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5 Essential Landscaping Upgrades for New Build Homes in Texas
Within the last ten years, North Texas has seen an explosion in new construction homes, and the majority of these new homes are part of a planned community with set construction plans. Since landscaping installation is typically last on the new home build checklist, it is often where most corners are cut by builders to save on cost. Some cost-cutting is fine and may save some money in the short term. However, items like having a proper yard drainage system installed to direct stormwater away from your foundation or having a dense turfgrass lawn to prevent soil erosion are critical to the integrity of your home. In this article, we’re sharing 5 essential landscaping upgrades for new build homes in Texas that you should plan to do shortly after taking ownership.
Table of Contents
Plants
Most builders do not even offer plant choices for your front yard garden beds, so this would likely be a landscape enhancement you would make after moving into your new home. Not all builder-grade plants need to be tossed out, but what we find most often are plants that are very small, inappropriate for the space, too many or too few, and a real lack of plant variety. We would recommend contacting a landscape contractor to come out and evaluate existing plants and work with you to develop a design plan with your unique style in mind, rather than a layout that is merely a repeat of every other house on the block.
Landscape Edging
Edging is a wonderful upgrade to your landscaping in both function and aesthetics. Edging is a material installed around plant beds and trees. It’s a practical upgrade that serves as a border to retain mulch and soil while deterring the surrounding grass and weeds from invading. Landscape edging also gives your flower beds a unique and finished look. There are a few material choices for your landscape edging, depending on your budget and style.
Metal Edging
The most cost-effective choice would be metal edging. Available in green, black, and brown, steel edging typically comes in 8-10 foot sections and 4” or 6” heights.
Composite Edging
Made of a resin material, composite edging is another budget-friendly edging option. Available in either brown or black, composite edging typically comes in 10-20 foot sections and 4” or 6” heights. Composite edging is approximately 1” in thickness.
Stone Edging
Natural stone edging is a more expensive edging material, varying in price depending on how it’s constructed. This edging could be a natural stone boulder material or possibly a natural “chopped stone,” which resembles the shape of a large brick. Boulder stone comes in all shapes and sizes, whereas chopped stone is sawn at a mill and comes most commonly in 4”, 6”, and 8″ heights with various lengths. The least expensive stone edging would simply be laying boulder stone or chopped stone one after the other around a garden bed. A more expensive edging option would be mortared chopped stone, which sits on a bed of concrete and uses several layers of chopped stone mortared together to create a level wall along the perimeter of a landscape bed.
Outdoor Drainage
After living through a few rainy seasons, you will likely notice areas of your yard where water collects that typically won’t drain in a timely manner. Over time, these areas will start to lose grass, the soil will settle creating a low spot, and the exposed soil will erode. Having a proper drainage system installed at your new home will become essential.
Bury Gutter Downspouts
The gutters on your home work together to collect stormwater from your rooftop and funnel it out to your yard through vertical downspouts. Rather than allow these downspouts to dump excess stormwater directly into your yard, they can be buried and attached to an underground drainage system that redirects stormwater to a safe place off of your property.
Yard Grading Correction
Your yard should properly slope so as to keep water moving away from your home and foundation. In addition, your yard should be smooth without any low spots for water to pool in. If your yard is not properly sloped or you notice water accumulating in low spots, then yard grading correction will likely need to be done.
French Drain
A French drain is a perforated drainage pipe buried in the ground used as a means to collect surface water over a large stretch of your yard. For example, if your backyard sits high and slopes down towards your home, water will most certainly run towards the house and collect along the foundation. To correct this, you would need a French drain installed to collect excess storm and irrigation water underground and move it away from your foundation.
Sod Grass
All new construction homes in North Texas have Bermuda sod installed. Bermuda is a very fine sod when it is well-maintained but has one significant limitation: shade tolerance. Bermuda requires at least 6 hours of sunlight each day. This may not be a problem when your home is first built. However, the Bermuda grass planted between homes receives little sunlight and may start to die off after a few short months. After a few years, trees planted in your yard will mature and grow large enough to cast enormous shade beneath the tree canopy that will kill the Bermuda grass as well. We recommend upgrading to a more shade-tolerant sod, such as Zoysia or St. Augustine.
Backyard Landscaping
The only backyard landscaping a builder will typically leave you with is sod and a postage stamp-sized concrete patio. After spending a bit of time in your new home to see how your family uses the outdoor space, we suggest any or all of the following landscaping enhancements for your backyard.
Planting
Installing ornamental trees and shrubs is an easy way to upgrade your backyard landscaping. Whether you have the entire backyard converted to a garden of trees, shrubs, and perennials or simply plant a few shade trees, you can bring privacy and atmosphere to your backyard.
Outdoor Living
Upgrade your backyard with outdoor living elements to encourage spending more time outside. Consider hardscaping upgrades like a patio extension that creates a larger area for outdoor furniture, a pergola for shade, pathways throughout the yard, an outdoor kitchen for family barbeques, or a firepit for those chilly nights.