to think about to help you start narrowing down your landscaping priorities!
Potential risks should take top priority.
Anything that is making your landscape unsafe or that could cause considerable damage in the future should be taken care of first. As eager as you are to get started on your dream yard, if you don’t take care of safety and practical concerns now, they’ll end up being a harsh wakeup call from that dream later on.
Issues like diseased trees, holes in your yard, drainage problems, fire hazards, etc. need to be at the top of the list and first to be accounted for when making your landscaping budget.
Visualize how you want to use your yard.
This step is a combination of listing out everything you’d ever want in your ideal landscape and being realistic about what you would actually end up using. Consider what features would bring you the most pleasure and have you enjoying your yard the most. These are the ones that will be worth allocating the most of your budget to.
For example, if you and your partner love to soak up the summer sun, then a patio with comfortable furniture and a cooling water feature could be your go-to spot. Or, if you love entertaining friends and family, a big outdoor kitchen and dining space might be higher on the list. If your yard will be a playground for your children and pets, then features like a fenced-in pool, lush grass, and a pergola or arbor for some shade might be the way to go.
Consider how extensive each project will be.
When tackling their landscape, some people prefer to get the more difficult projects out of the way first, so they don’t have to worry about them later. Others would rather prioritize easier projects, so they can start enjoying their yard sooner. Figuring out which route you want to go will help determine which projects should be taken on first.
Those projects that will be more difficult are going to be the ones that require destroying existing landscape first, need to be designed and then installed from scratch, and most types of hardscaping.
Think about your long-term goals too.
Depending on your long-term plans, some landscaping projects may be more valuable to pursue sooner than others. If you know you’ll be selling your home in the next 5-10 years, for instance, you should consider focusing on curb appeal and projects with the highest ROI.
Or, on the other hand, if you know this is the home in which you’ll be raising your future children, kid-friendly maintenance and projects will be worth doing first. In this scenario, extras like a water feature that could get damaged while kids play or a garden you know you won’t have time to care for would probably be a waste of money right now.
A foolproof way to determine which landscape projects to prioritize and which to hold off on for later phases is to work with a professional who has the experience and expertise to guide you. When you hire VistaPro Landscape & Design to bring your dream yard to life, we’ll come up with a master plan that fits your needs, achieves your landscape vision, and accommodates your budget.
Get in touch with us today to schedule your free consultation!