If you love gardening but find that buying plants is too expensive, these tips can help you garden on a budget. By following these strategies, you can create a beautiful garden without spending your entire paycheck on your new hobby.
Garden budgets require good planning
When you are gardening on a budget, you need to avoid buying individual flowers and plants impulsively. This means that you need to think about where the new plant would fit in your landscape, and if you have the proper conditions for the plant to thrive.
The key to creating a low-maintenance garden on a budget is to think about good planning and design before you plant. Plants are the very last step.
If you want to save money on your project, it’s a good idea to plan ahead and take advantage of seasonal sales and discounts on items like hardscape materials and plants.
1. SIMPLIFY YOUR PLANTING DESIGN
Making your garden more simplistic can help you save money on your budget. If you take the time to plan out your design with native plants that can reproduce, you’ll be able to fill up your space without spending a lot of money.
In order to make your garden appear bigger on a budget, select plants that will spread and take up more space over time. Opt for groundcovers and ornamental grasses rather than plants that are not vigorous or invasive, as the latter will quickly take over the garden.
2. CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS
You can save money on your landscaping by choosing low-maintenance plants. By planning ahead and selecting the right plants, you can create a landscape that is both beautiful and affordable.
Consider what will work best for the plant you want. Do you have the proper growing conditions and water needs for that plant? Ensure that the plants you pick will thrive and be healthy in the environment you have. This is an effective way to conserve money and time. The following are some useful tips for choosing plants that will do well in your specific conditions.
Plant databases
The Missouri Botanical Garden has a plant finder tool that allows users to sort through plants that will grow in the United States by various filters, including color, soil, light needs, and deer resistance.
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Plant Database contains plants that are adaptable to a variety of conditions throughout the United States.
You can find more recommendations for plants to use in your landscape in my posts on landscape layering.
3. CONSIDER DROUGHT-TOLERANT PLANTS
Plants that don’t require a lot of water will save you money on irrigation. If you’re starting from scratch or redesigning your landscape, consider how much water each type of plant needs before making your choice.
4. PROPAGATE YOUR PLANTS
You can save money on your landscape and gardening projects by learning how to propagate plants effectively, as well as by choosing plant species that are known to be easy to propagate.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to propagation. One advantage is that it can save you money, but it can also take a long time for the plants to grow. Another advantage is that you will have to invest time in learning how to do it and actually doing it.
There are a few ways to create more plants by propagating them.
Propagate by division.
This technique can be used on many herbaceous perennials, not just daylilies. Most of them are quite hardy so it’s a great first option to try if you are new to propagation. This can significantly reduce your expenses when buying plants.
Make sure you plan how many plants you want beforehand, as it takes longer for the landscape to mature when adding new plants. Keep in mind that each time you divide your plants, they’ll be small again. The landscape won’t look full and complete until the plants have grown to their adult size.
A helpful tip is that you can also grow your bulbs from other bulbs. For example, if you have been growing daffodils from bulbs, after a few years you can dig up that bulb and you’ll see a large mass of bulbs. These can be replanted as separate flowers!
Propagate from seed.
Some flowers that reseed themselves are: black-eyed Susans, cosmos, zinnias, and marigolds. You can find many stunning perennial flowers that will produce seeds for more flowers. A few examples of flowers that reseed themselves are black-eyed Susans, cosmos, zinnias, and marigolds.
I like to plant my seeds in an egg carton. Once they turn into plants, I put them back into my garden.
Propagate from cuttings.
You can create a new plant from a stem cutting of many perennials and even shrubs by using rooting hormone. After snipping a piece of the plant, dip it in the hormone and then place it in a pot filled with soil.
To grow other plants from cuttings, place the cutting in a glass or mason jar filled with water. Once the bottom of the cutting starts to grow roots, transplant it into another jar. This is a great money-saving tip for budget gardeners.
5. USE PALLETS
If the pallet has an HP stamped on it, that means it was treated with heat instead of chemicals and is safe for usage. If you’re short on cash, pallets are a great way to make raised beds on a budget.
6. RECYCLE & REPURPOSE EVERYTHING
You might be surprised by the gardening materials and containers you already have around your house and property.
You can transform old ponds into garden beds, bathtubs into planters, and so much more. My husband once found an old firefighter boot at his fire department that I turned into a flower garden.
