My Front Garden Walkway

Frugal Gardening Tips

I posted this last year but thought it would be great to repost it since we are just starting to prepare our gardens.

Planting a flower garden does not have to cost you an arm and a leg.  Nor does it have to take up your entire weekend.  There are some simple things you can do that are quick, easy and free.  And as I always say, if it’s for free, it’s for me!

1. Clean out the gardens

Get your hands dirty.  Clean out those garden beds.  Remove all the dead plants and leaves.  All that should be in the garden are your beautiful plants.  And you don’t have to replace your mulch every year.  Turn it, fluff it and make it look fresh.

2. Separate existing plants

Go through your garden and look for plants that can be separated.  Separating them and using them in different locations in the garden has a double benefit.  The first is that it keeps your existing plants from getting too big and second, it enables you to expand your garden for free.  And we like free!

3. Don’t plant too close

Sometimes when the plants are small, we tend to plant too close together especially in the spring when everything has yet to get to full size.  I am known for doing this way too often.  Resist the temptation.  Keep your plants far apart other wise you will have a crowded mess when they get bigger and wind up moving them all around.  Hmm, that sounds familiar.  Honey, can you move this plant over here and this plant over there.

4. Keep deer out naturally and inexpensively

A great way to keep deer out of your garden is to use hair.  Yes hair.  Deer do not like the smell of humans so unless you want to lay across your garden bed 24/7 you can use the next best thing.  Human hair.  So, the next time you get your hair cut, bring a bag along and ask for the hair clippings.  Spread them along the edge of your garden bed.

5. Get rid of weeds naturally and inexpensively

Use undiluted vinegar to spray on weeds and even grass in sidewalk cracks or bricks.  Keep the vinegar in a  sprayer and shoot those weeds when you see them.

6. Make your own fertilizer

Epsom salt is a great alternative to fertilizer.  It’s made up of magnesium and sulfate which plants love, especially houseplants, roses, tomatoes & peppers.  And, not only is it frugal, but it’s also better for the environment.  Combine 1 tablespoon Epsom Salt with 1 gallon of water in a watering can.  Water your plants with this solution once a month.

7. And the last and to me the most important.  Edge your garden beds!

I’m actually amazed at how many people don’t do this simple task.  Which, in my opinion, finishes off the whole garden.  At the beginning of the spring, when you have cleared out all the dead plants and leaves and turned your soil and/or mulch, edge the garden beds.  Simply take a lawn edger and go along the entire length of the garden where it meets the grass.  It makes for such a beautiful defined garden.  I do it about 3 more times during the summer and fall.  Plus you can edge it with the garden trimmer as well each time you mow & trim your lawn.  Turn the garden trimmer on it’s side and move it along the edge of the garden bed.  You can also do the same thing where the grass meets up with sidewalks or driveways for a professional look.

What do you do to make your garden beautiful?  Share your frugal gardening tips!

{ 16 comments }

You know nothing makes me happier then flowers in my garden.  And nothing makes me happier then BOGO free flowers.  So I was happy to see this coupon in my email today from Home Depot.

Make sure to check your email or your spam folder if you signed up for the Home Depot Garden Club Newsletter.  If you didn’t sign up then you might want to so you don’t miss out on any of these coupons in the future.

And, I don’t know about you but my garden has been looking pretty sad this summer with the lack of rain and heat here in NJ.  I’m afraid to find out what does not come back next year.

{ 0 comments }

Make sure you check your email for your Home Depot Garden Club Newsletter .  I just received a BOGO coupon for an Spectracide Wasp & Hornet Aerosol and $5 off Bayer Advanced 12 Month Tree and Shrub Protect & Feed Granules.

If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter you can head over here to do so.  Make sure to pick “Join The Garden Club” on the left so you can get future mailings with coupons.

{ 0 comments }

And so the house tour continues.  I hadn’t posted for a week and was getting all kinds of emails asking what happened.  Well, here you are, room #3 on the tour is the Dining Room.

