Estates are pieces of history and are also luxury incarnate. If you’re lucky enough to get an estate at a reasonable price, then chances are you have a lot of work to be done. However, more and more dedicated designers and contractors are slowly flipping their way into the estate of their dreams. Sure, the property itself may be more or less a ruin when they first get their hands on it, but when they’re done, they’ll have a stunning family home and an incredible investment asset all in one.
While the bulk of your attention will naturally fall on restoring the buildings themselves, care and attention still needs to be placed on the grounds themselves. The grounds have the potential to be absolutely magical, especially when you use these tips to help you save through the process.
First, Find The Original Plans
You’d be surprised at just how much gets covered up, either on purpose or alternatively through natural processes. If you want to restore your property to its former glory, then that means restoring the grounds to their former glory as well. Finding original photos or an actual outline of the planning works can also help you discover long-forgotten pathways, water features, and more.
Uncovering these features can then help you save on raw materials. You won’t need to lay down your own stone pathways, for example, if you can restore the ones that are already there. Yes, this is a lot of work, but if you’re committed, you can easily do that sort of work on your own to save on labor costs.
How to Save When Redoing the Turf
Most estates have long, meandering grassy fields. These fields were once used to host parties and many other lawn games and can be once again. If the grass itself has worn down, washed away, or is in just a sorry state of affairs in general, then you’ll need to rip it up and lay it all back down again.
The best way to do this on a budget, however, is to get wholesale landscaping supplies. If you can’t gain access to these wholesale prices, don’t worry. You can hire a company and have them place the order on your behalf and then lay things down for you to speed up the process and get your lawns pristine once again.
Start Small and Get Bigger
Other than classic gardening (pruning, clearing, and so on) the best way to save is to start small. You have the space to grow, so focus on growing! Get small roses, shrubs, and even trees. You can usually even save on those larger investments like trees by trying your hand at the clearance section. Since you have space, you can typically give those trees that need TLC the space and care they need to thrive. For best results always understand what pH levels the soil needs to be, and what nutrients that specific species of tree needs to survive first to recreate its ideal soil conditions. Once you do that you will then need to be mindful of your investments to make sure they establish themselves correctly.
Smaller plants typically establish themselves faster and more efficiently, so plant small now, and they’ll grow to proper size in a few years.
