When we built our house in 2019, landscaping was at the bottom of our priority list. We were in the middle of making a million other design decisions, renovating the Riverside Retreat, preparing for a baby and packing, and our budget was maxed out.
Of course, we had to do something and time was running out, so we hired a landscaping company and trusted their expertise.
Overall, we were fine with the results. A few of the plants were incorrect and most weren’t as large as we would have liked, but we had to downsize after the sticker shock of fully landscaping a quarter acre corner lot.
Fortunately, everything grows fast in Florida, and it was filling in nicely a year later.
We hired someone to mow/edge the lawn, and a lawn pest control service (pretty much required here in FL) and took the rest on ourselves. By took on ourselves, I mean basically did nothing at all except fertilize once or twice (gardening is not our forté).
The lack of care became apparent, and over the last couple years, plants have stopped blooming and are dying left and right. Last Christmas, we woke up to our tangerine tree fallen over in the yard.
Our lawn guy didn’t edge any of the grass, broke our irrigation on more than one occasion, and blamed the pest control service for our yard’s condition (and of course, pest control blamed him). Something had to change.
The New Plan
After installing our backyard fence, it was time to overhaul our landscaping once and for all. We reached out to a local landscaping company that came highly recommended in our neighborhood, and came up with a plan to fix what wasn’t working.
In keeping with the European architecture of the home, a lot of research went into selecting the right plants that had the look I wanted, but would also survive in our subtropical climate. For someone who knows nothing about plants, it wasn’t an easy task and I relied heavily on our installers recommendations.
In the front yard, the liriopes around the walkway were replaced with walter’s viburnum shrubs. Plum lorapetalum was planted in place of the gardenias, and the bed was reshaped and widened to add a third accent with blue daze.
To be completely honest, I was disappointed when I saw the lorapetalum because I was under the impression it would be completely plum/purple in color (like the Crimson Fire or Purple Diamond).
I’ve never seen those species growing around here, though, and neither has our installer. He said the new growth leaves would be purple, so we’ll just have to keep them trimmed often. I do think they look pretty neat against our black fence.
Areas of dead grass were patched with new St. Augustine sod (they’re still looking a bit rough but should fill in nicely). Mature viburnum suspensum bushes were planted along our new fence and the back of the house.
Perhaps the most noticeable change—three spartan junipers were placed at the corners of the house, which add much needed height and give it an estately feel.
The European vibes continued with a 65 gallon olive tree, planted where the old tangerine tree stood.
Two baby avocado trees were planted on the side of the house. You may recall that we had two avocado trees there originally, but the wrong species was planted (“Hess”, not to be confused with Hass avocados) and one of the trees fell over.
We also took this opportunity to install hardwired landscape lighting—something we wanted but couldn’t afford when we built the house.
Proper lighting really is a game changer! It highlights the architecture and landscaping, and brings everything to life at night.
Now that we’re finally in a good place with our yard, it’s critical to maintain it this time around. We hired a full service company called Landcrafters FL to manage our landscaping. I was impressed with their work on Instagram, and our conversation after meeting with the head gardeners in person.
They created a maintenance plan for us that includes trimming, weeding, fertilization, cleanup and irrigation checks. We think it’s absolutely worth the cost and feel confident they’ll keep our outdoor spaces lush and healthy year round.
Most importantly, we’ll have peace of mind and more time to focus on other priorities (like projects at the Hacienda Hideaway!)
Total cost
Our original landscaping total in 2019 came to $14,202. More than half of that was sod and mulch. Here’s the full breakdown for anyone interested:
Round two came in even higher at $16,137, but a lot of that was landscape lighting:
In the end, it definitely stings that we had to spend so much on landscaping twice (and we have to start over with some plants) but we knew this was a possibility going into it. I’m not sure if there’s anything we could have done differently in our situation, with our limited time/energy and budget.
Now I’m focusing on the positives—we will finally have a beautiful yard moving forward, and we won’t have to worry about it ourselves! The older I get, the more I value my time and sanity. Hiring this one out just makes sense.
Do you have a similar landscaping experience or stories/advice to share? How do FL prices compare to where you live?
This is still unchartered territory for both of us and while the idea of gardening sounds fun, we’ll stick to DIY projects for now 😉
If you have any questions about our experience, feel free to drop them below!
Cindy says
Stunning! It looks amazing and, well, finished now. Can’t wait to see it as it fills in. Just beautiful.
We moved into our house 5 years ago, added some much needed front of house landscaping, 2 years later we added lots of backyard landscaping, and are doing more landscaping this year. It’s very pricey but so needed. And like you, things weren’t done quite right the first (and second!) time so we have had to change and fix things. I would love hardwired lighting. Just have to convince my husband it’s worth the cost. Any helpful hints? 😆
Jenna Sue says
I hear ya… landscaping is a big project and hard to do all at once on your own (and get it “right”!) Go take your husband for a night time drive around the nicest neighborhoods in town and see how amazing all the homes look lit up. Our house was the darkest on our street before this and it looked so sad and deserted!
Suzanne says
Looks beautiful! Just wondering if you would share the cost for the maintenance company? We also spent $$$ on new landscaping and trees died, the lawn looks terrible, etc. I’m sure it was our ignorance of how much and how often to water, fertilize, etc. Have always thought it would be too expensive to hire a maintenance company. But we need it. I’m not in Florida but would love a general idea. Thank you!
