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!
Marcia Herrick says
Hello! I love your pavers, is it the Coco brown on in your quote? Who makes it? Thank you in advance!
Jenna Sue says
The pavers were purchased locally when we built the house — can’t remember the company but the color is McKenzie Blend.
Lu says
That black fence is awesome! I think it is combination of your house and your black windows – it looks so natural. Excellent job.
Jenna Sue says
Thanks Lu, so glad you like it 🙂
Jodi says
We planted lorapetalum in our yard, and they looked just like yours at first. However, after a few years, they’re now absolutely gorgeous and a beautiful reddish purple with the new growth. They’re super low maintenance as well. We’re huge fans! We went with Italian cypresses but also considered juniper. They definitely give a European feel and totally suit your home. The new landscaping looks fantastic! We’ve been considering hardwired landscape lighting, and yours looks so gorgeous…
Jenna Sue says
I love to hear that, thanks Jodi! I’m obsessed with the dark plum color of the lorapetalum and am hopeful ours will get to that level. Landscaping lighting is a game changer, I’m telling ya!
Kat says
It looks so beautiful! I’m surprised about those juniper trees though. I thought those were colder climate evergreens? I’ll be curious to see how those do in the Florida heat.
Jenna Sue says
They thrive in zones 4-9 so we just made it! There are quite a few of them in our neighborhood so as long as they are taken care of, they should do fine 🙂
Stacy says
I agree, landscaping makes a huge difference! Our home exterior is completely redone, except the landscaping…because of this, it just hasn’t reached it’s potential!! I’ve seen older/outdated homes get beautiful landscaping and suddenly the home shines! You don’t even see the outdated house because the greenery complements it and brings it up a notch. I so agree, hiring professionals for this is required. I know what I like visually, but I don’t know a thing about plants!
WRP says
Jenna, I think the changes definitely enhanced the yard. Planting some Iris bulbs along the fenceline would bring a pop of green and enhance the existing shrubs. Easy to pop the bulbs in the ground and they require zero maintenance afterwards. I alwats enjoy your updates and breakdowns.
Diana says
Thank you for being so transparent with the process and pricing!
How often is the regular maintenance and how much does that cost a month? I’m struggling to find someone that will do more than mow & blow and won’t charge an arm and a leg over here in California. Thanks!
Carly says
Oh Jenna.. could not have picked a better topic and thank you for the real results and pricing. We have a home 50 miles south of you, closed the same year 2019 on new construction and I now have to redo most of my yard due to 75% of the plants all died. My frustration is real. That frustration is because we did everything we were suppose to with a HOA maintained yard and irrigation. HOA landscapers killed most of it and what they did not kill off the lack of adequate irrigation killed it because of our communities watering restriction and problems with water pressure. We don’t maintain our irrigation and have to control on any settings the HOA does. Grass looks terrible as well. I am terrified to replant because at what point to you stop spending money to fix others mistakes? I am going to start pricing soon to redo. We fired the HOA landscapers and hired a new one, they are better but the irrigation issue is huge. In the non rainy season the irrigation just was never enough with the water restrictions. Yes you can hand water but I don’t have time to stand outside and water multiple times a week. I have found through this entire process since all the neighbors had issues as well, the causes were landscapers telling you certain plants will do well and they aren’t correct in info. Also not enough fertilizer, inadequate pest control on bushes/plants and again not enough water. This time I am like you, going to hunt to find real info from a landscaper that knows plants. Your yard looks beautiful keep us updated. I would do exactly what you are doing this time. I wish I could hire your companies here! Good luck.
Jenna Sue says
Ugh how frustrating! I really feel your pain on that. I would definitely look into native plants in your case that naturally thrive in our climate. It’s worth the investment to hire a knowledgeable expert!
Hilary says
It is gorgeous!! So worth the investment. Thank you for sharing such detail and the cost so we can get a real feel for what is involved in these kinds of projects.
Laura says
Thanks for sharing! Did your landscape company charge for design? I don’t see that as a line item.
Jenna Sue says
Nope! We already had a very good idea of what we wanted, and he just provided some plant suggestions.
Leah says
Those prices, especially with supply chain issues (yes the demand for plants surged during Covid & hot our project hard) are mind blowing. We had multiple quotes for a similar project at our home in Dallas, and they were all between $50k and $80k (to be fair $20k of it was grading & drainage work). We went with a lower end quote and “got what we paid for,” having to repeat/fix some of the work the following year at another $20k. 😭
Jenna Sue says
Holy crap! I can’t believe those numbers. Yikes, I thought landscaping was pricey but we got off easy. I’m sorry it was such a headache and huge expense for you 🙁
Daria says
Hi Jenna,
Could you tell me about your spartan Juniper , they’re beautiful- where could I get the 30 galon size myself?
Thanks so much
Jenna Sue says
Hi Daria, our landscaper called around to local nurseries to find them, I would recommend doing the same in your area.
Laura says
First time commenter, long time reader, and I love your blog. I just wanted to share the link to the tampa area extension office that is probably closest to you. I took the master gardener class a few years ago, and the knowledge gained from the class has helped me when hiring lawn and garden help, or selecting plants and identifying trouble spots in the yard. The extension office is a treasure trove of free resources for any problems you may encounter in your yard. If you ever have future problems, a soil sample is a wonderful starting point whenever plants or grass show signs of decline. https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/hillsborough/lawngarden/master-gardener-help-desk/
Jenna Sue says
What a wonderful resource, thank you so much for sharing Laura!
@downtownacres says
This is very in line with what we paid in NC for a French country vibe as well. We got out a smidge cheaper.
Becky Nelson says
Please tell me about the pathway lights. Brand, how many, cost?
Jenna Sue says
I’m not sure of the brand as our installer handled everything, and grouped the lighting into one line item (noted on the quote). I will see if I can find out!