21 Ways to the Perfect Garden with NO MONEY. Eco-friendly and Zero Waste.
When thinking about garden design or moving to a new place with a blank canvas for a garden it can be overwhelming, even for the more experienced in the garden. The temptation is to start from scratch, save up, make a budget for what you want, get a landscaper in, roll down the lawns, makes patios. While none of this is exactly wrong, it isn’t cheap at all and turns out it’s not so environmentally friendly either.
You can easily create a beautiful, zero waste, eco-friendly garden with very little money simply by sourcing natural materials from your local area and using what you already have in the garden.
A new trend of gardens is arising. Softer, more natural lines, wilder, freer ideas and no more perfect lawns. I for one could not be happier to welcome this trend and I know the bees are please about it too.
So here’s how to create it on a very limited budget.
21 steps to a beautiful, free, and eco-friendly garden.
Forget hard landscaping.
Hard landscaping will cost you serious money and actually is not very eco-friendly or zero waste. Making paths from what can source for free with things like wood clippings, pallets, or old railway sleepers will give you the garden design you want for free.
Having a zero waste, organic and environmentally friendly garden is very important to me and largely what his blog is about. We moved into a house with a garden which already had a lot of hard landscaping. I do love what we have and it works for our garden BUT had it not been there already I would never have put it in. The design in our garden does allow us to make lots of bug and wildlife friendly zones and is made from old bricks so sustainability points aren’t so bad, but I also know it cost over 10k to put in, something that is totally out of our budget.
Should we ever move house and have to design our own garden I would use nothing but wood clips I can source for free to make path ways, (these will break down into the soil which is good for the garden but will need topping up yearly but it’s also nice and soft for children running around) and re-claimed paving slabs for any areas I wanted harder paths. Sleepers or old pallets to frame any flower or veg patches I wanted and gravel (which would be the only cost) if I wanted to make a patio style seated area. And viola you have a landscaped garden for next to nothing.
Head to your local Tip Shop for Pots.
Never have I have I ever brought a pot new. All my pots and planters have either been made from old pallets by my father in law or sourced for pennies at my local tip shop. You really won’t believe the amount of beautiful pots people throw out.
I love my mix match of pots, from terracotta French loveliness to shabby sheik in all different sizes with a wealth of different flowers and herbs spilling out of them. It oozes the perfect cottage garden look for me and with over 30 pots in my garden I haven’t spent more than £20 on them all.
Fill your pots with cuttings.
From the a mint plant you may already have on your kitchen counter brought from the supermarket, to all the herbs in a family members garden, to a shrub from your neighbours garden. Don’t be afraid to ask around. Gardeners are nothing but generous and love to share the fruits of their labour.
For pots my favorites for cuttings from mint plants and Geraniums.
Tip Shop, and freecycle tools.
You’ll probably want to buy your own secateurs as these go rusty and need movement, but everything else from trowels, forks and spades can be found at your local tip shop or on free cycle, it doesn’t matter if their a little battered and rusty. As long as you can dig a hole with it it will amaze you what you can find for free or next to nothing.
Share tools.
For bigger tools that you tend you use less often like a jet washer (though ask yourself if you really need to spray a ton of water), garden sheers or a hedge trimmer see if you can borrow these things first. My father in laws shed is full of all sort of power tools and my Mum has all sorts of gadgets like a compost aerate. It’s also not uncommon for people our road Whatsapp group (start during Corona Virus lockdown) to ask for a lend on a wheel barrow. This is especially great if you have limited storage for all these garden tools you probably only need once a year.
Get composting.
It’s no secret, I love a good compost. I’ve been fine tuning how to make the best quality “black gold” AND how to make more of the stuff to feed my little garden over the last year.
But really you don’t need to get so technical. Just start. You’ll be amazed at how much waste you can throw on a compost pile and how much is reduced going in your household waste bin. But mainly on how much it will save you having to buy bags of compost from the garden center.
Depending on how technical you want to get and how much compost you want to make I have an article to suit all.
Read: “A Beginners Guide to Composting. Composting in a Minimal Space.”
Collect rain water.
Collecting rain water to water plants will save you money on your water bill. Admittedly not tons but every little helps right? However if your in the UK like me, where we get a lot of rain, you can save a lot of water this way, especially if you growing a lot of things in pots or containers.
Choose perennial plants that spread.
If you do decide to buy a few plants to fill some spaces choose perennial plants. Picking ones that will grow bigger and spread is a great cost saving idea but do be careful they won’t take over the whole area or small space. It’s worth talking to someone at your local garden center on what they advice for a certain space. Weather that be something fast growing that you can apricate soon, or something that suits the space better but may take its time. The most important thing is you spend any money you do spend well.
