Having a lush green yard right at your home can be an amazing thing. It can contribute to your property’s visual appeal while creating some cooling effect during the hot season. And if you’re a natural and wildlife lover, a healthy green yard would be a fantastic habitat. If you just bought a new house or inherited one with an old landscape, investing in a renovation would be worth the money.
Renovating an old yard also takes a significant amount of time and effort. You will need to plant new healthy grass and plants and redo the softscape and hardscape. Not sure how to start renovating your home’s outdoor area? Find out below how you can do that while staying on budget.
1. Clearly define the spaces
Before you could do anything with that old yard, you first need to define zones in the area. Just like the inside of your house, your outdoor space should be separated into certain segments too. For instance, you can create a designated seating area by setting up some all-weather seats and a table. Find out where to put your garden, water features, potted plants, or even a fire pit. If you have the budget, you can even build an outdoor kitchen. In addition, you can also create a meandering path using stones or bricks. Others build these pathways with concrete slabs, pavers, and gravel.
2. Think about what to remove
Next, you need to list down everything you’ll be removing from the messy yard. If you don’t want to have major soil or planting problems in your new landscape, you need to determine the hazards and remove them. One of the common safety hazards is dying or dead trees. Cut them down right away to prevent property damage and injuries. You should also check for trees that are located less than 20 feet from the house. Their roots can damage the house’s foundation.
You’d also need to take care of drainage issues like water puddling near your house’s foundation or yard. To solve this, you can plant a rain garden, install some French drains, or increase the slope around the house. Other problems to get rid of are damaged structures and overgrown shrubs or trees that block the view from doors or windows. If there are still some plants in the yard, cut out the unhealthy ones or those that won’t fit your new landscape.
3. Acquire professional help
If you are not too handy and want to ensure the yard’s proper landscaping, hiring a landscaping company is ideal. With their relevant gardening skills and knowledge, they can help you create a layout for the new landscaping. They can also suggest the best landscape ideas that match your style, from the plants, pathways, structures, fences, to patios.
If you’re looking to set up other elements such as waterfalls and ponds or outdoor lighting, they can assist you with what designs and styles to opt for. Most landscaping companies can also help you plant grown trees, shrubs, and other plants in your yard. They can also help with the maintenance of your lawn. Some general lawn services include mulching, lawn mowing, irrigation system installation, pruning and hedging, and seasonal clean-ups.
4. Determine the DIY tasks
Hiring a professional landscaper may be beneficial for most major tasks. However, you can save tons of cash if you personally work on simple landscape tasks. While this might be challenging, it gives you the value of being a part of the yard redo. Yard renovation tasks you can DIY include digging old flower beds, demolishing low retaining walls, tearing down a ground-level deck, or clearing small portions of the lawn.
If you also want to personally choose and plant the new trees and shrubs on your property, you’ll need to invest in some equipment. For one, you’ll need hand-pulled carts or tractor-pulled box trailers for sale for hauling of trees, shrubs, and even planting tools. Other tools you’ll need are a digging bar, shovel and space, buckets, fest post driver, tanks, and T-posts. Lastly, if you’re planning to handle most of the demolition or cleaning up tasks, ensure to dispose of the debris or trash properly. Ask your local garbage collector for help.
From softscaping to hardscaping, upgrading your old yard can offer great aesthetic and environmental benefits. On top of that, a healthy outdoor living space can even boost the quality of life. You get cleaner air and a natural environment that can lower stress levels and improve memory and focus. Follow this guide and start your yard renovation now.
