Cheap and Easy Gardening Tips to Make your Garden Space Attractive
by The Garden Site on October 9, 2009
in Gardening
Many of us desire a lush green garden with fragrant colorful flowers to enhance or complement the look of our houses. But as so often, dreams are limited by money in our society. Landscaping can be expensive and hiring a landscape designer is with a regular budget the most unlikely thing that you would do. But do not give up yet. You can achieve a stunning garden with less money with these cheap and easy gardening tips.
First of all, one of the biggest budget breakers in landscaping is labor. If you want to save money big time while getting the most beautiful garden on the street, do the work your self. Just as plumbing, car repair, house remodeling takes huge amounts in labor, so does landscaping, but landscaping does not require a skilled person. Landscaping can be done by anyone. Of course the design might be rather difficult to achieve, but you can always get great ideas and looks from garden magazines, at your local garden center and online. Many garden projects are easy to do. Some hard work and so-called sweat equity is all that you need.
Next on the list, which is also a budget breaker, not quite as bad as the labor, is the material itself. Rather than choosing expensive flagstone or similar, go ahead and choose a cheaper alternative, maybe even a fake alternative that is a look alike. This way you can save big time and still achieve the look you were going for. Instead of the expensive special plant from china, buy a nice plant or shrub that looks similar and is indigenous to your area, which often means cheaper in price. Also, if you plan ahead you can be rewarded. If you are taking your time to get your garden done, you can plant your shrubs, trees and perennials in fall. Many garden centers reduce their prices drastically at the end of fall. People do not want to buy the plants anymore because the plants have started to change into their fall/winter outfit and are loosing their leaves or changing color. This means nothing bad in perennials, trees and shrubs. In spring these plants will get back to their beautiful spring/summer look just like all the other plants that might have been in your garden for years or the ones you would buy new, but you saved a ton of money by planting them in fall. As many garden stores quite right say, fall is for planting.
Another cheap and easy way to get color in your garden in spring and summer is by planting different perennials that grow from bulbs. Tulips, crocus and daffodils for spring, gladiolas and lilies for summer can give you a great flowering look all spring and summer for a fraction of the cost. Planting bulbs in fall in a strategic order can save you from buying overprized annuals in spring.
A great look for very little money can be achieved by using mulch throughout your garden. But when buying mulch and mulch is needed for more than one small flower bed or two, do not buy the bags at your local garden center. Buying mulch buy the bag is o expensive. Rather have it delivered in a big amount form your local landscape material supplier and save. Mulch comes in many colors and can make your garden look topnotch.
As you can see, you can achieve a attractive and stunning garden for a lot less than you might have thought and those garden dreams can actually come true. Any garden can live up to its potential if you get creative with budget friendly materials.
