Small Garden Ideas on a Budget

Small gardens can be rewarding in many ways and can provide you with years of enjoyment. There are several things you can do to save money while creating a small and productive garden. Things to consider while planning your small garden are:

• Will it be in a sunny, partly-sunny, or shady space?
• Are there deer, rabbits, or moles that may eat your plants?
• Is your soil porous or hard and solid?

The plants you choose will need to fit your space, depending on their needs. Fortunately there are some plants that are very tolerant to poor soil conditions and unpredictable weather. Knowing which plants to buy for your space is essential to a successful small garden. Doing a little research will save you money in the long run. Below you will find a list of some of my favorite small garden perennial plants.

1. Most stores with garden centers, have a sale rack. I always go to these first and find incredible plants at a fraction of the cost. These plants are usually being moved out to make room for newer plants, however sometimes they are damaged. Do not buy plants that look like they cannot be restored by simply removing dead leaves and watering.
2. Plan your garden before looking for plants. Is it in a shady or sunny area? Are there animals such as deer, rabbits, or moles that will eat your plants? The answers to these questions will determine the types of plants you should buy for your small garden, and will keep you from wasting money on plants that won't thrive.
3. When planting your small garden, remember to stagger plants so that the taller ones are in the back and the smaller ones are in the front as pictured below. Also, all gardens can be infused with splashes of colorful flowers, which is very eye-appealing.
4. Get plants from your relatives, friends, and neighbors yards. Most of the plants in my yard were free. My sister and I are constantly bringing each other bits of plants from our yards. Share plants from your yard with your neighbors and they will do the same for you.

• Hydrangeas will grow into large bushes with huge balls of colorful flowers. They like partly-sunny areas while growing into mature plants. These plants make quite a statement when they are mature. However, they do need some extra care initially and they are not deer resistant. Hydrangeas come in the most beautiful shades of blue, pink, purple, and white. Their colors can be manipulated by the alkalinity or acidity of the soil.
• Hostas are wonderful leafy plants that come in a couple of different varieties. I highly recommend these as long as you do not have deer visiting your yard, as they will eat them. Slugs also like these leafy plants and will leave holes in them, but slugs are very easy to get rid of naturally. Simply take a soup can, fill it halfway with beer, and set it in the ground a couple of inches near the plants the slugs are eating. In a couple of days, it will be filled with slugs.
• Butterfly bushes are an excellent choice for any garden. These can get very large, so should be planted in the back of a small garden. These bushes have lovely purple clusters of flowers and they attract large colorful butterflies. They are very hardy and deer resistant. They can be pruned at any time and will grow back quickly. These bushes will reseed and new plants will grow nearby, to be used in your garden or given away.
• Knock Out roses are a very popular variety of rose because they are disease resistant and have a longer blooming season than other roses. These plants grow very quickly into bushes covered with colorful roses. They are not deer resistant, but can be sprayed with a mixture of soapy water to deter the deer. According to ehow.com, they should be pruned about 12 inches in the early spring.
• Daylillies are very hardy and easy plants to grow. They multiply quickly and can be divided into smaller plants easily every few years. They are extremely tolerant, but do prefer sunny areas. This is another plant that deer will eat. Daylillies can be planted in large masses or small groupings. They require no maintenance and will bloom throughout the hot days of summer.