Frugal Landscaping

This is a view of the front of our house the way it looked when we first bought it. It doesn't really look like that anymore, because we worked away at the landscaping over the years we've lived here. For some things we needed professional help (those enormous pine trees...), but a lot of it we did with some elbow grease and a chainsaw. And the most important ingredient: Patience! Patience is such a money saver. Buy a few small plants or bushes and let them grow and/or propagate over time. Take your neighbors up on offers of splits ...

I thought it would be fun to show you some of my husband's 'babies'. He loves Japanese Maple trees, and they're expensive. Luckily, they show up as little seedlings aka 'volunteers', and he babies them, makes sure they don't get overgrown by some plain old Norway maple, and then transplants them where we like them to grow permanently.

This here is a picture of my favorite poppies. I grew them from seeds, about 8 years ago, when we cleared out one of the beds on the side of the yard. It took a few years, but they're tall and sturdy now! 

Here's our next project: Can you spot the mountain laurel in this jungle?  It was likely a part of some previous owner's landscaping. As we dig through the vines and underbrush every year, we find 'treasures'. This guy isn't pretty right now, but look, he's trying to flower! My plan is to wait til after the flowers and then prune him way back. Come fall, I'll transplant him to a spot that gives him more sun and spotlight.

One other frugal landscaping trick is not to mulch quite so diligently. At the expense of some time spent weeding, you also get volunteers from your own plants. Look closely under this hosta, there's a baby Spirea growing. I'm letting it be for a little while, then I'll dig it up and put it somewhere I like it better.

I'm reading through this post and chuckle at the thought that I'm preaching about patience. Not really my strong suit, but I enjoy the process in this particular case. Stay tuned and when the rain lets up and the front yard starts to bloom, I'll post an 'after' picture to compare to the 'before' picture above.