Jenna Sue says
Thanks Suzanne! The cost depends on so many factors–yard size, plants, irrigation, services needed, location etc–but our landscaper said that his average clients spend between $350-$750/month.
Eleanor Pella says
The outside is a room unto itself! You will always be glad you did this NOW so you can enjoy it! Hope you will this holiday weekend!
Jenna Sue says
We’re still planning a big “Phase 3” backyard makeover but we are very pleased with how things are looking now! Will definitely be enjoying it this weekend as long as the mosquitos calm down ;D
Denise says
Looks beautiful Jenna! I am curious why you chose the hardwired lighting option vs solar. Lol, if there was one place I’d think solar would be the clear choice it would be FL.
Jenna Sue says
Hi Denise! Solar lights are nowhere near as powerful as hardwired lights, and only work in full sun (it gets cloudy here too!). We had solar lights for over a year but hardwired lights were always part of our Phase 2 plan.
Jessica says
Just found your website and I’m so thrilled! Unrelated to this post, but just wanted to thank you for sharing Luxe for less items because I have struggled with decorating our house yet finding items that won’t break the bank. My dream home is an hacienda style so I’m thrilled to see how that home comes along with time.
Jenna Sue says
Thank you Jessica and welcome! So glad my blog has been helpful to you. I’ll never stop the luxe for less hunt 😉
Kori says
We live in Safety Harbor, FL, and the best tip we received from our lawn service was to sprinkle Peat Moss in the grass in the bare spots. It has worked great for us. We were even able to grow grass under our huge oak tree. We buy a big bag every year, and it doesn’t break the bank.
Jenna Sue says
Awesome, thanks for the tip Kori!
Debbie says
Hello! I am in 9b central Florida and landscape prices are so high! Your blue daze will do great, I love that plant. We also planted some gardenias. My past experience with them was not great as we had nemotodes in our garden. (Maybe you can get nemotode resistant gardenias, I don’t know.) But, we moved and planted MORE gardenias. So far after one year, they are doing fine. I have learned they like acidic soil, so I am fertilizing with an acidic fertilizer. Fingers crossed!
Jenna Sue says
Hi Debbie! We had a bunch of gardenias planted originally and they did okay at first, but many eventually died. The flowers are beautiful but I hate that the flowers only last a day or two! I hope yours fare better than ours 🙂
Mirror says
Those junipers add such an amazing “oomph” to your house facade.
I’m actually surprised how cheap all those plants + labor were (and then how expensive the landscape lighting was!).
We are doing the landscaping ourselves and it’s quite a learning experience. I have dedicated the last 2 months to only our front door area 😅 One day we’ll get to the backyard…
Marianne Rohde says
Your house is gorgeous ! If you want even more EU vibe grow a creeping fig up one of your stucco walls .. slow grower, easy to maintain . If you have any other sunny spots for a beauty , showstopper , checkout smokebush , comes in purple and chartreuse ❤️
Jenna Sue says
Thank you for the rec Marianne, will have to check that out! We love climbing plants.
Jeanine says
Wow, this looks so good! Also, I think you got a great price for all that you had done. My neighbor had an island in our cul de sac landscaped, and asked all the neighbors to chip in for the cost. We did, but I thought it was really expensive. The total cost was over $5000 for 5 trees and about 15 bushes, but they did add some rocks for a sort of dry riverbed look. All that to say, you got a good deal and your yard looks fabulous. I personally like flowers and would add a couple of pots of flowers on either side of your front door:).
Amy says
Looks beautiful. I’m in zone 9 – Northern California – and one thing that I recently planted that is doing really well so far is cecile brunner rose. If you’re looking for something that flowers and gives you an European vibe, it might be another plant to consider. I think it can do well (in a slightly shady area) in Florida. But, everything looks beautiful! Congratulations!
Jenna Sue says
Thanks Amy! We would love to add climbing roses on the turret so will have to look into that one. Appreciate the kind words!
Kendall says
Thank you so much for breaking all of this down! My husband and I recently moved into a new neighborhood where landscaping is taken pretty seriously and neither of us have green thumbs or the desire, to be honest. I would like to update our (dying) landscaping but I’m concerned about the ongoing maintenance cost. Would you mind sharing the cost of your full service maintenance?
Jenna Sue says
Hi! It depends on so many factors–yard size, plants, irrigation, services needed, location etc–but our landscaper said that his average clients spend between $350-$750/month.
Kelley P says
It is beautiful! I’m sure you will enjoy it for years to come. Florida is a whole different ballgame when it comes to landscaping.
Cynthia Solomon says
Just gorgeous! It is a lot of work to put in and maintain landscaping for sure! But, as you’ve discovered your talents are in a different area (and y’all are so very talented and gifted!) Let the landscaping gurus do that for you and enjoy the fruits of their labor!
Jenna Sue says
Landscaping is a lot of work… mostly because of the ongoing maintenance. We just don’t have time for it! Can’t do all the things at once 😀
Ann says
The new landscaping looks great! What zone are you in? We are building in Florida-zone 9a- and some of your plants would look great in our yard.
Jenna Sue says
Thank you, Ann! We’re in zones 9b and 10a. I know that indian hawthorne, lorapetalum, jasmine minima, star jasmine, and blue daze are extremely common here and do very well.