Low-Budget Landscaping Ideas

Don’t just stand there and look pretty: Give your yard a job! “Apportion part of your property to raising food for you and your family,” says Lee Garrard RLA/ASLA, co-owner of MedicineWheel Land Planning in Athens, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. “They’re inexpensive to cultivate and you’ll be surprised how well they supplement your refrigerator. “

Plants indigenous to the area don't require as many fertilizers or pesticides, need less water and play nice with the local animals and insects. 

The most cost effective way to landscape is to do it yourself, but don’t think of it as a chore. “Dedicating time to maintaining and improving your landscape can bring about great results you can see, and some you can’t,” Garrard says. “Stress levels tend to taper off when you engage in the therapeutic practice of gardening.”  

Whenever possible, group plants together. “Many landscapes lack impact because of the tendency to install too few species or number of plants,” Garrard says. “Offset cost by selecting species that will be hardy and spread as they grow.”