Posted on October 15, 2007 in latest news
Having a beautiful garden doesn’t mean spending a big deal of money. With a little research and creativity, and a do-it-yourself spirit, you can have a professional looking and breathtaking garden.
Here are some cheap and easy tips for a budget gardening:
- Try to use waste materials for decorations. For example
1. Plastic pots can be painted to look like stone.
2. Chunks of recycled concrete can make a wonderful retaining wall or garden border.
3. Gravel can be used for a patio instead of flagstone.
4. Create luminaries out of tin cans and candles from the dollar store.
5. Use paint (it’s cheap!) wherever possible to create an interesting fence or wall.
6. If you take a trip to the ocean, different shells and mementos for decoration.
7. Scrap wood can be used to create simple containers.
8. Rocks make great borders, broken tiles can be used to make mosaic stepping stones.
9. Cut down wood can be used to make decorative fencing.
10. Old tree stumps can be beautiful with a flowering vine growing over it.
11. Broken up cement makes good material for a retaining wall.
- Grow simple, fast growing plants from seed instead of buying expensive plants. Violas, salvia, cupid’s dart, calendula, marigold, sunflowers, etc are all incredibly easy to grow from seed, at any time during the growing season.
- Buy plants out of season.
- Organize a plant swap party with fellow gardeners and neighbors, and ask your gardener friends for divisions of their overgrown plants. Save your seeds and share them with others.
- Don’t throw away your unused seeds. If kept in a cool, dry place, they can remain viable for four or five years.
- Plant seeds directly in the ground. So that you can save on potting mixtures, plastic trays, or peat pots.
- Propagate your own plants from cuttings or from seed.
- Start watching for sales and discount offers at garden centers, garden clubs, nurseries and supermarkets
- Tell everyone that you’re starting a garden and would love it if they could give you divisions of their perennials or seeds they have saved from their garden.
- Search online for seed swaps. Many gardeners love to help a new gardener. Many are willing to send seeds for the cost of postage or will trade for something else that you may have that they are looking for.
- Take advantage of free plant offers from local councils or gifts of plants for Christmas.
- Buy some inexpensive containers such as yogurt containers, milk jugs, egg cartons, and plastic ice cream buckets, if you want to sow into containers.
- Visit yards where recycled building materials are cheaper to buy.
- Collect your rainwater. Tanks may be expensive but rainwater can also be piped into fishponds.
- Check with local dairy or horse farms. They may offer free manure, especially if you load it yourself.
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