Embrace the weeds.
I used to pull of anything that I hadn’t planted there. Yep even pretty forget-me-nots and bee loving pulmonaria. Why? Because although they were pretty and I did want them in some places in the garden they spread too much for my liking. Only problem was I often didn’t have anything to replace in the now bare area. I now realise that the less bare soil the better. Prettier and better for the soil structure.
The result? A fuller garden in spring. Bees buzzing everywhere, little pockets of colour I didn’t have before. I’m even enjoying the dandelions.
Obviously if there is something that is taking over and you want to plant something else there or it’s a vegetable patch, you can remove them and control other weeds by mulching. But if your unsure or it’s in a place where there is currently nothing else, just sit back and wait. See what happens, it might fill your garden a little more for free.
Give up the lawn.
This may be contentious but I think perfect lawns and straight borders are a thing of the past. Something we will only see in our Grandparents gardens. Too me their now very unfashionable and I think for the environment this is only a good thing.
I get that many will still want some kind of a lawn of course. A place to sit, or let the children play and that’s totally cool. But they do not need to cover a large part of the garden and they do not need to look like they have had a hoover on them to make them so perfect. A garden can be an extension of the home but it does not need to be clean like the home.
Leave some of your lawn unmown, let the wild flowers grow. This will not only look beautiful, attract beneficial wildlife but save you time and money too. No need to buy miracle lawn grow, fertilizers, or weed killer. The butter cups and dandelions can be a part of the grass and that’s okay.
Forget fertilizers.
Really we shouldn’t need any fertilizers in our gardens. Mulching with the compost or other forms of organic matter you can get your hands on will do a great job at feeding the soil.
If you do want an extra boost follow the step in “Zero Waste Gardening. The Ultimate Guide” to a brought fertilizer free garden. This included making nettle and Bokashi tea, which sounds very inviting but its a slightly stinky business.
Also worth a read: “7 Indoor plant, free, organic fertilizers.” All of which can be used on outdoor plants too.
Never spray a pesticide.
Mother nature has this guys. The Aphids will come out early in the season but be eaten and controlled by blue tits and lady birds (friends we do want in the garden). Use old coffee grounds and egg shells to keep the slugs off your veggies and pick leaves off your spinach plants that has leafminers (crush under your shoe to make sure you kill any eggs).
It’s also worth remembering at the end of the day, you win some you loose some, that’s how it goes in gardening. Unless you farm on an industrial level you really do not need to worry about pests. Like I said Mother natures natural balance will keep things in order for you.
Reuse EVERYTHING.
Everything in the garden is meant to stay in the garden and not head to landfill. Fallen leaves can be used as a mulch, put in the compost bin or put into a pile to make leaf mould, or use as a mulch. Twigs and bigger stick cuttings that are probably too big for the compost bin can be made into a pile in a forgotten part of the garden to make a habitat for bugs and wildlife or used to build up any raised beds you want to create. Even old broken pots can be broken up more and put at the bottom of other pots to help drainage. Weeds such as bind weeds and nettles can be turned into plant food.
Upcycle anything old that can be given new life. Changing the way we see waste will give you a whole new view point on how to use things in your garden.
Buy only peat free and make a budget for it.
Okay now I’m going to ask you to budget a little money for some important. No matter how much compost you create yourself your at some point going to need to buy some compost or potting soil. However, most of the compost you buy at the supermarket, DIY stores and garden centers are made from something called peat. This is taken from peat bogs which are an extremely important habitats and massive carbon sinks. Removing them, which we have done by about 95%, is incredibly damaging to the environment. This upsets me so much because most of us think we are doing good by gardening but a lot of gardening products, such as this, are totally unsustainable.
It turns out peat isn’t even that nutritious for our plants, it just holds water well, meaning the nutrients is added to it. It’s therefore so so so important that when we buy compost we look for the peat free option.
Forget the ornamental or bedding plants.
Hey, I’m a sucker for the odd bedding plant every now again too. I’ve brought many Geraniums to feed my love of them over the years but what they really are is a waste of money because come next season there will be nothing there for you. Each little plant may be cheap but once you start filling all your pots, window boxes and bare soil the price goes up and up. Which is why I’ve learnt to propagate my geraniums from last year and I’m sowing other flowers from seed.
My other reason for trying to not buy plants like this is not knowing how they have been grown. It’s highly likely most of the supermarket, DIY store and garden center plants are grown in peat soil (highly damaging to the environment) and sprayed with bee killing fertilizers.
