How to landscape your yard in leaner times

By Kristyne E. Demske
C & G Staff Writer

There are lots of ways to break the bank with landscaping — installing, for example, an elaborate fountain in the front yard that courses into a babbling brook under a small bridge comes to mind.

But how can homeowners make their front yards appealing without needing a home-equity loan to do so?

That’s a question many are asking as the weather warms. And paying attention to landscaping can be a worthwhile investment, according to Joni Makowski, a manager at Allemon’s Landscape Center in Detroit. She said that before the housing slump, a good rule of thumb was that a nice landscape could bump up a home’s value by 15 percent. While that might not hold true in today’s housing market, landscaping is still one of the first things anyone sees when coming to a home.

And the color of flowers, which can be an inexpensive natural feature, help a home stand out from its neighbors.

“Everybody wants color,” Makowski said.

When choosing between perennials and annuals, perennials are the more frugal option — they come back each year. But most perennials only bloom about a month to six weeks out of the season, as opposed to annuals, which will bloom all summer. To save on costs, Makowski said, many homeowners are moving toward container gardening.

“They’ll just plant one pot or two pots of annuals, and they’ll just set the pot into the landscape just so you have a splash of color,” she said.

Mark Yarsike, co-owner of American Gardens in Sterling Heights, agrees that annuals give “instant color.”

But he said the number of plants needed to fill a space can vary based upon taste, and budget. In a 10-by-20-foot bed, he said he would place up to 15 flats of annuals, like impatiens, because he likes them closer together. A homeowner trying to save money can get away with just five flats — the cost is typically between $10 and $15 for a flat of 48 plants — in a 20-foot area.

“You can actually budget it any way you want,” he said.

Perennials, he said, are the “money saver.”

“We have ones that bloom in May and June, and July and August, and come back every year,” he said, adding that many people mix perennials that bloom in different months and annuals to keep the color bright and save money at the same time.

Taking care of the flowers is as easy as fertilizing and watering them every day when the weather is very hot.

“All of our flowers are tagged (and) will tell you to keep them wet (or) keep them dry, how tall they grow … if they like sun or shade,” Yarsike said. “Read the labels (or) ask somebody for advice.”

The majority of a home’s landscape is typically covered by grass, and Makowski said it doesn’t take an expensive monthly maintenance company to keep it looking green and healthy.

She recommends raking up the excess thatch and then reseeding to combat a thin lawn, taking care to choose seed meant for sun or shade depending on the needs of your yard. She said several companies make good fertilizers and weed preventers that rival a service if a homeowner is willing to put in the work.

The four-step program by Scotts, she said, includes a crab grass preventer that is applied around Easter time, a dandelion weed killer that is applied in late May, a fertilizer with insect control that is put on around the Fourth of July and a winter application to be put down near Labor Day.

“If they come in and purchase anything, (we) let them borrow a spreader, too,” she said, adding that fertilizing and pulling weeds themselves would “definitely” save homeowners money.

Fertilizer can be organic, too, she said, pointing out that Turf Nurture is pricy, but “it’s the best organic fertilizer you can buy.”

“It’s more expensive, like $50 a bag, but there’s light applications and heavy applications,” Makowski said. “We recommend at least a couple times a year because it deals with the overall health of your lawn.

“Everybody that comes in and has used it a year says it’s amazing and you can really see a difference.”

She said corn gluten is also available as an organic weed killer.

“It is very slow, but it is effective. If you apply it spring and fall for a couple years, you’ll see a difference.”

For those who like the clean look of a soil flowerbed, but don’t want to pull weeds, Makowski recommends using Preen to prevent weeds in an established garden. The product stops seeds from germinating, though, so it can only be used with established plants — not where new seeds would be planted.

But the majority of homeowners go for mulch to clean up the look of their flowerbeds, she said, and they have the option of pine bark, cedar or hardwood mulch, although pine seems to be the most popular.

Even though it’s the most expensive of the bunch, it actually adds nutrients back to the soil, she said, unlike the other mulches, which draw nutrients away.

Another option is decorative stone, said Scott Bruglio, the other of Stone Depot in Clinton Township.

“Once it’s done, it’s done,” he said of the benefit to stone versus mulch, which ought to be replaced each year. “I always suggest that if they’re going to be in their home five years or more, it’s a better investment if they can afford it.”

But while mulch can be around $30 a yard, decorative stone can cost upwards of $175 a yard for the more expensive varieties.

“If you’re in your home for a couple years and you plan on moving out, just mulch because it’s not worth the investment,” he recommends.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Kristyne E. Demske at kdemske@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1041.