Home ownership has its challenges, from unexpected bills if something breaks to seemingly endless house maintenance to keep your home looking its best.
But home ownership is also rewarding, and one of the best things about it is having a green space outdoors to call your own!
Though, after the costs involved in buying a new home, you probably don’t have tons of extra money to create the garden of your dreams. Between insurance, legal fees and new bills, the costs of a new home can add up quick.
That means you need gardening ideas on a budget. So, use theses tips to create the garden of your dreams for less!
Seeds
Buying plants at the garden centre is a luxury some can afford, but if you’re looking after the purse strings, the best thing to do is avoid buying fully-grown plants. Start learning about propagating and everything that goes with it ASAP.
If you’re entirely new to gardening, it’s best to start with some easy-to-grow plants and work your way up, but since seeds come at a relatively low price depending on the species, you can potentially save hundreds if you start with a greenhouse rather than a trolley in the garden centre!
Flowers such as sweet peas, sunflowers and marigolds can all be started indoors, so you have plenty of options to get started.
Compost
Bags of compost can be pretty expensive, and it’s something that you can easily make in your garden.
There is an initial cost for the composter to start with, but you can actually create some very high-quality compost from just putting your waste and leaf litter in a composter and waiting a while.
Eventually, the effort will pay off, and you’ll be able to feed your plants with plenty of great food for them!
Recycle
Looking at all the lovely brand new pots and garden accessories in the shops is excellent, but there’s no reason why you can’t buy second-hand containers and garden equipment.
All you need to do is search various second-hand sites or garage sales. Facebook Marketplace is a great spot to find bargains!
House clearances are also usually great for garden items, and you will save a small fortune if you’re willing to invest a little time, forget about having the newest and trendiest items, and instead see what sensible buys you can discover!
Vouchers
Another one of the best gardening ideas on a budget is to search for voucher codes and coupons that will give you a nice discount on your purchases in garden centres and hardware shops.
All you need to do is log onto a site such as Net Voucher Codes and find the right voucher to suit your needs.
There are plenty of options for purchasing plants at a lower cost, but the garden furniture that you may need for those warm summer nights may be there too. Don’t forget atmospheric lights, stylish long rectangular planters, and practical fencing options too!
Educate Yourself
One of the main reasons people use their budget up quickly in their garden is because they hire people to do things that they could do themselves. So get learning!
There are plenty of Youtube videos showing you exactly how to plant certain flower beds, prepare a perennial garden for winter and even build your own planters and garden accessories!
There is a specific set of skills required when it comes to keeping plants alive, so take your time learning about those skills. And if you have added fruits and vegetables to your garden too, you will find they bring new challenges.
Taking the time to learn when and how to plant to maximize your success and minimize wasted money.
Get the Family Involved
The saying “many hands make light work” is a good one when looking for gardening ideas on a budget!
If you want to get your garden prepared without having to pay for a professional to get the job done, then get the whole family involved. They are going to be the ones enjoying the garden, so why not chip in with the hard work too?
You can even use pocket money as an incentive to get all the kids involved, regardless of how old they are. Give your toddler a small spade and see what they can do!
Ultimately you’re in control of exactly how your garden looks and feels, so creating a landscaping plan would be a great place to start.
All you need is a few tools and a “can-do attitude,” and you’ll be in your beautiful garden surrounded by friends and family in no time at all!