To Save Money
1) Design and plan your landscape before you buy.
2) Shop around and watch for sales. Many nurseries and garden centers offer the same types of plants and landscape supplies and the prices can vary tremendously.
3) For trees and shrubs - buy bareroot stock instead of containerized plants. Many online and mail order nurseries offer bareroot plants.
4) Time your purchases. Save money on trees, perennials, shrubs, soils and mulch by buying late in the season (if you can). Newly released plant varieties are often quite expensive. If you can, wait until the variety of plant variety you want has been out on the market for a season or two before buying.
5) Buy mulches and soil in bulk quantities. Mulches can generally be purchases by the yard much cheaper than buying by individual 2-3 cubic foot bags. If you don't have a pickup to transport materials, ask the nursery or garden center if you can bag up bulk materials in garbage bags or baskets.
6) Consider buying smaller plants and when possible start perennials from seeds.
7) Talk to a professional. You may not need a landscape architect to design your whole project, but a $50 to $100 consultation is well worth the money it saves you from costly mistakes.