You don’t have to spend all your green for better curb appeal. Beautiful landscapes may look expensive, but an eye-popping yard can be budget-friendly, too.
Recycle an old watering can, lay down free mulch, hang some string lights and you can create a charming, cozy yard at little to no cost. If you’re crafty and good with tools, you’ll whiz through cheap DIY projects.
These 20 cheap landscaping ideas will inspire you. So, don’t raid your savings account, but do grab your sun hat, slip on those garden boots, and get started improving your yard’s look and feel.
16 Cheap Landscaping Ideas
1. Add a walkway
Stepping stones or pavers make excellent budget-friendly walkways. They draw the eyes to areas of the yard you wish to show off, and they invite your visitors to do a little exploring. Pathways also help keep people from walking on the grass and provide a sense of direction from one part of the yard to another.
Spruce your stones up with soft moss or plants, and you’ll have yourself an affordable, elegant walkway.
Cost: Pavers and stepping stones typically range from $1 to $15 each, and they can be bought at your local home improvement store.
2. Save with perennials
Plant perennials, which return with color every growing season. This saves you money and gardening time because you won’t be buying and planting new annuals every year.
Examples of perennials include tulips, asters, hostas, daylilies, hydrangeas, lavender and coneflowers.
While perennials may have a higher initial cost than annuals, perennials will save you more green in the long run.
Cost: $10 to $30 (or more) for a perennial plant.
3. Spread some mulch
Mulch is just what you need to make your flower beds pop. It adds a textured ground cover to your flower beds and helps keep out those pesky weeds that keep stealing the show.
Mulch also helps lock in moisture, and organic mulches can add nutrients back into the soil to enhance plant health. This budget-friendly landscaping project will not only help your plants grow but also make your flowers a stunning attraction.
Cost: Free mulch — wood chips, grass clippings, leaves, compost, pine needles, and straw — can be found in your neighborhood. Or you could buy your mulch. Mulch for an average-sized garden (500 square feet) will cost around $175 with most homeowners spending between $100 and $300. But for a cheap landscaping idea you can’t beat free.
4. Plant flowers around your mailbox
When you’re giving directions to your home, wouldn’t it feel good to say, “Mine is the one with the pretty mailbox.” No one will be able to miss your driveway when you surround your mailbox with a flower bed or a small trellis with self-climbers like hydrangeas or roses.
Cost: One perennial plant from a nursery typically will cost between $10 and $30.
5. Plant a tree sapling
If you like saving your green, plant a small sapling and you may see your tree increase your home’s value when it comes time to sell.
Saplings, strategically placed, can grow into giant trees that can help reduce home energy costs. Deciduous trees may provide enough shade over your home to reduce air conditioning costs, while evergreens may lower heat costs by blocking cold winter winds.
Cost: 50 cents to $1.50 per sapling. Planting a small or medium tree may cost between $100 and $200, while a large tree may run you into the thousands.
6. Raise your garden bed
A raised garden keeps nuisance weeds at bay, prevents soil compaction, provides excellent drainage, and protects your plants from pests. Raised flower or vegetable beds also add an aesthetically pleasing value to your garden.
A raised garden bed can be made with many materials, including wood, cinder block, or brick.
Cost: Check out how you can make a simple DIY raised garden bed with just $35.
7. Repurpose items as planters
Repurpose that old barrel, tub, piano, or wheelbarrow into an eye-catching focal point full of plants. You’ll get in A+ in recycling and likely have a one-of-a-kind creation in your front yard.
Don’t repurpose an old toilet into a planter, though. That’s not going to get the kind of attention you want from friends, family and neighbors.
Cost: Since you’ll be building a flower bed inside of an item you already have, you’ll only need to buy flowers, which may run you $10 to $30 per plant.
8. Landscape with lighting
Outdoor string lights can transform your entire yard into an enchanted space after the sun goes down.
Never had dinner outside because it was always too dark? Well, hang luminescent string lights around your backyard dining area, and you’ll have both a gorgeous evening landscape and a delicious meal.
Cost: Outdoor string lights may cost you between $15 and $50. Or head to a dollar store, outlet store like Big Lots or Ollie’s, or even the seasonal aisle of your grocery store for cheaper prices on outdoor string lights.
9. Hang some window boxes
Are your front windows looking a little tired? Install window boxes to add instant charm and color to your front lawn while also covering up any wear and tear. Window boxes are simple, beautiful, and can be a great DIY landscaping project.
Window boxes also give you an exceptional view of your favorite flower right from inside.
Cost: A window box is the perfect DIY project if you’ve got wood lumber, screws, and brackets lying around in the garage. Otherwise, an 8-foot piece of wood lumber may cost you between $5 and $20. Keep in mind that plants typically cost between $10 and $30 each.
If you’d prefer to buy a window box instead of build one, window boxes cost between $15 and $100 depending on the style and quality.
10. Use edging to add some order
If you want to landscape with a budget, sometimes the best money-saving technique is to enhance what you already have.
Is your favorite tree looking a little forgotten, or is the mulch in your flower beds getting all over the lawn? Consider giving your trees, shrubs, and flower beds a makeover with some edging. Edging helps to keep your mulch in place, prevent erosion, and make your landscape stand out.
