How to Landscape on the Cheap

You've just bought a new house and you're very excited. Finally a place to call your own. Now that you've got the house, you want to work on your landscaping--however, you're on a tight budget. Don't let that hold you back. Read this eHow to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Develop a game plan. Decide first what you want to do with your land. Do research on plants that grow well in your temperature zone. You can find your zone at the USDA Plant Hardiness Temperature Zone Map.
2. Examine the plants that are already existing. Determine their health (should be pretty easy to do) and figure out how to preserve them if they are in good health. If there are trees and shrubs, prune any dead branches. The USDA "How to Prune Trees" site can help.
3. Check out your soil. Your soil is one of the most important aspects of any landscaping. Send in some soil samples from your gardens and land to your local Cooperative Extension Office. Find the nearest Office by going to the Cooperative Extension website and clicking on the map for more information.
4. Wait for the results of your soil sample. The Office analyzes your soil and recommends what you can do to improve it. Since the Cooperative Extension Office promotes low-impact gardening and other sustainable techniques, their recommendations can be simple but effective.
5. Create a budget and a schedule. You don't have to do all of the landscaping at once. You could start by planning one garden and moving onto another the next year. This way you can save yourself some money rather than by doing everything at once.
6. Look for freebies. Often these are offered by the community in which you live. Through the city, you may be able to receive compost, trees and other plantings. Check with city hall to learn if this is so for your community.
7. Join or establish a seed exchange. Find these trading groups through greenhouses or online.
8. Buy plants, trees and shrubs when they're on sale. Toward the end of the growing season, landscaping suppliers are eager to get rid of their stock, and it goes a long way to keeping you within your landscaping budget. This works out well because the fall is the best time of year to plant shrubs and trees.
9. Explore other avenues of acquiring plants. Organizations like arboretums, garden clubs and plant societies often hold sales where you can get great deals on plants. Join the Arbor Day Foundation where, for their longstanding $10.00 offer, you receive 10 trees.
10. Add the cost of maintenance to your budget. If you do your own maintenance, you save a lot of money. If you have a very big lawn, you will have to either mow it yourself of hire someone to do it for you.
11. Hire a professional if you have a lot of questions or would like some advice on planning your landscaping. This could save you money in the long run if you start out with a solid game plan.

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