Council Bluffs, IA

Cost: $10,000
Landscape Architect: Oakmont Lawncare Inc., Omaha, Ne.

AFTER: To help keep costs low, the landscape architects developed a plan to help with drainage, and the homeowners implemented it. The design team also ordered plants so the homeowners would have to pay just above wholesale prices. They also eliminated labor costs by arranging the plants on the property and letting the homeowners plant them and by designing stepping stone paths that the homeowners installed.