Instead I suggest we fill areas with other things, such as herbs. Easy to grow and look just as beautiful when put together.
Source free mulches.
Ask around, search Facebook Market Place, free cycle or even a local tree surgeon. Mulches will not only suppress the weeds in your flowers beds, they will break down well into the soil giving it nutrients and make the beds look tidier.
Use online resources.
Everything you need to know about starting a garden, what to grow, when to grow it, best types of plants and mulches for you area etc etc can be found online. We live in an age where everything is at our fingers tips with one simple search. Use this to your advantage. You no longer need to be a novice, just fake it to you make it using the knowledge others are happy to pass on online. Here’s some of my favourite YouTube channels for garden advice that are all thrifty as F.
Sow and share seeds.
Sowing seeds is of course going to be one of the best ways to get the maximum amount of plants in your garden very cheaply. Don’t be afraid what’s the worst that can happen? If you are a little scared getting started, start with things like wild flowers or herbs. You can buy seed tape or carpet that you literally just roll out and cover in soil. I’ve had mixed results with these but the ones that have worked have self seeded and come back every year for the last four years with me doing absolutely nothing. Particularly brilliant in my front garden that gets much less attention from me. The neighbours however always comment on the lovely flowers popping up.
For herbs you can sow in a warm spot in early spring, like on your kitchen window sill. Like I said before I love herbs, I think their beautiful, often have their own flowers and provide lots of green foliage, plus you can eat them. Everyone’s a winner. That’s why I’m forgetting the bedding plants and filling my window boxes herbs instead.
Things like Chives (the flowers are so pretty and are very yummy in salads) will come back every year and can be split into more plants.) Regular chives have a pretty purple flower in spring but we also grow Chinese chives (also known as garlic chives) which have a lovely white flower (tastes great in stir fry’s and omelet’s).
Oregano is another that with come back every year, has a pretty white flower, can be cut and dried for the winter months and personally I can never have enough. I’m planning on growing 3 more plants for the herb garden and window boxes as I’m keep running out and mine taste so much nicer than the brought stuff. What would my pasta sauce do without it?
Basil is an annual so will need to be re-sown every year but it fairly easy to grow and look after. It looks lovely on a window sill as will love a sunny spot such as this. Can be planted out in summer with your tomatoes as a pest deterrent. Plus they go so well together on the plate who wouldn’t want both?
Rosemary will grow bigger so is best in the ground but will provide you with a nice shrub in the garden and is the best on your roast potatoes. It also has a pretty white flower.
It’s also worth noting that one thing you sow will often do better than others, it’s the way it goes sometimes, or you’ll sow way more than you’ll need. Get back to that gardening community I keep talking about. See if your neighbours or friends have too much or something else and do a little seedling swap. So far this year neighbours have offered me sunflowers, artichokes, tomato plants, and sage. That’s not including what my Mum and Father-in-law will turn up with. I on the other hand despite thinking my Chili plants would never germinate and sowing more have more chilis than I know what to do with so I shall we offering those up when they are big enough.
Grow from your kitchen scrapes.
I have never actually done this, though I’m not sure why it looks so easy and free. Probably because I have a counter top full of seedlings and propagating mints plants. I’ll leave a video here to talk you through it. Essentially your using ends that you would normally throw away such as carrots, celery, lettuce, popping them in water and waiting for them to grow new roots before planting them out. If nothing else it’s a really fun experiment.
Up cycle free funiture.
You would be amazed at what you can find for free or extremely cheaply on Facebook Market Place, free cycle, Gumtree etc. My Sister-in-law and her partner are the best at this. Benches they find at the tip shop given a lick of paint. Old counter tops they have made into a garden bar and coffee garden. Mirrors and decorative pieces for the garden walls. Their patio is 100% an extension of the house and is a beautiful place to sit for next to nothing.
Make your Christmas and Birthday Lists count.
However if your like Mat and I and can not even use a hammer to save your life. Plus we have a smaller space so I wanted every piece of furniture in it to be 100% what I wanted and useful. We therefore waited for Christmas and Birthday presents. Sure this isn’t a quick fix, we had a summer sitting on camping chairs and then another sitting on the only garden sofas we had until another Christmas came and my Mum and Dad gifted us my beloved bistro table and chair but my goodness it was worth the wait. These pieces will last us a long long time and we will carry on loving them.
So there you have it. I hope by the end of this list you’ve got all the ideas you need to create the most beautiful garden, full of flowers, herbs, veggies, whatever you desire, with a lovely seating area and pathways to enjoy it. And pretty please message me to tell me you’ve gone against the perfect lawn, though I won’t be offended if you haven’t.
Much Love
Hannah x
