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5 Best Budget Gardening Basics
by Kathleen Wilson
Description: Tips for gardening on a budget.
Decorating the outside of your home very often involves
some type of garden. Not only can living plants add
value, curb appeal, and charm to your home, gardening
has been known to soothe ones soul. Gardening on a
tight budget can be a challenge, but with a little
knowledge, a little creativity, and a do-it-yourself
spirit, it can be much more rewarding than traditional
landscaping.
1. Start small. Pick out a small spot in your yard or
decide to grow in containers only and pick up a few
basic pots. If you spend a whole weekend tearing up
your yard your first time out, chances are you will
become overwhelmed and find it an unhappy experience,
not to mention a waste of money. Let the joys of
growing things be a pleasure, not a chore. You can
always expand your garden as you gain experience.
2. Learn some basics. It isn’t budget wise to but a
bunch of plants, slap them in the ground without any
knowledge, then watch them die. With a little
education, you can be assured of a more successful
garden, and save money in mistakes from the start! Some
great places to get information for beginners is your
local library, your nursery, and the internet. The
internet is filled with garden information, just type
“gardening” into your search engine, and go!
3. Don’t be afraid to use unusual materials. Chunks of
recycled concrete can make a wonderful retaining wall
or garden border, gravel can be used for a patio
instead of flagstone, plastic pots can be painted to
look like stone. Plant in unusual containers to fit the
style of your home. Use indoor things outdoors. Use
paint (it’s cheap!) wherever possible to create an
interesting fence or wall, or tie unmatched garden
furniture and accessories together. Create luminaries
out of tin cans and candles from the dollar store.
4. Use nature in nature. Make your garden an expression
of what it really is, a wonder of nature. Display
driftwood directly in your garden and let flowers spill
over it, bring in large rocks and gravel and create
faux stream beds (don’t buy them, there is bound to be
a building site nearby where they would thank you for
hauling the rocks away!) If you take a trip to the
ocean, bring back shells and mementos to remind you of
your vacation. Just remember to always know the local
laws and have permission to gather.
5. Find your materials in budget friendly places. Grow
simple, fast growing plants from seed instead of buying
more expensive plants. Sunflowers, cosmos, marigolds,
zinnias and alyssum are all incredibly easy to grow
from seed, at any time during the growing season. Ask
your local building site if you can search their scrap
piles for materials. Scrap wood can be used to create
simple containers, rocks make great borders, broken
tiles can be used to make mosaic stepping stones. Cut
down wood can be used to make decorative fencing, old
tree stumps can be beautiful with a flowering vine
growing over it.
A few containers near your door, or a fenced vegetable
garden, or an English garden landscape…all these can be
used to create a beautifully decorated outdoor oasis
for your family, on the tightest budget. Always
remember, “Creativity, Not Cash!” TM.
Kathleen Wilson is an author, national columnist, and
editor of The Budget Decorator. For more free ideas
and for information on her online budget decorating
workshop, please visit her at
http://www.theBudgetDecorator.com.
