$100k. $2k per tree removal removal, $2k per 1yard of gravel, $500/yard of mulch. . Visualize a football field, about an acrePlanting$50 per plant Grading $100 /hour.

I am in California and would need permits.. An additional cost.

You are likely going to need estmates from local folks. How big is the area, what kind of trees, how densely planted they are and what native plants you want all play a part. Also, regrading around existing trees could kill them.

tj

I disagree. IME as a landscape designer, this project would be on the lower end of the scale. Depending on square footage, maybe not even $20K!

First, the largest expense involved in any landscaping project is labor. Since almost all of what the OP describes is easily done as a DIY project, the labor expense will be minimal. There is no way on earth a yard of mulch will cost $500!!! Premium bulk mulch here is around $35-40 a yard, maybe as much as $50 delivered. Spreading it yourself costs nothing other than some time and elbow grease. Same with planting.....when doing it yourself (and it is easily done), there is zero cost to digging a hole!

There is no hardscaping involved and that is what eats up a landscaping budget - retaining walls, decks and patios, fences, paver or brick walkways and paths. And other than the grading, I see no need to call in professionals. The OP mentioned nothing about tree removal. And in my area, because there is no construction involved, no permitting is required either.

The more you can do yourself, the less expensive the project will be. Material costs are low and the less outside labor you have to pay for, the less expensive the project will be.

Please, please, do not put down any gravel. In a wilder landscape it will just become a compacted problem with significant future digging problems. Gravel will do nothing for weeds in such an area. For a natural area you can get local chipped trees instead of more costly processed bark mulch.

We do need more information to even venture a wild guess. How large an area? Pics would be helpful. Can you just let it return to nature? If you don't want it manicured, planting some native small trees and shrubs can get that started. Even guessing a price per professionally installed shrub isn't easy - access, digging, etc. is dependent upon the site but it might cost 3 times the price of the plant material. If it's a huge area and you install many plants, you'll need irrigation to get things established. Low cost drip systems can be put in for a few years.

Why would you want to regrade if you want to naturalize? Please show the site and outline your vision.

Actually what you likely need to pay for is a Plan. Done by someone who is highly knowledgeable and skilled in “ developing “ areas in what I think of as “ residential woodlands” , mini- meadows, true lower- maintenance ( nothing is No maintenance!)

( oops hit the button by accident)
I am also in a house & property where I need to have some area’s maintained by house, trees producing lots of leaves and sticks, soil full of rocks so have to dig up buckets full even to plant natives. wanting to have some areas where leaves can collect or be directed to but also want to have some clear areas, minimalist paths. And meanwhile the utility co. unexpectedly cut down numerous trees because were near power lines, leaving exposed sunny areas growing more weeds.

I may be stubborn & foolish enough to try to work on it without a professional Plan.
But have been gardening a long time so have learned a few things about soil, Sun direction, low- maintenance that really is not , types of maintenance I prefer over other types, and a bit about plants, from growing many and killing many.

On these forums I have enjoyed reading things by Christopher CNC and gardengal. And others of course. Even thogh a Plan is important, I’m not likely to do a complete install at once so I like the ideas of taking things by section at a time. I also made rudimentary pathways through parts of the property ( which is not that big, only ~.6 acre but part is rough) , Christopher’s recommendation, which really helped me start to feel more comfortable “ walking the land” and feeling like it’s mine, seeing what zones needed to stay likely paths, because they were naturally more walkable) and what could be possible planting pockets, & where I’d have to prepare to battle weeds, & what areas I’d need to target specifically for a taller shrub or small tree for some privacy and height interest but to be far enough from power line, and also to cast shade in correct general direction and not over area that might be for sun- loving hardy natives. And so on.

I’ve checked out a lot of books on so- called natural gardens and matrix and meadows. Did learn some things, got some ideas. I can sometimes tell what might work and will not ( for me) despite the high level of enthusiasm of the writers.

I paid ~2k per tree for removal, 4 trees. Mulch is inexpensive, tree removal and grading is expensive.

$100k

Let me just state that landscaping costs realized in California will not be the same as those being charged in northern Virginia. And we don't know how big the property is, how much grading may be necessary or how much of the work the homeowner anticipates doing themselves so we can only offer speculations as to total costs.

But working with renovating existing or installing new landscapes on a daily basis, IMIO this project will never cost anywhere close to $100K!!! Even hiring out the whole business!

First off THANK YOU so much everyone! This is incredibly helpful. 

Given the multiple estimates that this will be on the upper side of the budget, I'm going to try and do this on my own. My dad is great with plants and will be coming up memorial day to help me plant. 

I will check out the native plant sale and stock up.

I have NO DESIRE to remove trees!! I love the fact that we live in the woods and think it's laughable when people clean up every single leaf from their backyards with leaf blowers. Having said that, our backyard is a disgrace (see pics attached). 

And we live in a very typical suburb where everyone has pristine lawns (someone tried a pollinator garden in their front yard and were harassed mercilessly on the neighborhood FB page) so I do feel pressure to do something with it. 

And I would love a place to sit and enjoy it. 

Thank you all again! I will check out the resources.

Deal with the bamboo first, that's your BIGGEST problem.

