Landscaping In Phases is Affordable

You may have heard from friends or relatives that hiring professional landscapers is prohibitively expensive. You have a vision for your yard but are afraid you will never be able to afford actually implementing your ideas. Landscaping in phases makes it much more affordable while still achieving the same end result. A full landscape installation including sprinklers, soil improvements, patios, firepits, sod, etc can definitely add up into the 10's or even 100's of thousands of dollars, but it is not necessary to install every aspect of your final landscape vision all in the first year.

The key to a successful "phase in" is an initial landscape design, and proper planning. That plan is essential to prevent having to do steps twice or make major costly changes to previously completed phases. For example, you wouldn't want to install sprinkler lines and heads where you know there will be a patio built next year in phase 2.

So, how do you phase in a landscape installation project?

Phase 1 usually consists of soil improvement, sometimes called soil amendment, sprinkler system, and layout of all major elements like planting beds and hardscapes. Phase 1 should take care of major excavation and grading, and any necessary retaining walls or drainage infrastructure should be built first. Sometimes in phase 1 we will excavate and do all the basework and prep for a future patio or outdoor kitchen if budget allows. Then to complete phase 1 we lay sod or hydroseed, and mulch the planting beds. If budget allows, I recommend planting any large trees and as many shrubs and perennials as budget allows. Well, phase 1 is done, your new yard is graded, has a lawn with sprinklers and planting beds have weed barrier fabric and mulch. Time to sit back and enjoy until next year.

Time for Phase 2! Now things get exciting! It's time to add more plantings to those planting beds, and think about putting pavers down on that gravel basework we did last year. Maybe now is the time to add landscape lighting or upgrade your sprinkler system with wifi and smartphone connectivity and a weather sensor. Luckily all this is easy because we planned for it all from the beginning.

Alright a few years have passed, what's phase 3? Well that's up to you, maybe that patio becomes an outdoor kitchen with built in grill and fridge. Maybe add a water feature, either with koi pond, or a pondless water feature for easy maintenance. Add that sweet gas firepit (don't worry we already ran the gasline in phase 1).

Achieving the landscape of your dreams for your new home might take a few seasons, but with a successful phased-in plan from Highcraft Landscape and Sprinkler, LLC it doesn't have to break your bank account.

Phase 1 under construction:

Phase 1 complete: Phase 2 will be a built in BBQ and arbor over the patio and several trees and bushes in the outer bed.