8 simple methods to save money on landscaping

Landscaping doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars. Your yard can be the oasis you dream of with some planning and patience. Here are some ways to rein in a landscaping budget.

Labour is the biggest expense in landscaping.  Doing your own digging, mowing and fertilizing will save you hundreds of dollars. An added benefit is you get to learn more about gardening as you do it.

Patience pays. Plan your landscaping work over several years. This will spread out the costs and give you the time to do more of the work yourself.

Small packaging costs more so if you can take advantage of these tips you will save yourself money:

• Have a landscape company deliver gravel and topsoil by the truckload. Much less cost than purchasing in small bags.
• Potting soil is less expensive when you buy the largest size.
• Get together with a friend and buy mail-order plants and bulbs in large quantities.

• Buy your garden and lawn supplies in late summer and fall when stores are holding their clearance sales.
• Garden centres often mark down last year's merchandise in the early spring to clear shelves for the upcoming year's stock.

Buy discount-store bedding plants when they first come in and they will be fine. Don't wait though. Once they are wilted they could possibly be diseased.

Garage-sale garden supplies can be bargains as long as you buy quality merchandise. Look for deals, but make sure the product will serve your needs.

It takes practice to learn how to propagate plants but you will save money and have a lot of fun.

• You can plant an entire hedge for free if you trim a neighbour's shrubs and then root the cuttings.
• You can plant a perennial or annual bed for under $20 if you start the plants from seed.

One of the great things about earth-friendly gardening is that it usually costs less.

• Non-chemical techniques cost less than buying garden chemicals.
• Composting yard waste is free; bagging waste may require stuffing large bags — and sometimes paying a fee to have them hauled away.
• Use community sources for free fertilizer and mulch.
• Check with local stables for manure
• Ask your municipality where it dumps leaves and if you can have some.

Having the lawn or garden that is the envy of your neighbours doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Using these steps will help save you money and helps you learn more about your garden.