Chicago Landscaping Ideas: Upgrade Your Outdoors for Less than $1000

Chicago Landscaping Ideas: Upgrades Under $1,000

When you think about it, any time you take on a landscaping upgrade, it isn’t all that different from taking on an indoor remodeling job. You always want to think out your designs beforehand and price them out before you begin the process of tearing out what is already there and then starting the installation process.

HOWEVER…

There are some upgrades you can make fairly quickly to spruce up your property. These kinds of minor fixes can make a huge difference, too.

Let’s take a look at just a few of the ways you can quickly and inexpensively improve the look and feel of your outdoor spaces.

1. Consider lushing up your lawn: If your lawn has been neglected and it’s still salvageable, either hire someone to aerate/weed and feed or do it yourself. Although it can take a whole season or more to restore grass to its full glory, you’ll start to see results very quickly if you begin in the cooler growing seasons of spring and fall.
2. Get that edging cleaned up: Whether your grass is in need of edging around walkways or whether your flower beds could benefit from the installation of some kind of border material, think about how cleaning up the “ragged edges” of your spaces will improve the look.
3. Invest in some annual flowers: For $1,000, you can buy a LOT of annuals, most of which tend to bloom all season long. Well-placed pops of color can go a long way in giving your spaces vibrancy and liveliness.
4. Buy substantially sized planters: Carefully selected planters can offer a huge impact. One of the nice things about going this route is that if you’re sprucing up your outdoors because you’re selling your property, you can take the planters with you.
5. Think perennially: I tend to encourage putting money into perennials and shrubs instead of annuals, although annuals serve a great purpose. Obviously, the benefit of shrubs, trees and perennials is that when next year rolls around, these plants will still be here. An additional bonus is that perennial flowers can be divided – usually (but not always) yearly. Any money you invest in perennials will pay off in living dividends.
6. Refresh surfaces: Powerwash or paint your outdoor surfaces to clean them up. It can make a tremendous difference in the appearance of your property.
7. Install wireless lighting: You don’t have to pay thousands for outdoor lighting if you either don’t have it to spend, you don’t plan on staying in your property for long or if your desired installations would break the bank. In those cases, try either solar or battery-operated devices. As a plus, some of the latest battery-operated devices have motion-detection sensors.
8. Plan a small patio or walkway: Using large pavers and some sand and gravel, you can buy the materials for a small patio or walkway and install it yourself. Just make sure that you have a good back, understand the way water flows in your yard, and install using best practices.
9. Play with rope lighting: You can tuck rope lighting under garden edging to emphasize the shapes of gardens.
10. Get some tiki torches: There are adapters for installing torches on railings. Just check your local fire code before moving ahead. Torches add a great deal of ambiance and can keep mosquitoes away, making them a great and inexpensive double-duty add-on.
11. Dress up with window boxes: Again, you don’t need windows to install window boxes. You can put them on walls or railings.
12. Buy a portable firepit: Firepits add a great focal point to your outdoor space. Prices range greatly, from under $100 for a firebox to several hundred. Read our article here to learn more about fire boxes, fire tables and fireplaces.
13. Use outdoor decorative accessories: Consider buying items like wind chimes, birdhouses, garden decorations, outdoor art, topiary forms, trellises and more to add some wonderful ambiance to your outdoor areas.
14. Go vertical!: Vertical gardens can be made fairly inexpensively and they not only soften up outdoor areas, but add tons of interest. CountryLiving offers 19 ideas for unique vertical garden here. I also recommend that you search the Web on how to create vertical gardens with roping.
15. Paint a mural: Murals can add an extremely dramatic effect on outdoor living areas. Not only that, they can camouflage ugly surfaces.
16. Try bold color: There are lots of ways to use bold color boldly! You could paint a wall or trellis in an unusual color, choose planters in dramatic hues or use those same colors for outdoor furnishings, cushions, containers and more. Don’t be afraid to create a little drama.
17. Create a privacy screen: Use trellising, fencing, containers and plants to create a privacy screen or to cozy up a small space in your yard or outdoor area.

I realize that it can be hard to figure out where to start, even when you’ve decided to commit to something (small but full of impact) as you begin or continue your outdoor projects. We’re always available to work with clients to develop an overarching landscaping plan that we can help you implement. Contact us here if you need assistance.