LANDSCAPING ON A BUDGET

PUT IN SOME TIME TO NEATEN THINGS UP

If you are landscaping on a budget, or landscaping with no budget at all, just putting in the time to do some clean-up can make a big difference. It doesn’t cost anything to pull weeds, prune bushes and rake up some leaves. You can also consider re-locating some plants that are not doing well in their current location to a spot that may be more suitable for them.

Sometimes we feel like we need to spend money to make things nicer.  But, if you are working on other financial goals and don’t want to allocate much to landscaping, you might be surprised what a little clean-up can do to make a big difference. If you can afford it, add some mulch after your clean-up is done. Most of the big home improvement stores (like Lowes and Home Depot) have sales on mulch at certain times.  I don’t recall if it’s both of them, but I know one of them definitely has a big sale on mulch for Memorial Day weekend.

FILLING FLOWER CONTAINERS AT LOW COST

Consider planting fast-growing annuals that can be planted from seeds to fill flower buckets.  You can fill several containers with flowers for a couple of dollars.

You do need a little bit of patience because you are not going to get that instant gratification of planting already flowering annuals that you would pick up at the garden center.  However, it can be really fun to watch the seeds as they begin to sprout, and as they grow and eventually begin to flower.

Some fast-growing annuals that I have planted are zinnias, nasturtium, and cosmos.  I don’t think that the cosmos are actually great for containers, but they can be planted in flower beds.

As a bonus, the nasturtiums are edible and can be put in salads.  I haven’t personally done this, but I am growing them this year, so I might give it a try!

TRY TO FIND PLANTS ON CLEARANCE

I’m not sure if all garden centers have a clearance section  But, I know that Lowes definitely often has a clearance section for plants.  You can often find plants that are perfectly fine. They might just look a little beaten up and maybe somewhat dried out. So they are not the ones people will pick out of a bunch. You can get a really good discount on these plants.  Once you get them planted and give them a little time to grow they are perfectly nice plants.

We did this in the fall when we picked up a bunch of mums for $1 each.  They had some dead leaves and flowers on them.  We planted them and trimmed off the dead stuff. They looked great in our containers for the fall. And it allowed us to do some cute fall landscaping on a budget!

I also have some hydrangeas that were looking kind of scrappy that were on clearance.  I have had them for years now. They have turned into beautiful healthy plants that come back every year. So, it’s definitely worth taking a look to see what you might be able to find on clearance!

RE-USE A PORTION OF POTTING MIX

I am sure that professionals would say that you should start with a container of fresh potting mix.  And, that probably would be better if you are not worried about the cost.  But, if you are trying landscape on a budget, consider re-using some of your potting mix from the last season. I do this every year and have never had a problem with really nice plants growing in my containers.

I empty the soil from my containers into a wheelbarrow so that it can be broken up.  Then I add some new potting mix and mix it all together.  I also add some general fertilizer, like miracle grow, and it seems to work fine.

SPLIT YOUR PERENNIALS

Split your perennials instead of buying new ones.  I have done this many times with my hostas and some of our ornamental grasses.  There are many perennials that can be split.  Just do a quick online search for the ones that you have or are considering buying to make sure it’s ok to split them. One of my podcast listeners mentioned that she was able to save a lot of money by getting split perennials from a friend.  You can also check your local Facebook groups

GROW PLANTS FROM CUTTINGS

Many plants can also be grown from cuttings. This can be done with plants you already own. Or, you can ask a friend or family member for some cuttings of plants they have at their home. Maybe you can do a swap!

Some examples of plants that can be grown from cuttings are hydrangeas, geranium, butterfly bush, and mums.  But there are many more. Again, you should look online specifically at how to do this for the specific plant you are looking to grow.  They are not all grown in the same way.

TRY TO FIND LOW MAINTENANCE PLANTS

Try to use low-maintenance plants that will not cost you a lot of time and money to take care of. Some that I have that are really low maintenance are hostas, ornamental grasses, and hydrangeas. If you do a search online, you will find a lot of different plants that can be grown with very little care needed.

PLANT YOUR OWN HANGING BASKETS

If you don’t already have hanging baskets, then there will be that initial investment to purchase them. If you get ones that are of decent quality you can reuse them year after year. Pre-planted hanging baskets can be very expensive.  You can save a lot of money by purchasing a few plants and filling the baskets yourself.  Plus, it can be fun to experiment with different combinations of plants.

PLANT SPREADING ANNUALS OR GROUND COVER

Planting things that spread and cover a lot of ground will save you time in weeding and also on the cost of mulch. One spreading annual that I really love is petunia waves. Note that regular petunias do not spread, it’s only specifically the ‘Petunia waves”. They have a really pretty flowers and come in several different colors.

PURCHASE SOME INEXPENSIVE LIGHTING

You can use rope lights and strings of lights to hang in different locations on our patio or deck. I know that one string of lights that we have that has little lanterns that light up, I got on clearance at Target for less than $10. They also have inexpensive solar lights that you can stick into the ground in flower beds or around your deck or patio. It’s good to check when they start putting the summer seasonal things on clearance. You can often find things to help you save with landscaping on a budget for the following year!

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic to check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

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