The decision to transform your landscape, whether it’s a partial or total renovation, is both wonderful and scary. It’s easy to get carried away with the flurry of everything going on, but the only way to make sure that everything goes right is by planning everything carefully.

There are a dozen different things to consider, from taking care of the soil in your yard, to picking the right plants and where to put them, deciding on what hardscapes to build and with what materials, and many more.

While it might be easy to picture a dreamy landscape in your mind, turning that into a reality takes a lot of time, effort, and skill. And, with all the decisions you have to make along the way, it’s easy to lose track of things, go overboard, forget some details, or just feel overwhelmed.

In order to avoid that, here are some tips on how to properly plan your landscaping project, so that you get things done on time, within your budget, and just like how you pictured it.

Get to know your property

Some of the most important things you need to figure out before starting on your landscaping project have to do with the climate and topography of your property.

Observe the local climate and weather patterns, including sunlight and direction, wind flow and direction, rainfall and precipitation, and so on. Plus, you need to take note of the weather patterns in your area, as well as the microclimates in your own property. In terms of topography, land shape, slopes, drainage, and runoff have to be determined. Moreover, your soil type and composition should also be identified.

All these things will factor in how your landscape will look like, what structures you can build there, whether you need to do something about your soil, what kind of plants are suitable, and so on.

Plan according to purpose

Everything that goes into your landscape has to be aligned with whatever purpose you want to get out of it and who will be using it. For example, an outdoor pool is useless if you or your kids don’t enjoy swimming, but a vegetable garden can be beneficial for those who want to live more organically.

You can create different spaces and sections for different uses, such as a children’s play area, a nice corner for barbecuing, and many more. Of course, if there are small kids, everything must be child friendly and safe.

Planning a landscape with purpose in mind ensures that you are effectively using your outdoor space and getting the most out of it, rather than spending thousands of dollars on something that is purely decorative.

Get inspired with your themes

When it comes to the theme of your landscape, a.k.a. how it will look and feel like, whether it’s charmingly rustic, timeless and elegant, refreshingly mediterranean, or sleek and modern, the best thing to do is to match it with the rest of your property.

This way, you get a seamless, beautiful look rather than a patched up mess. Of course, you can incorporate different styles here and there, but certain elements should be consistent and stand out, so that everything still appears cohesive.

A good practice is to observe your neighborhood for some inspiration on what to do with your landscape. Take a look at how their front lawns and backyards look like, what structures are common, what plants are present in most homes, and other details that are easy to notice.

Set a budget and stick with it

Like we said, it’s easy to get carried away with all the fun and the stress of landscaping, but if you don’t set a budget and stick with it, you’ll either get carried away and spend way too much without getting the most bang for your buck, or you’ll find yourself having to stop in the middle because you’re suddenly short on funds.

Now, it might be hard to even figure out how much you should set aside for a landscape project, especially if you lack the know how on basic landscaping, or even how much a single potted plant costs.

The cost of how much your landscape will actually go depends on a lot of factors, such as how fancy and extensive you want to take things, how big your property is, and of course, whether you are doing everything yourself or hiring a contractor.

 Try to ask around your friendly neighbors so you have an idea of a ballpark figure, or better yet, call up a handful of landscaping contractors to get a free but detailed quotation on how much your project will cost.