Re-Doing Your Yard on a Shoestring Budget

My husband and I bought our first house in late July 2017. All we could afford was a major fixer-upper because we live in the Seattle area and everything is stupid expensive right now. Thankfully we both love DIY projects so we were on the lookout for something we could transform into our dream home. He would mostly be in charge of carpentry type work and I would be the landscaper/decorator. Somehow, we lucked out and were able to buy a house with a west facing backyard on a 1/4 acre lot (major score!) and less than a mile away from the future light rail station (double score!!) But like the house, the yard needed extensive work. Since we spent so much on buying a house (that needed a lot of work . . . which of course costs money) we could only allocate a little bit of money to landscaping. Pretty much all of that went to tree removal. Don’t worry, we didn’t actually take out that many trees and I plan on planting a whole bunch more over time, but let me tell you: tree removal is EXPENSIVE!

If you are in a similar situation or are strapped for cash for other reasons but want to update your yard – fear not! Below are some pics of the before and after/in progress and some tips on what you can do to update your yard when you don’t actually have any money to put into it.

MONEY SAVING TIPS:

Join a Buy Nothing/Gift Everything group on Facebook. I am on both and have both given (this is important – you don’t want to be the person that only takes and never offers anything) and received so many great things – including plants!
Join (or create!) a plant share group on Facebook. I am a member of Share Plants Shoreline and this has been where I’ve received the bulk of my free plants. It’s also a great place to ask questions about what works well in your climate, plant IDing, and general landscaping tips for your area.
Ask family and friends if they have any perennials that they are willing to divide and share with you. There are lots of plants that send up shoots that people often just weed but that you could offer to come dig up. (Some I have gotten this way are Burning Bush shoots, Lilac, Coral Bark Maple, Hostas, Phlox, Lavender, Sedum, Strawberries, Raspberries)
Collect seeds and cuttings from plants you want to have in your yard. You can get these from parks, friends, or buy nothing groups. Examples like Hydrangea, Lavender, Rosemary, many herbs where you can get a cutting and stick it in water and it will start to grow roots. I refuse to buy Hydrangea or any of the above mentioned because it’s so easy to get them to grow for free.
Learn how to propagate. Lots of plants can be grown from cuttings, but some are slightly more challenging than the plants listed in tip #4. I have been successful with Juniper but haven’t had much time to try anything else. I plan on trying with Boxwood this fall though.
Plant flower seeds. Seeds are cheap and a great way to add immediate color to your yard while it’s in transition to what you have as your future vision.

Front door July 2017
Google View of front yard before we purchased
Front yard days after we bought
Front yard July 2017
Front yard July 2017
Front yard July 2017

Note that if you don’t have a budget for any new or larger plants your yard is going to look sparse for the first few years. I have an idea of what my yard will eventually look like when the larger plants mature, but in the meantime I don’t want our front yard to look boring or terrible. To combat this unfinished look I have opted to flood my yard with flowers and color by planting tons of seeds. Some added benefits of this are that I am learning a lot about various different flowers, and some of the seeds are perennials so I can move the plants later or give them away if the yard gets too crowded. It’s also been a great way to meet lots of neighbors because almost everyone comments on the flowers either when they’re walking by or whenever I see them. A nice ice breaker, if you will. Lastly, all the flowers will attract a bunch of pollinators like bees and hummingbirds to your yard, so you will be doing mother nature a favor!

Moved existing rocks from around yard to create a planting area.

Started tearing up some grass to create more planting areas. Purchased a few small trees and shrubs that could mature over time and help create dimension and screens from the street.