With creative thinking, clever use of materials and sourcing of plants, you can add design elements to your garden that won't break the bank. Some items, such as belowground drainage and structural work, are probably best left to expert landscapers, but there are plenty of ideas that you can try out yourself. These design tips are intended to be cost effective, but also good for the environment and great for supporting local wildlife.
Cost-effective garden updates
Three ways to stretch your budget, while helping the environment
Hard landscaping
Hard landscaping is a key feature of any garden design as it forms the bones of the garden and is generally the most expensive element. However, there are still many ways to make it thrifty.
Think about what you're removing - can you re-use old slabs? A crusher can be hired on a day rate and used on unwanted hard materials to lay as sub-base (essential for a stable installation) or even to use as decorative stone chippings. This is cheaper than buying freshly dug aggregates and more sustainable, too.
If buying new paving, particularly if it's very cheap, do check it has been ethically sourced. You can also search online marketplaces or reclamation yards for reclaimed stone. Then think about how you could enhance the materials - concrete slabs can be polished to create a terrazzo-like effect, or you could cut larger pavers and lay in a herringbone pattern for added interest. Also consider leaving gravel channels or planting pockets between slabs this reduces the cost and aids drainage.
Decking is often cheaper than paving, especially around tree roots or on slopes where it is more practical to install. Reclaimed timber is widely available, or you can prolong the lifespan of softwoods by using thicker grades, which will still be a fraction of the cost of tropical hardwoods.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2023 من BBC Gardeners World.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2023 من BBC Gardeners World.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
We love June
We're cruising towards midsummer: this is a month full of love and abundance. Wherever you look there will be something in your garden that lifts the spirits and makes you glad to be alive. We have colour to cheer us, we have leaves that still have the bounce and freshness of small puppies, we have the first berries fattening up, there are birds frantically parenting very demanding broods of chicks, the bees are all over the place, it's prime barbecue and picnic season, and we have lawns as lush and green as billiard tables. What a month to fall in love.
Your wildlife month
The female will usually lay one clutch of up to eight eggs
An edible garden in pots
Join Lucy Bellamy in creating an edible container garden for all seasons, as she harvests what's ripe now and starts later-season crops
Garden craft with kids
Fill the summer holidays with fun nature makes for kids, including botanical printed t-shirts, seed sowing in upcycled food containers and a hanging home for beneficial insects. Jaime Johnson and family show you how
Secrets of a COLOURFUL GARDEN
Using a colour theme is an easy way to give any garden a strong, unified character - Nick Bailey shows you how
Indoor plants, outdoor treats
Break the rules and give your house plants a summer holiday, with Michael Perry's mixed pot display ideas
YOUR PRUNING MONTH
The first few weeks of summer are a good time to get spring-flowering plants in shape. Follow Frances' guide for best results
Gardening for wellbeing
As the pressures of modern living bear down, our outside spaces can provide soothing respite for our minds and bodies, says Arit Anderson
Your greenhouse guide to A fruitful summer
Get the best from your greenhouse fruit and vegetable crops this summer, with these tried and trusted growing tips from Adam Frost
Stars of the show
Agapanthus is the perfect midsummer plant, flowering with spectacular blooms from June onwards and, as Monty explains, it loves to grow in a pot