When you are building a new home, you should include landscaping in your budget. This is also the case when you are buying a new home. You may want to change the landscape to suit your taste and style. If you want high-quality pavers, rocks, timber, and soil, you must be ready to pay a little more.
If you go for cheaper products, be ready to replace them over time. Cheap materials can prove costly in the long run.
Are you in the market for the best landscaping materials? Here are the top six landscaping products.
1. Rock
Rocks add aesthetic value to your landscape. Without rocks, the landscape may not look natural. Rocks themselves are attractive, especially if you have some beautiful plants climbing on them. Rocks vary in color, and this is one of the reasons many landscapers like them. For example, sandstones are usually yellow, while volcanic rocks are normally gray. When covered in lichen or moss, rocks can look as if they have always been a part of the landscape.
If your landscape already has rocks, all you may want to do is move them to the appropriate spot. If you don’t have any or want to add to what you have, you may have to buy them.
When buying rocks, make sure you chose the ones with the desired color, shape, and size. Your landscaper will help you choose the rocks that will fit well in your landscape. You can also paint the rocks if you can’t find the color you want.
2. Pavers
There are no landscapes without pavements. We even have pavements in gardens. Paving can be a driveway, a broad path, or some stepping stones in your compound. Paving is an important component of a landscape.
The pavement should be hard and durable. Therefore, you should use materials, such as stones, concrete, asphalt, or bricks. It is expensive to pave your landscape, so you must budget for it.
3. Gravel
There are two ways in which you can use gravel in your landscape. You can use it to form a base for your paving. It can also act as one of the features of your landscape. If you are using it for pavement support, you need not worry about aesthetics. The pavement will cover it. In this case, you can use any gravel provided it can form a strong base. But you have to ensure it has the best mixture of particle sizes to make the base stable. A mixture of varying particle sizes also makes it easier to compact the gravel.
If you want to use gravel as a special feature in your yard, you must consider aesthetics. Colored pebbles or gravel will make your yard look spectacular. But you must choose colors that harmonize with all the other fixtures in your yard. It must also harmonize with your house.
For aesthetics, size matters little. You can choose gravel with uniform-sized particles or a mixture of different sizes. Likewise, you can choose the same color or a mixture of colors. You can also use gravel to control weeds in gardens and as a material for mulching.
4. Sand
There are a few varieties of sand you can use on your landscape. Different regions have different types of sand. Sand can also come in different colors, and its particles can be of different sizes. You can get sand locally if you live in an area that has a lot of it. Otherwise, you will have to get it either from a quarry or a dune. When you want to use sand on your landscape, you must check its quality. Some sand contains contaminants, such as rocks, dirt, and even salt. It is advisable to use washed or river sand.
If you are using the sand to create a sandpit, it must be free from any contaminants. But if you want to use it to form a paving base, you can use clean coarse sand.
5. Soil
When it comes to landscaping, the soil is the most important product. It is the material in which plants grow. Soil varies in quality. Some soil is acidic; some is basic. That means a soil sample can only support a particular type of plant. If you have a soil that can support the type of plants you want to grow, you are lucky. Otherwise, you’ll have to buy it.
A soil specialist can test your soil to determine whether it can support the plants you want to use. If it can’t, then you can’t use it. If removing it is costly, you can have the new soil laid on top of it. The layer should be thick enough to support the plants’ roots. Sometimes it may just suffice to mix your new soil with the old one.
6. Timber
Timber is very important for constructing fences, retaining walls, and many other structures. You can also use it for decorative purposes by using it to line pavements or painting it different colors.
You can either use pine or hardwood. Pine is relatively cheap, and you can work with it easily. However, it isn’t durable unless you treat it. It can also easily bend when exposed to the elements. Treated pine can resist termites and last longer than untreated pine.
On the other hand, hardwood is durable and solid. However, it is also costlier than pine. The types of timber you use in your yard will depend on your budget.
Before You Go
It isn’t easy to develop a good landscape without using some of the products mentioned above. In most cases, you may find that you’ll need all of them. Whatever the case, make sure you source your products from trusted suppliers. And when it’s time to use the products, you must also hire a reliable and trusted landscaper or landscape contractor.
Using cheap products may seem appealing, but it will prove expensive in the long run. That’s why it’s wise to use durable products, even if they are costly.