There are many interesting ideas that can help you save money on your planting
and landscaping. Most of these ideas involve a little creativity, but you
end up with an attractive and distinctive yard. And some of the ideas look
nice and can save you money in other areas of your life, like food. At any
rate, there are quite a few easy ways to stretch your dollar and still make
plants an attractive part of the landscape.
Use vegetables. Plant vegetable seeds in your flower garden. Seeds cost
much less than plants, especially many flowering plants that have already
started growing. Choose attractive varieties that mix well with flowers
and are attractive in their own right. Peppers look nice among flowers,
with their attractive leaves and colorful issue as they ripen. Pumpkins
and bushy-plant squashes actually look very nice planted in the same
way one would plant an island of flowers. Squashes and pumpkin’s
flower so they are pretty when they bloom, and their leaves grow big
and beautiful. Tomatoes make great accent plants on the edges of flower
gardens, and peas can be set up to grow on small edge fences. Their curly
vines are appealing, and they are among the least expensive of vegetable.
Not only can vegetables save you money in enhancing the look of your
landscape, but they also save you money when it comes to eat.
Herbs for ground cover. Instead of spending money to buy plants designed
for ground cover, invest in an herb garden. Buy seeds for the herbs you
commonly use in your cooking: parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and
sage are all very attractive plants. They grow close to the ground, and
can grow thickly, creating ideal ground cover. Chives and green onions
can be planted behind for an even more ornamental look. Herbs also grow
fast, and you can use them in your cooking, saving you money at the grocery
store. You can still have your flowers throughout your garden, as these
herbs go with any color scheme. Additionally, they will add a pleasing
aroma to your home environs, making it inviting in smell as well as in
looks.
Container gardens. Container gardens are among the cutest and more inexpensive
landscaping ideas. Rather than trying to treat your soil and dealing
with the constant hassles of upkeep, make a container garden. Your garden
can hold a variety of plants, although annuals are among the best for
this type of garden, as you can easily replace them as they dies out.
It is possible to use perennials in a container garden, however, as long
as you use a larger container so that they have room to create their
extra bulbs. Buy potting soil on sale (if you buy at the end of the season,
you can get it for sometimes as little as one or two dollars a bag),
and then you can plant seeds in the soil. By the time winter is over,
you should have flowers fit to be set outside.
You can use almost anything for containers. Old washtubs and tin cans
make quaint containers. Clay pots are a little more elegant and can also
be very decorative and attractive. It is even possible to use milk cartons
(with the tops cut off) as containers. Whatever strikes your fancy and
is deep enough to let the roots grow (which really is not too terribly
deep) can be used in container gardening. Large urns and hanging baskets
can also add to the look of your home. Much of the time you can get these
items on clearance at the end of the season for just a few dollars.
After arranging your plants in their containers, you can then set your
urns, pots, and old washtubs wherever you wish to in your yard. Hanging
baskets need not hang only above your porch. If you have large enough
trees that can support them, you can hang them from the branches. When
planting your baskets, use starts or seeds. They cost less than more
mature plants. It is even possible to start a herb garden and you can
even grow most vegetables in containers.
With a little creativity, it is possible for you to turn a commonplace
landscape into something really attractive without a lot of back breaking
work and without having to spend a great deal of money to make improvements
to the soil.