Enjoy a small garden without the high cost with easy DIY ideas and clever project planning.
Get creative and make thoughtful swaps for expensive items.
If your garden has of boggy soil or heavy clay, chooseplants that thrive in wet conditions.
Credit:Lynn Karlin
The plant will gain size quickly, and youll save money.
Or start with seeds for an even more cost-effective option.
Plant the seeds of fast-growing annuals in the spring including sunflowers, morning glory, and nasturtium.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Perennials that fill garden spaces quickly includehardy geraniums, black-eyed susan, and salvia.
Select Multi-Season Plants
Plants that offer color or texture from spring through winter are landscape workhorses.
Some beautiful budget small garden ideas includemagnolia,dogwood,peony, andholly.
Credit:Dean Schoeppner
Plantcrabapple treesfor multi-seasonal foliage and fruit that last from spring into the winter months.
Plant for Privacy
A small space landscape is often situated within whisper distanceliterallyfrom a neighbor.
Instead of investing hundreds of dollars in a fence,plant a living privacy screen.
Credit: Janet Mesic-Mackie
Evergreen shrubs, such asarborvitae,juniper, and several types of holly, will create year-round privacy.
Over time, you’ll save money by filling your landscape beds with perennials instead of annuals.
Perennials in a small-space garden frequently outgrow the space they are allotted.
Credit: Bob Stefko
In early spring, dig anddivide overgrown perennials.
Replant the divisions in other areas of the garden for a no-cost way to fill your garden.
Plant choice is critical here.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
OneDragon Wing begonia, ColorBlazecoleus, or Suncrediblesunflowerwill create a lush display in a 24-inch-wide pot.
Get Creative with Raised Beds
Cedar boards are often the most expensive part of araised bed garden.
Your aim is to create an 18- to 24-inch-tall barrier that will hold soil.
Credit:Peter Krumhardt
There’s lots of opportunity here for frugal creativity.
A raised garden bed that’s 36 inches high reduces bending and helps maintain better posture.
Commit to Compost
Compost is the single best way to improve soil structure and nutrient value.
Credit:Lynn Karlin
You dont need to purchase large quantities of compost for your small space.
Instead,make your own compostusing landscape debris and kitchen scraps.
Pile the compost elements, alternating dry, brown elements with moist, green elements.
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When friends and neighbors are renovating their landscapes, offer to take unwanted hardscape items off their hands.
Go Vertical
Dont forget to look up when researching budget small garden ideas.
The vertical plane can increase your gardening footprint.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Plant a Portable Herb Garden
If in-ground growing space is running short, planteasy-to-grow herbs in pots.
Unlike some edibles that grow best in in-ground planting spots, herbs usually thrive in containers with adequate drainage.
Looking for low-cost containers?
Credit: Bryan E. McCay
Transform 5-gallon buckets with a faux stone paint treatment.
Assemble a Simple Arbor
Framing the entry to your small-space garden with asimple arborinstantly elevates its appeal.
Adhere the woven fence to the posts with zip ties.
Credit: Victoria Pearson
Tackle another area of the garden next year.
Thread the lights over tree branches and along hedges to illuminate the perimeter of your space.
You dont need to install a big, expensive pond to beckon butterflies and songbirds.
Credit: Mary Carolyn Pindar
Abasic birdbathis a great water source.Rinse the vesselevery couple of days to ensure fresh water.
Dig a shallow V-shape trench along the edge of a landscape bed.
The trench will prevent lawn grass from creeping in and form a tidy outline.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Plan to dig the trench annually.
Experiment with Natural Seating
Anatolijs Gizenko / Getty Images
Look to the natural world for garden furniture.
Create an Above-Ground Pond
An in-ground pond requires an investment of time and money.
Credit:Kritsada Panichgul
Achieve similar results in a small-space garden with anabove-ground water feature.
Turn a half-barrel or water trough into a pretty pond.
Add a fountain and enjoy the sound of moving water.
Credit: Lisa Romerein
Keep water features clean by regularly keeping them clear of debris and leaves and scrubbing away algae.
Tuck in Edible Plants
Add tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and othertasty vegetation to landscape beds.
This strategy maximizes space, and low-cost edibles are lovely, too.
Credit:Jay Wilde
They add plenty of color and texture to the landscape at a low cost.
Plant a Tree
Instead of investing in a pergola or shade structure, plant a tree.
Sink a pole into the ground alongside a flopping plant and use the twine to help it stand tall.
Credit:Susan Gilmore
Youll quicklyfree up ground-level spacefor other plants.
Make an Upcycled Garden Pathway
Eric Roth
Even small-space gardens benefit from a defined path.
Use reclaimed or recycled materials likeleftover pavers or cast-off flagstonesto create a path through your garden.
Credit:Anatolijs Gizenko / Getty Images
Use the drip hose with a timer, and watering chores are nearly hands-off.
Plus you’ll avoid wasting water and money by directing water to exactly where it’s needed.
Credit: Kritsada Panichgul
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Credit:Eric Roth
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