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7 budget garden ideas to perk up your outdoor space.

Summer is fast approaching! Which means that it’s time to start using our outdoor spaces once again. But if yours is need of a little TLC and you don’t have much budget, then it can be tricky to know how to tackle it. Try these garden tips for those on a budget, perfect for all shapes and sizes of garden…

a good tidy.

The first step to any garden project is to tidy and clean up the space. Take a step back and look at it – what needs your attention first? Is it broken fence panels or an overgrown lawn? Have you got weeds all over the place? A clean up will do wonders to breathe new life into your outdoor space, and help you assess what you want to do with it.

Even if there isn’t anything that needs maintenance, get the weeds up that have started growing in the cracks of your paving, brush up the dirt, trim the lawn’s edges and give it a mow.

 

Photo credit: @ginandinteriors features Palms and Hawaii Outdoor Cushions paired with our Hawaii Outdoor Floor Cushion.

 

inject a bit of colour.

It’s amazing what a lick of paint can do to instantly transform your garden. Want a light, bright space? Go for white or light blue. Going for something more dramatic? Black and dark colours will make the green of your plants and the colours of your flowers really pop.

You can use paint in a number of places too, from fences and walls to sheds, and plant pots. So if you’re keen on more than one colour, there’s loads of space to get creative. You could even paint a mural! Just don’t forget to use paint for outdoors.

tackle the dining area.

Got a dining set? All of those nooks and crannies are perfect hiding spaces for creepy crawlies through the colder months. When the sun comes out though, it’s time for them to move out. At the beginning of the season, give all your garden furniture a good clean to keep it in tip top condition.

Add colour and comfort with seat pads (the perfect item to add a bit of personality to your dining space) and you don’t have to reach too far into your pocket for them either. Complement them with a colourful tablecloth and tableware too.

 

Photo credit (left to right): @hoppshouse styles Papaya with Folk Flora Outdoor Floor Cushions in Ochre and Orange.  | @willowrosecoggins relaxes on Plain Olive Floor Cushions complemented by Plain Olive Outdoor Cushions.

 

get growing.

Whether you’re looking at the cheapest way to get a lawn or you just want to fill up your containers, the most budget-friendly way to get plants in your garden is to grow it from seed. Of course, this a long game, and it might take a few years before your garden feels full and flourishing. But it also costs a fraction of the price of grown plants.

You can also ask family and friends for cuttings from their gardens to help yours get going. Herbs like rosemary, basil, sage and mint are all great for propagating in the house and then planting outdoors. Shrubs like azaleas, gardenias and hydrangeas are perfect for taking cuttings of too as they’ll eventually cover larger areas.  

reuse, reuse, reuse.

Plant pots and planters can be expensive. But if you get creative, you don’t have to buy them. You can simply use items that are already at your disposal. You can give old furniture a new purpose as a planter with a lick of paint, or a tin you might have recycled a new home in the garden as a candle holder (drilled to form holes in the side and painted).

Wooden pallets can be made into all sort of garden furniture, from sofas to storage to somewhere to pop plant pots. Keep an eye out on the likes of Freecycle and Gumtree for free ones, or for cheap on eBay or your local hardware store.

 

 Photo Credit: @that_overton_house cosied up in our Jetta Herringbone Throw in Brick

 

create an outdoor living space.

One easy way to perk up your outdoor space is to treat it like your indoor space and treat yourself to some new soft furnishings. Outdoor rugs can give any patio an instant transformation, adding extra pattern and colour and helping to divide up space.

Outdoor cushions are another great addition and they don’t break the bank. A couple of new cushions in colours that complement the space and it’ll feel like a new garden! Layer with throws for when the sun goes down and you won’t want to leave.

encourage wildlife.

Wild animals make spending time in your garden (or just looking out from your window) so much more enjoyable. Whether it’s the tweeting of birds, buzzing of bumblebees or rustling of hedgehogs, there’s lots you can do to encourage wildlife into your garden – and it doesn’t have to cost the earth either.

Make your own bug hotel with dry leaves, twigs, pine cones and bits of bark and gather them together. You could put them in between bricks or in wooden boxes and pop that in a dark, damp corner of your garden. Perfect for creepy crawlies!

 

Are you ready to transform your garden space for summer?