Landscaping 101

Lesson 5: Design Spin-Offs & Tricks, Estimating

Estimating & Saving Money

It is always helpful if you know how much mulch, rock or soil you need to buy. There are a few simple formulas here to help you with your estimating. And we have also provided a handy pdf file you can printout and keep to help you with your estimates. Click here to download that file. Remember this is a pdf file. If you need Adobe Acrobat Reader, just go to Adobe's site for this free download.

A cubic yard of soil, compost or mulch fills about:
*320 square feet to a depth of 1 inch
*160 square feet to a depth of 2 inches
*107 square feet to a depth of 3 inches
*80 square feet to a depth of 4 inches
*A ton of 1/4" to 3/4" inch diameter rock spread 2 inches deep will cover 110-120 square feet
*A ton of sand or pea gravel spread to 2 inches deep will cover 100-120 square feet
*One yard of 3/4" to 1" washed river rock spread 3" deep will cover 110 square feet

Following are a few ways to help you save money in your landscaping. Design and plan your landscape before you buy.

Shop around and watch for sales. Many nurseries and garden centers offer the same types of plants and landscape supplies and the prices can vary tremendously.

For trees and shrubs buy bareroot stock instead of containerized plants. Many online and mail order nurseries offer bareroot plants.

Using mature plants can greatly increase the cost of your total landscaping. Think of buying smaller plants and waiting for them to grow. Consider starting some plants from seed.

Purchase plants from an arboretum or nature center. If these are non-profit organizations, the costs you pay may be considered as a tax deduction.

Time your purchases. Save money on trees, perennials, shrubs, soils and mulch by buying late in the season (if you can). Last year at the end of the season we purchased peat moss, that was originally priced at over $5.00 per bale, for 50 cents. Stock up on items such as peat moss, potting soil and bagged mulches, even if you don’t have a large garage or shed as these items can be stored outdoors. Protect them from the elements by covering them with a tarp.

If you need a large quantity of trees, check with local tree farms or with your Soil and Water Conservation District. The SWCD encourages tree plantings. You may have to order trees early in the year, between January and March, from your local SWCD. The trees from these organizations are geared toward your area and are generally sold at a fraction of the cost that you would pay to a nursery.

Newly released plant varieties are often quite expensive. If you can, wait until the variety of plant you want has been out on the market for a season or two before buying.

Buy mulches and soil in bulk quantities. Mulches can generally be purchased by the yard much cheaper than buying by individual 2-3 cubic foot bags. Team up with a friend or neighbor so you can get quantity discounts.

Use your own truck and trailer and go directly to your quarry for rocks, soil, class 5 and various aggregates. Quarries tend to be cheaper than nurseries (you are eliminating the middle man) and by providing your own truck you save on delivery charges. Your delivery charge may be one-third or more of the total cost.

Talk to a professional. You may not need a landscape architect to design your whole project, but a $75 to $150 consultation is well worth the money if it saves you from costly mistakes.

Get competitive bids based upon your plan. Don’t allow nurseries or contractors to hedge on the plant specimens you want. Hold them all to your requirements and don’t provide wiggle room to substitute inferior products or plant materials. Force them to compare apples to apples. It’s your yard, not theirs.

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