The history behind this room is that it used to be a 4 season porch.  The windows were those louvered windows that we replaced with regular windows.  There are french doors that lead into the room so we can close it off when it’s not being used.  However that does not happen too often these days because you see that middle chair across from the table.  That is where I am sitting right now.  And see how neat and clean the table is?  It does not look like that now.  It’s filled with circulars, coupons, free samples and everything else that makes this site run including my coffee cup from this morning (note to self, bring the coffee cup to the kitchen when I get up).  Some things about the room:

Furniture: The tables, wood chairs & hutch (not in the picture) were all purchased from the same store as my Family Room furniture.  They were going out of business.  These were floor models that I got a great deal.  It took 20 years of marriage to save up for these and it was well worth it.  The fabric covered Parsons chairs that are in between the wood chairs were from my old table.  A table that I had bought used from a friend.  The chairs were actually old, beat up chairs I got for a great price at Home Depot Expo.  I think I paid $25 a chair.  Then I got fabric from a discount fabric mill and made slipcovers for them.

Lighting:  This was found in the back discount room of a local high end lighting shop.  One of the arms was scratched up but I easily touched that up.  Also, when it was hanging there (shoved in a corner) there were no shades on it.  So, I thought I would have to get them eventually.  However when they went to put it in the box, there the shades were there.  Nice surprise.  I think I paid $75 for this light fixture and it had an original price of over $300.

Drapery: Most of the fabric in my house was purchased through a discount fabric mill.  And this was no exception.  This style was not what I wanted to do in here but I was limited with the amount of fabric I was able to get.  So, I made do and I am happy with it.  I wound up spending about $200 for fabric and I made the treatments myself.  For 8 windows at $200 total, I think that’s a pretty good deal.

Accessories:  As all of the accessories are in my house, they were purchased at either Marshalls or garage sales.

And that is the end of the Dining Room tour.  You can visit the Kitchen here and the Family Room here.

{ 2 comments }

Yesterday I started the first room of the LRWC House tour.  You got to see the Kitchen.  Today I’d like to invite you into the Family Room.  And, like most family rooms, this room gets a lot of use.  It’s where we hang out, watch tv, eat pizza, have family parties, take naps, work on my blog and just about everything.  So, those pillows that are so neatly sitting on the couch in this picture are usually on the floor or piled up to make a comfy back pillow.  But when no one is in it, which doesn’t happen too often,  it looks like this.  Here is a little background on our budget room redo:

Furniture:  The couches, lounger, coffee table & side table were all purchased as floor models from a store that was going out of business.  As a matter of fact, I had to go to 3 different stores (it was a chain) to find both tables.  Now, a little story on this.  We had been married for 20 years with the same couch & loveseat so I was in desperate need of new furniture.  I had been saving for a leather couch and loveseat set for quite a while.  But then this store was going out of business and I was able to get a couch, loveseat, lounger, 2 tables, dining room table & breakfront for slightly more then I had saved for the leather couch and loveseat.  So, here again, I wound up with something different then what I had set out for but altered my plans due to a great deal.  And, I’m thrilled with it.  Except maybe the lounger.  I love the lounger but there must be something wrong with it.  You see when my husband sits in it he instantly falls asleep.  So I’m thinking there must be a problem with the chair.  Anyone else have this problem

The chair on the left was a damaged piece at Marshalls.  I was able to get 20% off because the wood was damaged but I touched it up and for $150 I have a sweet chair.  There are 3 other tables that were all picked up at garage sales for next to nothing.

Drapery: All the fabric was purchased at a discount mill.  I don’t remember the exact dollar amount but it was probably around $200 in fabric & trim.  And, a small tidbit you probably don’t know about me, I used to work at a drapery workroom.  So, I’m quite handy with the sewing machine.

Lighting & Accessories: The fan was a gift that we purchased with a gift card at Home Depot.  The rest of the lights and accessories where either purchased at Marshalls or at garage sales.

