Is your garden in need of a much-needed makeover? Don’t put your plans on hold just because you’re avoiding any extra expense. There are several ways on how to achieve beautiful gardens on a budget. With these tips and your DIY skills, your outdoor space transformation will be as impressive as any luxury garden.
Achieving a great-looking garden is easy if you have the money. But why spend on expensive garden accents and a landscaping artist when the DIY path is more fun and rewarding? Welcoming guests or hosting small house parties in a garden that you’ve designed yourself makes any occasion more special.
A little resourcefulness, a dash of creativity and time are your budget-friendly essentials to turn your garden into a space you can proudly show off! These garden and landscape design ideas should get you inspired.
Repurpose Scraps
Choosing to recycle and repurpose materials for your garden is one effective way to decorate for less. Giving old things a second life also helps reduce waste. Here are some items you can start with:
- Tyres. You can always get them cheap at your local recycling plant or try asking around for them in your neighbourhood. Paint and stack them as planters or mount them on the wall or fence for your hanging plants. You can also turn them into inexpensive ottomans or garden swings for the kids.
- Wheelbarrow. No funds for pots? Perhaps, you have an old bike and some buckets at your garage that you can use. An old wheelbarrow is also a good idea. You can paint them or leave them as is. A little rust or discoloured element makes a garden look more natural anyway. Just remember to drill some holes at the bottom of your planters for drainage.
- Driftwood. The next time you go to the beach, keep an eye for fallen branches that you can add to your garden. Driftwood is ideal for mounting potted plants like orchids. If you’re growing succulents, this material can be turned into a planter, too. Also, as no two branches are the same, driftwood makes your garden a unique work of art.
Create a Living Wall
If you only have a small garden or no space at all, setting up a living wall or vertical garden is the way to go. This gardening technique makes the most of any vertical space, indoor or outdoor, by having plants attached to it. It’s also a smart way to cover up an unsightly wall or fence!
There are several ways how to do it without spending a lot. For example, you can prop a wooden ladder against a wall then use wires to mount your potted herbs. Installing hooks onto your fence should be perfect for hanging your flowering plants in old plastic bottles or paint cans. Or better yet, you can plant climbers like wisteria and star jasmine. Once they bloom, they’re the perfect fragrant accent for window frames, balconies or trellis.
Choose Useful Plants
To create beautiful gardens on a budget, you need to choose your plants wisely. Pick those that make your space look brighter like flowering plants. Marigold, cosmos, aster, dahlia and viola are people’s favourites because of their vibrant colours. They are inexpensive and decorative, and they attract helpful pollinators, too.
Filling your garden with vegetables and herbs is also a good idea. Plants that grow in small pots work well in limited garden spaces. With these plants, you can cut grocery expense and enjoy a nutritious meal. Some herbs can also keep pests away from your garden. You can even try planting plants that make excellent toilet paper substitutes!
When you want beautiful gardens on a budget, choose perennials. These plants have good value for money as they last year-round and bear fruit or flowers for many years. Choose low-maintenance plants, too, as well as those that thrive in your region. Succulents, for example, are colourful, require minimal care and grow well even in Australia’s warmest areas. They also come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, making them a joy to work with when landscaping or creating your vertical garden.
Use Inexpensive Accessories
Small details count, and when creating beautiful gardens on a budget, options for cheap accents are unlimited. Here are some ideas to spark your creativity:
- Buy low-cost furniture. You don’t have to go to the hardware store or garden nursery to buy things for your garden. Garage sales are packed full of great finds, from decorative items to useful things like old chairs or benches.
- Install garden lighting. String lights are perfect for decorating tall plants or trees. These could instantly set the atmosphere of your garden parties at night. Inexpensive solar lamps are smart options, too, and ideal for lighting up your garden pathways.
- Add garden edges. Edging gives your garden a polished look and keeps the soil or mulch in place. It also boosts curb appeal. Old bricks, branches, rocks and timber are excellent and cheap edging materials. If you want, you can combine two of these material options for added style, like rocks with bricks or wood with stones.
- Use mulch alternatives. Organic mulch reduces our need to water our plants and controls weeds in our garden. But using it can also be costly. Use cheaper options instead like shredded leaves, grass clippings, pine needles, hay or straw and pea gravel. Make sure to pick low-maintenance mulch that works well with your plants.
