How Much Does Landscape Design in Rhode Island Cost?

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To create a beautiful property you love, consider professional landscape design in Rhode Island. A landscape designer works with a property owner to create a specific plan or outline for softscape and hardscape features, taking into account the desired look as well as the property’s layout, soil conditions, and other such factors.

Professional landscape design in Rhode Island costs might average between $2000 and $8000, depending on the property size, amount of landscaping features desired, and work needed to ensure proper soil conditions. These costs might include installation of new landscaping features, while some designers only create plans while landscaping contractors or property owners then follow those plans and install landscape features.

Some homeowners might try to avoid costs for landscape designs in Rhode Island by using online programs, apps, or other tools that create landscaping plans for them, or they might forego preplanning altogether and just start planting flowers and shrubs. While those plantings might look good initially, if you don’t follow a landscaping design, your new plantings are much more likely to wilt before long! Consider some benefits of a professional landscape designer versus trying to DIY your property’s landscaping features.

Why Invest in Rhode Island Landscape Design Costs

Before you head down to the nursery and start stocking up on flowers and other plantings, or assume you can manage your own landscape design with a smart phone app, you might note some reasons to invest in professional Rhode Island landscape design. Be sure you discuss additional questions or concerns with a landscaping contractor, so you know you’ll be happy with your property for years to come.

• Landscape design takes into account the amount of sunlight various flowers need to thrive. Planting certain flowers under shade trees or in areas of constant sun exposure means added risk of those blooms fading away before long.
• A landscaping designer also notes needed hydration and moisture for various flowers and shrubs. He or she might recommend better drainage on your property, an irrigation or sprinkler system, or other means of ensuring various flowers stay hydrated as needed.
• Professional landscape planning takes into account color and texture of various areas of your property. For example, red roses in front of a red brick house are likely to simply disappear! A landscape designer ensures there are contrasting colors between structures and plantings so every flower and plant stands out.
• Landscape design also means using plantings in proper proportion to each other. Large hedges behind short flowers might seem out of place, for instance. A landscape planner ensures the size of flowers and greenery is considered when deciding on various groupings.
• Pest control is vital for ensuring the health of your flowers and plants, but many property owners prefer to avoid chemicals as much as possible. A landscape designer notes plants and insects that provide natural pest control for landscaping features, ensuring they stay healthy without the use of harsh chemicals.
• Tree roots, underground utilities, and other obstructions might choke certain plants, keeping them from getting the moisture they need from the soil. Larger features such as landscaping trees might also need certain clearance, away from a home or outbuilding, so their roots don’t wrap around concrete foundations and other obstructions.

While you might hesitate at Rhode Island landscape design costs, remember that these costs are an investment in your landscaping and property. You’ll avoid damage to structures on your property and ensure your plants and flowers thrive when you work with a professional designer.

How to Keep Your Rhode Island Landscaping Healthy

One great way to ensure the health of your new landscaping features is to work with a Rhode Island landscaping contractor throughout the year. He or she will ensure the health of your flowers, shrubs, and lawn, removing weeds and replacing dead or wilted plants as needed.

It’s also good to keep children and pets away from your home’s landscape features. Pets especially tend to dig around flowers and shrubs, pulling up roots and healthy soil. Pet urine and waste is also very unhealthy for plants and flowers! If you struggle to keep your children and pets away from plantings, use pinecones for mulch, as the uncomfortable shape of these cones acts as a natural barrier around your flowers and greens.

You might not associate grass height with healthy landscaping but grass blades provide shade for your property’s soil while also preventing erosion. Cutting grass too short allows for water runoff and might create dry soil conditions, so that your plants and flowers struggle to grow. Keep grass blades a good two inches tall so your property’s soil stays healthy.

The Importance of Mulch for Rhode Island Properties

Of all the steps you might take to keep landscaping healthy, mulch delivery and spreading might be one of the most important! Mulch provides a protective barrier for soil against harsh sunlight and erosion, locking in nutrients and moisture. That barrier also provides covering for helpful insects such as worms, which turn over the soil and keep it healthy and aerated.

Mulch also provides a natural contrast between your property’s lawn and landscaping features. If you notice that landscaping groupings don’t seem to “pop,” you might consider a brightly colored mulch, such as cedar wood chips. Bright mulch also provides an anchor for trees, letting the trunk stand out from a lawn and creating a stately look.

Picking up mulch from the home improvement store and spreading it yourself is often more difficult than property owners realize! Mulch is heavy and cumbersome to carry and spreading it around flowers and shrubs is physically taxing, not to mention difficult to accomplish without stepping on flowers or getting mulch all over landscaping features.

Consider mulch delivery and installation as part of your landscape design in Rhode Island costs. Professional landscapers often use an SUV with a trailer or other motorized equipment to carry heavy mulch around, and are skilled at spreading mulch without damaging flowers and shrubs. Adding this service to your landscape installation and maintenance is a great way to ensure those flowers and shrubs stay healthy for years to come!