Friday, August 17, 2012

Frugal Landscaping - Landscaping on Low Budget

All landscaping requires some special care to remain attractive and well maintained. Even though your budget is small and your time is limited, you can take some time to create a plan. The planting zone, the amount of shade, sun, moisture and other conditions influence plants and their well being. You can then incorporate some low-maintenance landscaping ideas for your small budget.

Watering and mowing a lawn is a time-consuming chore that you must repeat on a regular basis. Your lawn also requires occasional fertilizers, pesticides and weed-killers. You may want to have a very small grassy area for small children or pets. Otherwise, remove the grass entirely and try some other ideas for creating a relaxing outdoor space. Low ground cover can replace grass on large areas of the yard. Some plants like Japanese pachysandra cover well in shady locations.

Expensive wooden decks require painting and maintenance periodically; however, you can create ground-level patio areas with slate or stone. You may be able to obtain the materials free from a stream or quarry. Once installed, these stones only need to be hosed off occasionally to keep them clean and attractive. Stone walkways can wind between planting areas and widen out to create seating areas.

Fences are expensive, and lumber fences require periodic painting or staining. Instead, plant shrubs that grow into hedges for privacy screens or borders. Some shrubs need constant pruning. Instead, plant tallhedge. This dense shrub will quickly grow to 12 feet tall and form a dense wall of green glossy leaves. It needs full or partial sun and well-drained soil. For spring flowers, plant common lilac. Lilac grows at a considerably slow pace, to 15 feet tall. In the month of May, it produces fragrant lavender-colored blooms.

Mulch helps reduce moisture loss and erosion. It will also prevent many weeds from germinating. Place mulch around the bases of trees and shrubs and add it to flower beds. Wood chips, bark and sawdust are cheap. Plastic is also cheap and appropriate in some areas. Stone is more expensive initially but once down, will need little maintenance.

Landscape your garden area with native plants. They are well adapted to local growing conditions and can resist insects and disease. Plant trees that grow quickly and provide the necessary shade in your landscape. Choose those needing little maintenance. Evergreens do not lose their leaves in winter. Deciduous trees drop leaves in the fall that you have to rake up. Use spreading or ground cover plants in your garden for another layer of protection against weeds. Plant perennials in flowerbeds and borders. Most need very little maintenance if mulched when planted. For accents, add small shrubs like the Oregon boxwood or ornamental grasses like Maiden grass.

Landscaping your garden doesn't really require a big budget. Plenty of frugal landscaping options are available to create an exquisitely designed garden or lawn that is easy on the wallet feed. Knowing where to look for materials makes frugal landscaping a simple task.

1 comments:

Unknown said...

Such a nice landscape, the patios are created so great even the concrete driveways. All things in your picture are so creative
Landscaping Virginia

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