Backyard Landscaping On A Budget

Do you want to give your backyard a face lift but don’t have a lot of money to spend? You don’t have to hire a professional to create a beautiful landscape. You will have to be willing to spend some time and energy to create a haven that you love and will want to have guests come over to entertain.

One of the most expensive ideas for landscaping is hardscaping such as edging, retaining walls and walkways. Check your local landscaping or nursery supplier, or Big box store for stone leftovers that they might sell at a discount. If you insist on having a walkway, space the stones further apart and let grass grow between to cut down on amount of materials needed.

The sedum sarmentosum is a fast growing plant that would be good to use on the walkway and in June it grows tiny  little yellow flowers. Another idea would be to cast your own stepping stones and add a touch of personality to your landscape to cut your costs down.

Display a collection of plants in small pots like beautiful succulents and colorful cactus on a low laying shelf to create an elegant display that won’t break the bank but will add a beautiful pop of color to your backyard. Buy long lasting perinnials and divide them to make your stock go further or even better yet, start from seeds that can be found at a local dollar store.

To add a touch of beauty to the landscape, drill holes in your fence and place colored marbles in the holes. At the end of the summer, look at nursery suppliers and hardware stores for great bargains on a small fountain that you can place on your back patio for a calming and soothing atmosphere.

To create a low cost seating area, buy concrete blocks, dry stack them and then cover with a foam pad. Put this outside the back door to offer lots of seating in a high traffic area.  Repainting cast off vintage furniture that can be found in many resale shops or garage sales is a great idea on furniture for your backyard. Also take regular metal folding chairs and spray paint them bright colors to add more seating while entertaining.

Lighting can be an expensive addition to your backyard, but it doesn’t have to be. Take an old chandelier and replace the light bulbs with solar lights and hang from a tree. The biggest benefit is you have a gorgeous light centerpiece and you won’t even have to use any electricity. It will have your guests in awe.

You can get strings of lights for a fairly low cost. Wrap them around trees and hang from the eaves of the deck as well. Paint your larger planters with glow-in-the-dark paint to offer beautiful night light ambiance. Use rope lights to line your garden walkway.

Anyone can do some updating to their backyard landscape even on a small budget. It might take a little time and some work but you can turn your drab backyard into a place where you want to hang out and entertain friends and family for years to come.

Todd Stetka is a Backyard Landscaping Expert and Blogger for Dream Retreats