Whether you want a small garden or a drastic landscape transformation, you need to figure out what you’re able to do on your own and what you need help with. We’ve come up with a quick list to help you decide what avenue to take when it comes to DIY #landscaping.
1. Do your research and THINK!
WATCH YOUTUBE! We love #YouTube and think it’s an amazing source of information when it comes to DIY projects. Search for some YouTube landscaping DIY videos relating to what you want to do, and take a second to think – ‘can I actually do this?’. This goes beyond physical ability and actually requires for you to analyse your skill set. Sure, you probably CAN do it, but the question is ‘can you do it right’?
Be honest with yourself and don’t consider your budget at this point. An important thing to remember with landscaping is that if it isn’t done right the first time, it almost definitely will cost you more to fix it. So, if your thumb is more brown than green, it may be overly ambitious for you to jump into a big landscaping project. Not all hope is lost though! If you’ve got the will to learn, just go for it but start small.
DIY landscaping will not only cost you money, but time too. Are you prepared to dedicate days or possibly weeks? Or would you prefer to hire professionals to have the whole job finished in an exact time frame? You need to decide whether you are able to commit your time to finishing off the project you decided to start.
Now you’ve done your research and you’ve decided to DIY. What next?
2. Figure out what you WANT and NEED.
If you’ve read our previous blog, we wrote about making a wish list. We recommend doing the same for a DIY project too! Take 15 minutes to walk around your yard and envision what you want your yard to look like. Depending on how your yard looks and its current condition, what you want and need in your yard will ultimately determine how much or how little you will be able to accomplish with DIY.
For example, if all you’re after is to freshen up the look of your yard by adding in a few border plants, garden beds or pebbles, then this is something you can do on your own! Maximising the look of existing and simpler landscapes make for an easier DIY project. After some research on finding the right soil, plants and a couple of tutorials on YouTube later, you’re good to go!
However, more formal landscaping such as concreting or any other hardscaping, retaining walls, turfing and complicated beds may require professional expertise.
So, it’s important to know what you want and what you need. If you’re unsure, it never hurts to get some advice from a professional contractor – just be honest! Let them know you are wanting to DIY and the right contractor will give you honest advice on what’s possible to DIY and what isn’t. Some contractors are even happy to do the complicated things and give you the space to DIY where you’d like, so it never hurts to ask for help.
3. Clean up your space.
You’ve figured out what you want and need, and you’re ready to get started on your DIY landscape project. Before you get stuck into it, you need to clear the clutter. Remove anything that’s overgrown or anything that doesn’t belong.
Having a clean place to work with will help with your vision, and sometimes you might even find that you don’t have much work to do after all! Maybe your yard just needed a good clean out, or maybe what you thought you wanted at first isn’t what you need now. Small changes will help you step back and see your landscape with fresh eyes.
4. Make a plan and budget.
No, it doesn’t need to be a professional landscape plan and no you don’t need any particular skill to do this – you just need a pen, paper and a ruler. Draw out the shape of your yard (if you have your house plans, that’s even better!) and draw your vision. Never just buy a bunch of things from Bunnings or a nursery just because they’re on sale, and expect yourself to figure it out later. Take the time to draw out a plan and carefully decide what you need to achieve the look you’ve created on paper.
Once you’ve figured out what you want your yard to look like, you can now create your budget. Do your research, call some suppliers and get started!
5. Get advice!
Use your best judgment here! A successful DIY is something that ends up looking great, being functional and will NOT cost you more money to fix. So please, don’t try your hand at concreting or turfing just because you may look at a video and think “how hard can that be?”. There are tricks to the trade that come with experience.
So, if you look at your yard and know you need a professional to help, don’t avoid it just to save money. Professional contractors will know exactly what steps you need to take, what your yard needs and other things you may not even consider such as council restrictions and regulations. Don’t make an expensive mistake!
6. Don't be impulsive and TAKE YOUR TIME.
You’ve done your research, made your plan, gotten advice and you are excited to get started! We will keep this section simple – don’t overbuy and don’t rush. Don’t buy tonnes (literally, tonnes!) of material for it to just be sitting on your driveway for weeks. This will only lead you to become flustered and overwhelmed, you’ve made a plan and a budget for a reason so stick to it! Just remember – DIY landscaping is a marathon, not a sprint.
Happy landscaping!
Yours truly,
Extreme Landscaping Group
