Beautiful & Inexpensive Landscaping Ideas

1. Choose Easy-Maintenance Ground Cover
A lush front lawn is as American as apple pie, but it’s not the most financially savvy choice you can make – particularly if you live in an arid climate or struggle to keep your grass green and weed-free. Many homeowners deal with patchy and weeded lawns simply by re-sodding the yard, but this can cost several thousand dollars. In fact, The National Gardening Association notes that fresh grass sod can cost 15 to 35 cents per square foot, and more than double that amount if professionally installed. Grass also requires a hefty amount of water, and may need fertilizer and weed treatments as well, all of which impact your bottom line.
On the other hand, an easy-maintenance ground cover is a great and cost-effective alternative to grass. Thyme, bishop’s weed, and lamium spread quickly over room-sized sections of a front and back lawn, and remain hearty through temperature and drought swings. Simply plant around 10 creeping ground cover plants (more if you want faster coverage or you’re dealing with an area larger than a bedroom) for between and each. They should quickly germinate and take over portions of your yard with beautiful leaves and flowers.
Not only can you save money on ground cover over sod, the maintenance is easier and less costly over time. Stick to portions of the yard that are hard to maintain, such as heavily shaded areas, side yards, and transitional spaces, to make sure your yard doesn’t look overrun by a forest of plants. Keep grass in sunny areas, if you’d like. And if you live in an extremely arid region, consider xeriscaping your yard.
2. Mix Soil With Homemade Compost
If you’re putting in a few flowers or plants, it’s tempting to load your shopping cart with bags of expensive potting soil. Certainly this is important to give your plants the nutrients they need, but you don’t have to do it with soil alone. You can cut your soil costs in half by making the most of your family’s leftover organic scraps. Mix a bag of potting soil with equal parts backyard compost for a nutrient-dense mixture that your plants should love.
Unfortunately, many people don’t have the time or energy to create and maintain a compost pile. As an alternative, you can still mix in discards such as coffee grounds and the clay- or mud-like dirt in your backyard to get more bang for your buck. It’s also possible to add mulch, which is nutritious for plants and slightly less expensive than potting soil.
3. Start With Young Plants and Shrubs
Consumers are often drawn to mature plants and flowers at the nursery because they’re visually appealing. However, the only difference between a mature plant and a young plant of the same species is the price (tiny seedlings are an exception to this rule, as they can be easily scorched or killed). For instance, you can expect to pay for a 10.25-gallon crape myrtle, but only for a 3.25-gallon crape myrtle. Choose the smaller item for a big cost savings – you may be surprised by how quickly they grow once you’ve planted them.
At my old property, I planted numerous 2.25-gallon Indian hawthorns and Texas sage bushes. Within a year, the Indian hawthorns were the size of five-gallon plants, and the Texas sages had matured to a 13.35-gallon size. It just took a little patience.
4. Create Clusters of Planters
Add visual interest to your garden by grouping together clusters of planters for added height and depth. Basic terracotta planters are classically beautiful and cost between and , depending on their size. Group three planters of various sizes in a corner of your garden, and put an arrangement of flowers and creeping plants to give the illusion of a foliage waterfall as the blooms spill over the edge and into the main garden.
These arrangements look best when you combine plants with three different profiles – vertical (such as upright fuchsia or fountain grass), horizontal (like impatiens or heliotrope), and cascading (like the asparagus fern or wave petunias).
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Beautiful & Inexpensive Landscaping Ideas

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