Trim: My husband and I with the help of my brother but up all the trim.  Another back breaking adventure I might add.  Not wanting to do that again any time soon.

And that is the end of our Family Room tour.  I saved for about 5 years for all of this so when you save that long, you really appreciate it that much more.

I hope you enjoyed the second room on the tour.  Tomorrow we’ll visit the dining room.

Have you been saving for a special house project?

{ 7 comments }

Well I thought it would be fun to do a LRWC house tour.  A tour of my house!  Showing you my frugal decorating finds.

You all know that I love to garden but I also love to decorate and I L-O-V-E to do it on a budget.  So, if you are all like me and like to peek in other peoples homes you are in for a treat.  And you don’t even need to use the excuse of walking the dog at night to see if  you can peer into peoples living rooms while the dog stops to do his business.  Oh come on, we all to it

So, the first room on the tour is my kitchen.  And the story with my kitchen is that we gutted it ourselves, tore down walls, put in new cabinets, tiled the floor & more.

Cabinets & Appliances: The cabinets are actually plain raised panel stock cabinets and we used a basic white formica countertop.  That is something I would love to replace but it’s just not in the budget right now.  But, I do like the clean look of it.  As time went on, we are talking 15 years, we replaced our appliances with stainless steel one at a time. I always bought appliances that were being discounted or floor sample models.   The only appliance left to replace is the dishwasher.

Flooring: The tile were discontinued tiles that I got for half price.  I had to buy a little more then I needed to score the deal but it was still a lot cheaper in the end.  And we laid the whole floor ourselves.  That was a back breaker.

Furniture: Every few years we would make some changes or improvements like one year we changed all the hardware on the cabinets, another year we put in a bead board back splash & crown molding on the top of the cabinets, and my biggest splurge, that I saved and saved for, was my “antique” kitchen table.  I had my eye on this table for a few years and because it acts, not only as a table but also as an island, I was more particular as to what I was getting.  I also needed something that could take a beating and this one has done just that.  I saved money by using the chairs we have had for almost 25 years. I did buy a bench, which is on the stove side, so I could easily work at the table while cooking without having to bump into the table.  That purchase came 2 years after the purchase of the table.

Lighting & Accessories: My light fixtures were all clearance fixtures that I found either at a local lighting store or Home Depot.  The tiffany style light fixture over the table I found for $25 at a garage sale.  It was not exactly what I was going for at first but I couldn’t resist the price.  And, I actually love it there.   The lights over the breakfast bar I got for $10 each because the hanging bar was all beat up.  A little paint fixed that and they look great.    My accessories are all either from Marshalls (best place for cheap accessories) or garage sales.

Sometimes I fall in love with something and it wasn’t even the direction I was going.  Which is part of the reason I love to shop for bargains.  It makes it so fun to see what you can put together.

Tomorrow’s Room: The Family Room!

Do you have any great money saving kitchen decorating idea?

{ 11 comments }

Make sure you check your email for your Home Depot Garden Club Newsletter .  I’m so excited!  There is a BOGO Free Perennial Plant coupon.  There was also a $5.00 Roundup coupon but that is not as exciting as the BOGO coupon.  And the coupon doesn’t give you a size on the plant so a trick here would be to buy 2 bigger plants and split them into 4.  So 4 plants for the price of 1.  Woohoo!  And make sure you keep them watered well as it’s getting hot!  Have fun planting

If you haven’t signed up for the mailings you might want to head over here. Click on the Garden Club on the left.  They offer lots of great coupons.

{ 6 comments }

Make sure you check your email for your Home Depot Garden Club Newsletter .  I just received the following coupons:

• $4/1 Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix (just bought this, ugh!)
• $2/1 Smart Seed Products
• $3/1 Off! clip on Starter

If you haven’t signed up for the mailings you might want to head over here. Click on the Garden Club on the left.  They offer lots of great coupons.

{ 0 comments }