7 Affordable Landscaping Tips

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and rested up for the week ahead! I spend a lot of my weekend in the yard trying to clean up and make things pretty! It’s that time of year to start putting your green thumb to good use and getting that yard looking lovely. Now I am no landscaping pro, but I do know that adding beautiful landscaping and cleaning things up every year is a great way to add curb appeal and make your home stand out…and it just feels good to come home with everything nice and pretty!

Landscaping can be a pricey, but you can landscape on a budget and still make a huge impact. So continuing on with our small home projects that make a huge impact series I wanted to share some affordable landscaping tips that you can do yourself that won’t break the bank.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. For more information, see my full disclosures here.

Tips:

Tip 1: Brighten Things Up

Planting colorful flowers and plants with big bright blooms will draw attention to your home. And who am I kidding they are just beautiful to look at everyday! Look for plants with blooms that colors match your brick or siding and won’t clash with the outside of your home.

Some of my favorites are ones that will grow around your mailbox or grow up the columns on your house like mandevilla or clematis plants. These both come in beautiful bold colors and really stand against your home! Most of these come already attached to a small trellis that help it start to creep up whatever you set it against.

Another one of my go-to ideas is to mix and match different flowers in your planters. I will typically add a green leafy plant and mix it with a couple of different plants with colorful blooms. The contrast is so pretty!

Tip 2: Freshen Up Your Flower Beds

This is probably my least favorite thing about gardening. Seriously, I would love to meet the person that loves to weed their flower beds?! At the beginning of spring I like to give my flower beds a good weeding before laying down new mulch, pine straw, or rocks. If you live around a lot of trees like I do you will also find yourself knee deep in leaves that will need to be cleared out. The quickest and easiest way to clear out all of these leaves is to use a leaf blower. This little step will save you so much time and headache.

After all of your weeding and leaf clearing, it’s always nice to law down a new layer of mulch, pine straw, or rock. During the year mulch and pine straw lose it’s color but you may not have to replace your rocks depending on what type you have. I use both mulch and pine straw. I find I prefer mulch in the front yard and pine straw in the back. I have a big area to cover and the cost of mulching everything can get a little out of control and I honestly love the look that pine straw gives against the trees and it’s a more cost effective option.

Tip 3: Use an Edger/Trimmer

I only started doing this about a year ago and used to always wonder how everyone would get that perfect lined lawn! Edging your lawn gives it that clean crisp look. The only place I currently use my edger is the at front of the house where the road or sidewalk meet the lawn. I really like this one here, and find it easy to use. If you’re needing a good tutorial on how to edge/trim your lawn, check this one out.

Tip 4: Trim Bushes & Scrubs

Another job I like to tackle in the early spring is to prune (or trim) and shape up my plants and scrubs. Pruning your plants helps to prepare them for new growth and cut off all the nasty dead pieces. Certain plants and even small trees need to be cut back every year and by a certain time. If you’re looking for a good list of what/when you should prune certain plants, check out this post by Better Homes and Gardens for a guide. It’s also nice to have a good pair of pruning shears on hand to tackle this project.

Tip 5: Hang Planters

Last year I purchased a couple of these hanging planters to screw into a couple of fence posts in my backyard. I loved walking out on my patio and seeing them every morning. Since they are eye level, it adds a really nice contrast to your landscaping! There are so many options out there and I will surf Pinterest for some fun ideas on different ways to incorporate hanging planters. Check out some of these ideas I found:

Check out these hanging planters from Home Depot Blog….beautiful!

I am loving this DIY hanging planter by Shanty 2 Chic….such a cute idea!

You can really use just about anything as a hanging planter. I have seen some great posts of people using old boots, tire swings, and even an old vintage colander. Check out Pinterest for some inspiration!

Tip 6: Add a Trellis

I absolutely love a pretty trellis! I have three around my house and I love how a clematis or mandevilla will creep up it all spring/summer long. Here are a few to check out if your looking for some good affordable options. This one and this one are some of my favorites. I prefer to plant clematis on my trellis since it returns every year unlike the mandevillas. They do look dead during the winter, but as soon as spring hits, the green starts coming out!

Tip 7: Incorporate Natural Elements

Incorporating stone and wood features into my landscaping is something I want to do more off. I love the look it brings to a beautifully landscaped lawn. Again another really great place to check out ideas for ways to use stone and wood in your landscaping is Pinterest. People are just so talented!

One the my favorite features in my lawn is a small retaining wall with ivy flowing over it. I love how the stone blends so well with the ivy and highlights that one area of the yard…which I am thinking is a perfect place for a hammock (wink, wink)!

Hopefully this post gives you some ideas of ways you can go out this weekend and make a huge impact in your landscaping and not have to empty out your wallet! This small home project series has me out tackling some things I have been putting off so I am really enjoying it and it’s holding me accountable…I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am!

What’s your favorite way to update your lawn?

Don’t miss any of the posts in this series, you can catch up here:

The Beginner’s Guide to Painting (Week 1)

How to Stain a Door the Easy Way (Week 2)

Updating Door Hardware (Week 3)

Beautiful Area Rugs (Week 4)

7 Affordable Landscaping Tips (Week 5) – You’re Here!

Install DIY Shiplap: The Easy Way (Week 6)

How to Choose the Perfect Curtains (Week 7)

4 Steps to a Clutter Free Space (Week 8)

This post contained affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.