4 Simple Landscaping Ideas for Your Home
Many homeowners put off upgrading their outdoor living space due to fears of it being too costly, time-consuming, or overwhelming. Keep scrolling to read our top 4 tips for affordable and easy landscaping hacks that can bring out the best in your home’s front and back yards.
Low Maintenance Landscaping Ideas
Let’s start with the basics. The ground you plant any new shrub, trees, or flowers in is going to be very important for the overall look and health of your landscaping. Amateur landscapers could be tempted to buy expensive potting soil. While this is certainly an option, you can save yourself a good chunk of cash by mixing your soil with your household’s leftover organic scraps.
Even if you don’t have time to create and maintain a compost pile, mixing in your discarded coffee grounds into your soil will naturally improve the texture and quality of your soil. Another way to save money and improve the health of your plants is by adding mulch to your landscaping. This provides your plants with much needed nutrition and costs a bit less than potting soil.
Garden Landscape Ideas
Similar to clothing retailers, nurseries usually try to sell last season’s trees, plants, and bushes with clearance sales. This is a great way to add to your plant collection without breaking the bank. Keep your eye out at the end of spring and summer for the best deals. Even if the leaves and flowers look a bit sad, the actual plant is perfectly salvageable as long as it still has a green stem. If you do buy any plants in an “end of season” sale, be sure to plant them as soon as you get home and give them adequate water.
Another piece of advice considering your garden landscaping is to buy young shrubs and plants. Most people are attracted to more mature flowers and trees because of their visual appearance. If you want to save a lot of money, pick younger plants. You’ll be surprised at how quickly they mature once they’ve been planted in your garden.
Front Yard Landscaping Ideas
Stepping stones are a wonderful addition to any landscaping project. However, even a short stepping stone path could cost you hundreds of dollars if you buy it directly from a garden center. Another option is to make your own homemade path. To do this you just need:
- A bag of quick-setting cement
- A paint bucket
- A shovel
- Decorative marbles or shells
- Square-shaped, shallow cardboard boxes
Once you’ve mixed up your cement, pour it into your cardboard box. Place the shells or marbles into the cement and let dry. After 24 hours, check to see if it’s set and cut away the cardboard. Voila – you’ve got a stepping stone!
Perennial Flowers
Lastly, while there are a variety of annual flowers out there, picking plants that die each year will end up being very costly over time. Instead, invest in plants and flowers that return every year such as coreopsis, catmint, and alstroemeria. While perennials will cost a bit more upfront, they’ll be a fixture in your landscaping that you can enjoy for many years to come.
If you’re interested in enhancing the appearance of your home’s landscaping and want a little extra help from the professionals, contact the team at Cutters Edge today.
