
Landscaping on a Budget: Tips for Designing an Attractive Yard
Creating an attractive yard or garden in Lodi California does not need to cost a lot of money. From plants to patios, from window boxes to water features, you can save money while designing an appealing landscape. Here are some tips for landscaping on a budget:
- Reduce Lawn Size Many homeowners try to control lawn weeds by spending money on weed killers such as crabgrass killers. However, the use of chemicals can lead to an unhealthy monoculture. It’s better to tolerate a certain number of weeds in the lawn. For example, wild violets are not only pretty but also edible. Clover is another beneficial weed that fertilizes your lawn at no cost, freeing you from adhering to a lawn-fertilizing schedule and saving you money on chemical fertilizers.
To reduce the size of your lawn, there are various ways to get rid of grass without using chemical herbicides. One popular method is laying down newspapers to kill the grass. What you replace the grass with depends on your personal preferences and circumstances. For instance, a mixed planting bed of perennials, ornamental grasses, and shrubs or a classic flower border can be an excellent choice.
- Choose Plants Wisely To stay on budget, buy plants on sale or from retailers known to sell them at a discount. Some pretty ground covers will spread on their own and “fill in” an area. Choose drought-resistant plants to save money on watering. Moreover, easy-to-grow plants are a good choice so that you won’t have to waste money on fertilizers or pesticides.
Once you have your plants in the ground, there are various money-saving ideas to follow to care for them while still staying within budget. For example, water plants early in the morning during the summer, rather than when temperatures heat up, so that you lose less moisture to evaporation. Tolerate the occasional hole that a bug chews in a leaf, rather than running out to buy an insecticide.
- Hardscape Needn’t Break the Bank Water features needn’t bust the budget to make a big splash in your yard. Modern pumps and pond liners are inexpensive and easy for do-it-yourselfers to install. Add some stones and an extra bit of effort, and you can even build small waterfalls. Scrounge around for free stones at construction sites or on the property of your country cousin.
Brick patios laid in sand are easier to build for do-it-yourselfers than those laid in concrete. By planning properly, it’s also possible in many cases to avoid having to cut any of the bricks. Similarly, bypass the pricey pros and lay your own stone walkways in sand.
- Landscaping on a Budget with Cheap Plants Obtaining cheap plants requires an adjustment in our attitudes. When shopping for cheap plants at sources that don’t specialize in the gardening trade, we must resist the temptation to compare apples to oranges.
For instance, cheap flowers at supermarkets will, in many cases, be of a quality inferior to that of the same plants found at your local nursery. But such plants will be less expensive, too, so the comparison is rather unfair. What you have to ask yourself is, do I have the time to sift through the cheap plants, in order to select acceptable specimens? Do I have the time to give these cheap plants some care and attention?
In conclusion, designing an attractive yard does not need to be costly. By reducing lawn size, choosing plants wisely, and considering hardscaping, you can save money and still create a beautiful landscape.