You don’t need to spend any money to come up with a dream garden; you just need to be creative with recycling and repurposing.
7. PRACTICE ORGANIC GARDENING
Organic gardening is a type of gardening that focuses on using natural means to grow plants. This includes using natural fertilizers and pest control methods. If your goal is to garden on a budget, then you should practice organic gardening. Organic gardening focuses on using natural means to grow plants, including natural fertilizers and pest control methods.
While it is often assumed that organic products are more expensive than their conventional counterparts, this is not always the case when it comes to organic gardening.
To grow organic food, you should compost, use natural fertilizers, and not till your ground. These methods are considered organic because they don’t involve the use of chemical pesticides.
Chemical pesticides can be expensive, particularly if used regularly. Most organic gardeners prioritize preventive measures first, which entails taking steps to keep pests from ever becoming a problem. If prevention is successful, it shouldn’t be necessary to use any pesticides.
8. MAKE A RAIN BARREL
Gardens require a lot of water, especially during the summer. For most families, around 40% of their summer water usage goes towards watering the garden.
This can be a serious problem for your budget if your water bill increases during this period, as most gardeners will tell you.
A rain barrel is a much better option than using a hose to water your garden beds. Not only will it save you money, but you’ll also have a more sustainable supply of water.
9. USE HOMEMADE FERTILIZERS
Fertilizers help your plants grow better. You don’t need to buy fertilizer from the store, because there are plenty of things around your house that work just as well.
- Coffee grounds add nitrogen, potassium, and magnesium to your garden.
- Teabags have very similar nutrients to coffee grounds. Tomatoes love tea bags!
- Eggshells are a source of calcium. Dry and crush them up, then sprinkle where you plant tomatoes.
- Grass clippings are a free source of nitrogen for your garden!
- Fish scraps can be pureed with water and milk for an excellent fertilizer. You can also use the water from your aquariums to water your plants.
10. ASK FRIENDS FOR CUTTING
Instead of throwing away those extra trimmings, why not ask your friends on social media if they would like them? Many people have plants that need to be trimmed back every year, and would love to have the extra trimmings.
I would be happy to take some cuttings or even root divisions from them! Many times, they end up in the compost pile, so it would be better if you gave them to me.
11. SAY NO TO PROFESSIONAL GARDEN PLANNERS
When you’re gardeing on a budget, you have to plan your garden yourself since you can’t afford to pay someone else to do it.
Before you dismiss this idea, understand that people actually pay for this service. If you can afford it, a garden planner can be helpful in considering factors such as the direction of the sun and the shade cover of your trees, as well as making everything visually appealing.
If you want to create a garden plan, you can find all the information you need online. It might take a few days to gather everything, but it’s definitely doable.
12. DON’T INVEST IN LARGE EQUIPMENT!
There is no need to have large equipment unless you are a full-scale farmer, no matter what friends might tell you.
That includes a tiller.
Using your hands and a set of gardening tools will help you get the workout you need.
13. TRY NO-TILL GARDENING
Tilling your soil is bad for your garden. Despite what old wisdom says, tilling leads to more soil erosion and destroys the long-term fertility of your garden.
To add to that, using a tiller feels like a workout for an entire year.
If you don’t want to buy or rent a tiller, you can try lasagna gardening. This involves putting organic, compostable materials on top of the area where you want to garden. The grass will die and the nutrients will leech into the soil.
14. BUY USED OR FREE GARDENING TOOLS
I told you that you can get gardening tools for free if you have the patience. Many people are happy to either give them to you or sell them cheaply.
I’m the type of person who always loses their gardening tools. Every year, I have to go out and buy new ones, only to find the old ones not too long after.
I’m looking for gardening tools on social media and I’m surprised by the response.
15. ALWAYS START SLOW
It’s cheaper and less time-consuming to start a garden gradually.
You can gradually create your dream garden by starting with a few garden beds and adding one or two more each year. You don’t need to start with a lot of beds because each one needs to be watered and weeded regularly. Each plant also needs to be cared for according to its own needs and requirements.
Start slow – you’ll think yourself (and me) later.
BE CREATIVE!
It’s always a good idea to think out of the box when it comes to gardening Cheap gardening ideas involve being creative. I love to see what other homesteaders and gardeners come up with as a way to expand their garden cheaply. It’s always a good idea to think out of the box when it comes to gardening