Edging materials include stone, concrete, brick, wood, metal, logs, and recyclable items.
Cost: Landscape curbing installation, or edging, can cost between $70 and $1,700. But to keep that piggy bank on the shelf, spare stones on your lawn or extra wood from the tool shed can make excellent materials for your flower bed’s edging.
11. LAY A DIY PATH
Quick and easy garden path ideas don’t have to be expensive or arduous. From bark nuggets and slate chippings to gravel or pea shingle, there are a number of easy-lay options that are also practical underfoot and good-looking, too.
You could simply lay them straight on the ground or onto a hard surface (think concrete hardstanding or an existing ugly paved area) and rake them level. But in most cases, it makes sense to put down landscape membrane first and then the aggregate on top. This will both stop the aggregate from being pushed down into the soil and prevent weeds from growing up within the path.
One thrifty but attractive idea is to make a woodland-style log path. Made from cross-sections of sawn logs, it’s natural paving at its best. Place the circular sections onto a firmed and leveled pathway and arrange them as stepping-stones. Fill any awkward gaps with smaller discs from younger branches and fine bark chippings.
12. GET EXISTING SHRUBS IN ORDER
Bring fresh form and structure into your garden by reshaping large, unruly shrubs. It’s quick and easy to do, and as long as you already have a pair of the best loppers or a hedge trimmer, it won’t cost you. Plus, not only is it an opportunity to get creative – perhaps with some topiary – but it can also let more daylight filter in, encouraging other plants to grow.
‘The best species for shrub topiaries are evergreens with small, dense foliage, such as the boxwood, yew shrubs, and thuja conifers,’ explains James Ramnought of Phostrogen(opens in new tab).
Other reliable plants include shrubby honeysuckle or Hebe sutherlandii, as recommended by Guy Watts, founder of Architectural Plants(opens in new tab). ‘These both have a neat, compact, little leaf, which will give you crisp and defined lines when you clip them as a pillow or ball. They’re also very dense plants, which provide additional definition if you want to define a specific space,’ he adds. ‘Very versatile, they also look fantastic clipped and planted in formal border patterns, rather like a parterre design.’ There are lots more ideas for landscaping with shrubs in our dedicated feature.
13. UP THE SENSORY APPEAL WITH A BUDGET-FRIENDLY WATER FEATURE
Adding a homemade water feature to your plot is an instant way to bring a whole new dimension to your outside space, and doesn’t have to be expensive. Sun or moonlight reflecting off the still water will always be a mesmerizing sight.
Choose a shallow yet wide and open container. Yes, there are some gorgeous metal reflection bowls available, but a vintage enamel basin, plastic plant saucer, or even an upturned dustbin lid will do the job. Place on level ground or raise up on a simple brick or timber plinth, away from trees or shrubs. Fill to the brim, ideally with rainwater, and enjoy the reflection of scudding clouds overhead and visits from thirsty birds and wildlife.
14. UPCYCLE OBJECTS FOR NEW GARDEN FEATURES
Head down to your local reclamation yard and you might be surprised at all the inexpensive treasure you find that has upcycling potential. This setup demonstrates lots of great ideas at play.
Corrugated metal sheets can be used for screening – embrace the raw industrial look or give them a makeover with a lick of exterior metal paint. And if you’re keen on adding more sustainable garden features to your plot, a reclaimed barrel or two makes a statement water butt for recycling rainwater. We also like the DIY bench in this scene for a simple seating solution or platform for plants.
Keep an eye out for large containers that can be used for garden planters, too. In smaller plots these can be an important part of your layout as they can be positioned as garden dividers.
15. USE GARDEN SLEEPERS FOR RAISED BEDS, BENCHES, AND MORE
‘Timber sleepers provide a cost-effective way to create large, impressive raised beds, or clear cut edging to separate grass or patios from borders,’ says the team at Jacksons Fencing(opens in new tab). ‘Use them to clearly define areas of your garden, create walkways, or fill them with an array of home-grown fruits and vegetables or your favorite florals, to help tie the rest of your garden together.’ You could even use them to create a bench and raised bed in one, as demonstrated here.
If you really want to cut on costs, look for reclaimed ones, however be aware that some may have been treated with Creosote, which is now seen as a toxic health hazard. Jacksons Fencing advises to always opt for high-quality products though, that have been kiln-dried and pressure treated. They may be more expensive, but see it as an investment – not only will they reduce safety risks but they will last the test of time.
16. OR, GO FOR STYLISH BAMBOO SCREENING
If your boundaries are beyond repair, another cheap fence idea is to use rolls of bamboo screening. As the team at Thompson & Morgan(opens in new tab) say, they’re a ‘quick and easy way to cover unsightly areas or create a stylish backdrop for plants,’ and if you use them for your landscaping for the front of your house there’s ‘instant kerb appeal guaranteed.’
If you would like a more botanical feel, the team suggest planting black bamboo for a tropical-like screen with a contemporary edge. ‘Quick and easy to grow, this non-invasive variety delivers real impact, making it a garden designer favorite.’
