Get matched with top landscapers in Macedon, NY

If you’re hiring a landscaper to plant the garden of your dreams, you do not need to provide them with plants that you bought yourself from a nursery. While you certainly can provide your landscaper with plants, keep in mind that some nurseries provide discounts to landscaping companies, therefore potentially lowering your materials cost. Beyond the cost of the plants themselves, you need to have additional materials like topsoil and mulch for the project. Most likely, your landscaper can get a discount on these materials as well, so it’s worth speaking with them before making any large purchases.

Yes, you can absolutely transplant bushes instead of removing them completely. The success depends on the size of the bushes, their age, and the transplanting season. Ideally, transplant during the dormant season (late fall or winter). Dig out the entire root system in one piece, fill the new hole with fresh soil and mulch, and water thoroughly after planting.

In most cases, buying plants from a local greenhouse or nursery is well worth the investment, even though they tend to be a bit more expensive than those at a home improvement store. Employees at nurseries are usually well-versed in gardening and understand how the climate in your area affects different plants. They can help you make selections based on your skill level and time commitment to your landscaping, and they can provide detailed care instructions and advice to help keep your plants alive and diagnose and treat issues like pest infestation and illness.

Unless it only rains once in a blue moon where you live, you’re going to want water-loving plants in your garden bed or pot. A few ideas for plants that aren’t super fast-growing (meaning they’re good in pots or near foundations) and can handle a lot of standing water include: 

• Acorus (Sweet flag)

• Colocasia esculenta (Taro or elephant ear): In many climates, these are annuals, making them less desirable because you need to adjust the chain again after each replant.

• Equisetum scirpoides (Dwarf horsetail rush): non-dwarf varieties of horsetail are fast growers and can take over quickly.

• Juncus effusus (Curly rush)

• Osmunda regalis (Royal fern): Royal fern can grow quickly but can also handle being crowded, making them good container plants.