It is always a great feeling to step outside into your backyard and enjoy a landscape that is filled with healthy plants and a vibrant green lawn but as most of us soon realize, that sort of beauty can take a considerable amount of time and money to achieve.
Unless you have all the time you need and a generous budget for all the fancy plants, fertilizer, soil, and mulch that are needed to achieve this attractive landscape and keep it looking so good, you might need to try to find a few handy shortcuts to beautify your yard.
Here are some tips and ideas to help you enjoy a landscaped view on a budget and without spending your time working the garden rather than enjoying it.
Contents
Fix the lawn and focus on your plants
Brown patches on the lawn can drive homeowners crazy and you can spend a lot of your available time and money just fixing your lawn so that it looks green all the time, and that’s before you even get started on the plants.
It is worth thinking about the option of artificial turf as a way of ensuring you always get a green lawn that looks great all year round without anything like the same level of maintenance involved with real grass.
The downside to the idea is that there is an upfront cost to having artificial turf installed but if you only have a small lawned area and plan to stay in your home for a long while, it can make sense to invest in artificial grass.
You won’t spend hours weeding, fertilizing, and watering the lawn when it’s artificial, so there will be long-term savings there, and you can then focus what time you have available on tending to your plants.
Pick perennials
Some of the simplest solutions are often the best ones and if you want to enjoy a landscape that lasts and will keep your plant spending to a minimum the answer could be to pick perennials over annuals.
Perennials are hardier plants and will survive for years with just a minimal amount of maintenance and care, which is good news compared to annuals which will have to be dug out and replaced every season.
It really is a no brainer to stock your yard with perennials as you get plenty of choice with bushes, shrubs, vines, and trees to enjoy, without worrying about replacing all those worn-out annuals.
Watering taken care of
The key to keeping your garden looking in top shape is regular watering, which is why it makes sense to look at some options for giving your plants and lawn what it needs without having to worry about intervening.
A sensible option would be to look at sprinklers and consider the idea of installing a system that waters your lawn and plants at consistent and accurate levels, as an investment that should save you time and money.
Watering your lawn can get expensive if you are not regulating your consumption and using your water as efficiently as possible.
A drip irrigation system should also save you money and keep your plants healthy. It is perfectly possible to set up a drip irrigation system as a DIY project, giving you an automated watering option that is frugal on water costs and easy on your time spent maintaining the good looks of your landscaped yard.
Hardscape with care
A good way of cutting down on maintenance is to install concrete patio and pavers, plus others forms of hardscaping that add interest to your landscape and cut down on maintenance.
What you want to do is get the balance right and work out a way where you avoid getting a yard that seems to comprise mainly of gravel and cement, which is not very attractive or pleasing to the eye.
Another issue with too much hardscaping is you increase the prospect of water runoff and you can also increase the level of heat in the garden which can make it uncomfortable.
Take some time to work out where patio areas and decking would be useful as well as aesthetically pleasing and look at hardscaping as part of your landscaping solution rather than the only way to cut down on maintenance.
If you are a busy homeowner there is still no reason why can’t enjoy an attractive garden, with a bit of planning and savvy planting.
Disclosure: This is a featured article from Sofia Carter. Sofia Carter works as a gardener and loves every second of being outdoors digging, pruning and making a garden come alive again. She shares some tips with homeowners to spruce up their gardens and yards.
No Comments