WHEN building or renovating there are lots of reasons to resist the urge to rip out established greenery, says Richard Browning.
Building or renovating a house is costly, and often budget blowouts mean you have to rethink plans for the garden.
The adage "You get what you pay for" certainly rings true, but there are some basic areas when establishing or renovating a garden where you can make a difference to your final expenses.
It is impulsive to rip out trees and plants when building a new house. plants are often lost because of lack of care during construction.
The irony with budget-conscious gardeners is that people often overlook the financial value of existing trees and plants.
When revamping a garden, you will commonly find valuable trees that can be given a new life, sometimes with the aid of pruning. It can also make good sense to keep mature trees until new ones are established, removing older trees later.
Keeping trees provides instant shade in the heat of summer important for helping your smaller shrubs to establish.
By preserving vegetation, you can save thousands of dollars and buy many years of enjoyment in a garden that will have some shade and greenery right from the beginning.
Many people mistakenly remove all existing site soil and replace it with new topsoil. You will save money by working with existing soil.
By improving site soil and adding mulch to all the garden beds, you can remove the cost of new soil and also reduce the risk of introducing weeds.
Paving can be an expensive component in a new garden.
Ask your paving company whether it sells second-quality stock. You may have some problems with irregular sizes and colouring but it can save money. Second-hand bricks are cheap, easy to source and a good way of reusing materials.
One of the cheapest paving surfaces for paths and driveways is gravel.
As long as you lay a thick enough surface to prevent weeds and washout, and it is well compacted , you can create the structure of a garden that allows rainwater to soak back into the ground and yet does not cost a fortune.