Small Garden Design Ideas on A Budget

You don’t have to allow a small budget or lack of ideas make your garden less appealing. With a few easy garden design ideas, you can transform it into a beautiful space, even when you’re on a budget.

gardeninginfo-online.com gathered the following ideas to help you design and plant your garden without spending a fortune on it.

Simple Garden Ideas

Before doing anything, set a limit on how much you are willing to spend and consider how you would like your garden to look.

The following are ideas that can save you money, and restore a sense of pride in your gardening capabilities:

Make Your Own Compost – This idea is more time consuming but offers a great payoff. Use your garden waste, kitchen scraps, animal droppings, and fallen leaves for a rich compost.

Your compost should be allowed to decompose until nothing is recognizable in the mixture.

Soil Enrichment and pH – The majority of plants, shrubs, and small trees respond best to well-drained soil, rich in nutrients, and mixed with organic material like a well-developed compost.

Test your soil to discover its pH (you can find inexpensive testers at local garden centers). A ph level below 7 is considered acid, and levels above 7 are alkaline.

Once you determine the different species of plants you intend on using in your garden, find a pH range that accommodates all of them and adjust the soil pH accordingly:

• Raise acidic soil pH levels by adding limestone or wood ash.
• Lower alkaline soil pH levels by adding sulfur, aluminum sulfate, iron sulfate, organic mulch, or compost.

Some commercial fertilizers can be used to adjust your garden’s pH and can be found for reasonable prices.

Use Recycled Material – Thrift stores, garage sales, and online sites like Craigslist sometimes have used gardening equipment and paraphernalia at reduced prices or even free. Some of the items to watch for are:

• Used Bricks
• Rocks
• Small Statues
• Fountains
• Spades
• Shovels

You can collect stones from a field or the beach to use in the edging or as decor of your garden.

Pallets and Boxes – Pallets can be cut and used upright, sideways, or buried flat as a way to guide the growth of your plants, and especially your climbing vines.

Old wooden boxes make a great “garden in a garden.” By planting succulents or other small plants in them and partially burying the box(es) around the garden, you create a multi-level garden with little effort.

Old Iron – A section of an old cast-iron fence or gate works well as a trellis for jasmine vines. Old iron tubs can be used to showcase tulips, roses, daffodils, and other flowering plants.

Purchase Smaller Plants – Save money by shopping for younger plants. A 4-inch pot instead of a 1 gallon pot will cost much less. If you have the patience to give your garden time to grow, this is a definite way to save money.

Remember to plan for plant growth. Knowing how large your plant is expected to be at maturity is vital to know, and dictates how far they should be spaced apart when planted.

Use Potted Plants – For the more sensitive plants, or to create a container garden, use pots. You can find inexpensive ceramic, terra-cotta, plastic pots, or any type of pot at yard sales, thrift stores, etc.

If you keep your temperature-sensitive plants in pots, they can be moved indoors when temperatures no longer support their healthy growth. This also saves you from the expense of replacing them next season.

Plant Vegetables – By planting vegetables in your garden, you get to reduce your food expenses every time you harvest. Some inexpensive and easy to grow crops include:

• Tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Radishes
• Leeks
• Onions
• Green Onions
• Garlic
• Cucumbers
• Peppers

Recycle Containers – Instead of buying a watering can, use an empty gallon container with a screw-top lid and a handle for better handling. Drill 5 or 6 small holes in the lid, fill the container with water, screw the lid back on, and turn it upside-down to water your plants. Change the number and size of the holes to regulate the flow of water.

A gallon jug with a handle cut in half below the handle makes an excellent scooper for compost, manure, and soil.

Old transparent storage bins make excellent greenhouses. Drill a few breathing holes in the bottom of the bin, turn it upside-down, and place it over the plants you want to protect from the cold.

Garden Design Ideas

In this article, you discovered ways to creatively design and plant your garden without spending a fortune on plants, accessories, or equipment.

By thinking creatively, you can find gardening solutions to create something beautiful and practical for your small garden space.

Without taking action, your garden will continue to disappoint you with little growth and even less appeal.

Sources:
extension.oregonstate.edu/news/gear-new-year-10-ways-garden-budget
unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/03/creative-money-saving-ideas-home-gardeners
blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/polkco/2018/07/21/gardening-hacks-to-make-outdoor-chores-a-little-easier/
hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/1994/4-6-1994/ph.html