Estimated Monthly Savings: $200
Keeping up the appearance of your yard and gardens can be an expensive endeavor. When the sunny weather of spring and summer presents itself, weeds start climbing to victory, flowers and plants start begging for more water, and the edging and trim that finishes off the look of your yard eventually starts to show wear and tear. Giving your landscape a facelift can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars every year if you go the conventional route, but there are several things you can do to make your yard the envy of your neighbors while hardly spending a dime.
Boiling Your Weeds Away
Weeds are stubborn and can take over your yard quickly if left uncontrolled. A good weed killing solution can cost up to $30 a jug and is not guaranteed to be a long-term solution to the problem. Instead of spending money on weed control chemicals, boil up some water and kill weeds off naturally. Simply pour the boiling water on the weed, and down by the roots, and watch it wilt and die off immediately. It is recommended that you use this weed killing method in your gardens before adding plants and flowers you do want to keep as boiling water will kill any plant in its path.
Water Collection Systems
If you are fortunate enough to live in a region that sees a lot of rain during spring and summer, take advantage of this free water source and use it to water your gardens. You can save a lot of money on your water bill and make sure ydour plants get the proper hydration they need to grow. Collect jars, buckets, and other containers and place them around the outside of your house to collect the rainwater.
Upcycled Flower Pots
You can spend as much as $40 per pot when purchasing flower pots at a home or garden center. Before spending this kind of money, consider upcycling containers you already have around the house. Kitchen colanders, tin buckets, jars, and even old ceramics can be given a beautiful new life with a little paint and will look adorable when filled with flowers and placed on your patio or deck.
Natural Yard Trimmings
Yard trimmings add a clean look to your yard but do not have to cost you a fortune, instead of spending hundreds of dollars on rock edges, bricks, plastic edging, or wood slats to outline your gardens and walkways, look for low cost or free trimming solutions. You can go to a rock quarry or river bed to find beautiful stones and rocks or hike into the woods to get wood that can be chopped up into decorative pieces to line your gardens with. With a little creativity, you can make your yard look clean and symmetrical and save a lot of money in the process.
With these simple tips, you can have the yard of your dreams without spending a lot of money each month to achieve it. Be creative and look for all of the free and low-cost resources around you.
