Home Improvement: Improving the Landscape on a Small Budget
If you have become quite tired of how the landscaping in your yard appears, but simply do not have the money to make any major renovations, there are other alternatives. You can easily spruce up the exterior landscaping of the home, at virtually no cost, with a few simple ideas.
Planting Perennial Plants
Plants are the key component to any landscaping design. However, many times homeowners will plant flowers that only have an annual lifespan, and will not replenish in the new season. Instead, the homeowner should consider planting perennial plants in the front and backyards. They will return each spring, on their own, and produce flowers every year. Ask a friend for cuttings or samples of their perennial plants from their yard, and transplant them into yours.
Using Annual Seeds
A quick stroll through the home improvement center is all one needs to understand exactly how expensive annual plants can be. While they produce profuse amounts of blooms, they only last through one season and then will quickly die off. Typically, planting an annual plant is a good waste of money, because it will only enhance the beauty of the landscaping for a few months. Instead, consider using annual seeds either purchased or obtained naturally.
You can clip the pods of the blooming flower and place them in a brown paper bag. After a few days, they will dry sufficiently enough that you can shake the bag causing the seeds to naturally separate from the pod. With a bit of water and soil, they will bloom on their own during the first days of spring.
Obtain Free Plants
Many times throughout the year, the local home improvement center and plant nursery will clean out their garden stock. They will eliminate, throw away, or just simply discard the scraggly, ragged looking plants that look as though they need lots of tender loving care. Typically, the plant nursery or home improvement center will simply give the plants away to you, instead of simply discarding them in the trash. With a little simple tender loving care, it is easy to bring these haggard looking plants back to full life, with the right fertilizer, and enough water and premium soil.
Generate Free Mulch
Many communities across the nation encourage their community to stay “green” in an effort to promote a healthier planet. They will offer a recycling program that takes in Christmas trees after the season has ended. They also accumulate landscape cuttings and tree limbs, and run them all through the city wood chipper to create mulch. They often hand out the mulch for free to any resident in the community.
There are easy ways to improve the landscaping of both the front and backyard, with a minimal budget. It often requires thinking outside the box, when planting perennial plants, using annual seeds, and obtaining free plants and mulch. With a little forethought, you can beautify the look of the landscape of your home, with little or no money at all.
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