The bamboo is fairly contained and offers privacy from our neighbors to the right. I know it's not native and probably not great for the woods that we back to, but it hasn't spread.

Why is that our biggest problem?

Bamboo spreads aggressively hence it's illegal to grow running bamboo in Fairfax county. I've seen acreage covered by bamboo. Hopefully surrounding jurisdictions will outlaw it as well. Your bamboo will be difficult to remove and digging it out will make a mess. Do that first before attempting any aesthetic improvements to your yard.

I would get an estimate or two before deciding to take it all on yourself.  From the pictures,  this could be closer to 20k or less.

No to gravel. You and every future owner of the property will curse it. Use mulch instead.

If you want to plant large quantities of native plants in rocky, rooty soil, you should do plugs. They are cheaper and smaller, so you can plant a number of them, rather than one bigger plant. I like The Pollen Nation ThePollenNation for woodland shade plugs. The prices are good, I was happy with the quality and all the plugs I planted last spring are indistinguishable from the larger more expensive plants I planted a few years ago. Fedco Catalog Search - Fedco Trees (fedcoseeds.com) also has some good prices on natives.

For both The Pollen Nation and Fedco, you need to order when ordering opens. In Feb for the Pollen Nation and in the fall for Fedco or the really good stuff (I love Tiarella for shade under trees) is sold out. Heartleaf aster is very weedy, but if you have clumps of it, it looks great in bloom. Single plants can straggle. And it is just fine in dry shade.

Ferns are also really good for shade. Marginal something fern (Dryopteris Marginalis) does okay in dry shade.

I'm on the close-in MD side of DC but wanted to thank @cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA) & @Sigrid for the recommendations & sources. We were trying to redo our landscape last year and paid one of the big VA nurseries to draw up a design - either Merrifield or Meadow Gardens, I can't remember now. The design itself was not expensive, although the install would have been exorbitant. They send someone out to assess the conditions first hand and the draft plan gave me some good ideas to start with. Also there are apps that let you identify plants via a photo - the one I use is called PictureThis but there are several like this. I do a lot of walking and anytime I see a plant/shrub/tree that looks great in someone else's garden, I use the app to ID it so I can add it to my list.

It's been a lot of work and a huge learning experience - my garden still has a LONG way to go - but also a lot of fun. Good luck!

These are the biggest landscape suppliers in NoVa...

https://www.saundersls.com/

To give you an idea on price. If you buy a lot, like 5+ yards, they'll usually deliver for free.

Landscaping is expensive around here. People don't realize it, but Washington DC is by far, the wealthiest part of the country. Loaded with government employees earning 6 figures. So labor is in high demand and costs a lot. Particularly NoVa.

An estimate over $50k wouldn't be surprising. Doesn't mean you can't get it done cheaper. Just means some landscapers are so busy, they give everyone a high take it or leave it price. Many don't blink at paying $50k and don't want to bother shopping around.

Looks like you have 2 problems. One is you have trees. The other is I would guess your soil is compacted. Looks compacted to me. If it were me, I would get bulk shredded hardwood mulch delivered, whatever the minimum amount for free delivery is. Get a wheelbarrow, if you don't have one and use it to dump the mulch in the backyard. Maybe 4" or so thick.

Also, might want to consider getting rid of some of the trees. The smaller ones. Better to have fewer healthier trees than more crowded ones. If a tree can be felled from the ground without worry of hitting something, it typically costs a lot less to cut down.

Look, I hear all this about mulch— kind of randomly about where to put it.
What kind of trees do you have? Any oaks, maples, or others that produce seeds? All of these will produce volunteers.Especially in areas where you’ve improved the soil. Plus weed seeds that come your way.

That’s why you need to have a plan, even if rudimentary. A bubble diagram even. Of where might be paths, where sitting area , where growing areas.
And, where you can get to re- mulch if you need to. Or beginning areas where you might want to plant and then keep up with weeds at first and longer term.

Because compacted soil can be your friend for the pathways ( even just roughly marked paths) and for areas you want to leave alone except for some judicious chopping and Roundup.

So I would not be thinking of starting out with a huge square footage of mulch.

Same thing for taking out trees. You may have some that need removing , or later want to, because of your Plan. It depends on the sun patterns and views and types of trees. But, shade and root mass can also be your friend for noxious weeds.

I’m not saying not to mulch areas which are fof plantings that need water conservation and also makes unavoidable weeds easier to remove.

Just don’t turn your yard into a giant mulch- bed.

I hear you about not wanting a giant mulch bed for a back yard. We have one magnolia and the rest are pines, so not a lot of volunteer activity happening. 

If not mulch, then what though?

What for what to achieve what ? That is the question.

That's a fair question. Thanks for making me think about that. I guess my goals are:

-Something durable -- I have a dog that loves to run around back there (that may or may not be contributing to the lack of grass problem)

-I want to be able to look in the backyard and not feel a twinge of shame about how ugly and unkempt it is. Bonus points if we actually want to spend time out there. Having a place to put our little fire pit with chairs would be a dream.

- Good for, or at least not bad for, the environment. Flowering natives where possible. Minimum of harmful chemicals.

-I'd like not to lose any trees. I like the shade.