by Texas Homesteader ~
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Landscaping can really be expensive if you’re not careful. I’m always on the lookout for landscaping on the CHEAP, y’all.

 I was looking to landscape a new porch extension, but I wanted it to be done as inexpensively as possibe. It was surprisingly easy to do. Come see!

 

(Note: Some links in this post are for further information from earlier posts I’ve written. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click them and buy something (almost anything, not just the item noted) I could receive a tiny commission. But the price you pay will NOT change. It’s an easy way to support this blog without anything coming out of your pocket. So click often! Thank you!)

Spending time Outside

RancherMan & I spend lots of time outside. Not only for our work here on the homestead, but for pleasure too. And we love the view from our back porch. 

Recently I wrote about expanding that back porch to include an Outdoor Living room – be sure to check that out.

But now that the porch addition has been installed I need to landscape it into the peaceful oasis I’ve got my heart set on. But although I want it to be beautiful, I don’t want it to cost an arm & a leg!

Landscape Dreams

I was after low-maintenance plants around our new porch addition. Homesteading life’s busy y’all, I don’t have time to be shackled to heavy landscape maintenance.

Plus I had very specific ideas on how I wanted the finished landscaping to look. Vibrant and green, yet peaceful, relaxing and inviting.

The porch was built on land that sloped away from the house. So I wanted to build up the area around the porch with landscaping stones and fill it in with soil.

Then I wanted another level of ground built up with landscaping stones to hold large galvanized cattle troughs. Those troughs would need to be filled with soil for planting.

All of that but I didn’t want to spend much money. Lofty goal?  Read on, dear friends.

Low-Cost Landscaping Stones

Those cement landscape stones can be pricey. But we used our credit card rewards points to receive gift cards to a big-box store.

(I wrote about this super-frugal tip along with with other tips to keep all our monthly expenses small, check it out!)

The price of those landscape stones were paid using points for things we buy every month anyway. Essentials such as groceries, gas and cattle feed.

So the total cost out of our pocket? Nothing. Nada. ZILCH!

Planting Soil For A Song

You know how it is, for some reason buying DIRT is pricey! So we did a little searching.

We found a local guy who had a sand & gravel business. He dumped a full tractor-bucket load of sandy soil into huge tubs we’d placed in the back of our truck. And the cost for several hundred pounds of soil? A mere $25.

That same soil purchased in large plastic sacks from a big-box store would have been several hundred dollars. Oh, and there would have been all that plastic to deal with too! (have I mentioned lately how much I hate plastic?) 

I talked about the soil acquisition on my latest 5-Frugal Ways I Saved Money & The Environment I posted recently. It’s a fun post to read, I encourage you to check it out.

Large Landing Stone Step

We wanted two large stone landing steps at the entrances of our new porch addition. So we went to a rock company and picked out huge flat landing rocks for the bottom of each  step. 

RancherMan used a sealer we already had in the shop leftover from another project to seal them. He just liked the way it made them look wet, intensifying the color variations. I must say I agree.

When the beds were built it was time to start adding the plants. I don’t have to tell you how quickly that can add up to a wad of cash!

But I was after a primarily edible landscape plan with lots of bee-friendly flowers. Dual purpose – food for us, food for the bees. And the plants can be beautiful too!

Gifted & Transplanted Plants

My aunt some of the decorative wispy grass (I have no idea what it’s called but I love it) from a section of her flower beds where it had spread to an unwanted area. I brought it home & planted it here. Love it!

And I pulled the tiny Crepe Myrtle tree out of my veggie garden where it came up as a volunteer plant.

Not wanted in the veggie garden, but much loved here!  

It’s all about taking what you’ve already got & putting it where it works best for you.

(UPDATE: that ‘free’ Crepe Myrtle tree you see nestled next to the flowy grass bunch is over 10-ft tall now, blooms beautifully and offers shade for the porch!)

My sister gave me three small lavender plants that were leftover from her daughter’s wedding. I love lavender and so do the bees. So of course I incorporated them into this landscape!

Then  I transplanted a clump of thyme and oregano from the garden. The bees love it when they bloom. And the plants are pretty too.

I also transplanted several clumps of tiny seedum that originally came from my grandparent’s home decades ago.

It will make a nice maintenance-free ground cover which will help conserve moisture in the sandy soil.

On the other side I transplanted more seedum and a sprinkling of Alyssium seeds that I found in my seed stash from years ago.

I didn’t know if they were still viable but they germinated! I love those tiny purple blooms.

On the east side of the porch I transplanted a small cilantro plant that had volunteered itself in the garden. And my aunt gave me a small dill plant too that she was going to have to remove from her own beds. 

Gotta love herbs this fresh! Hey, just because it’s edible doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful too. And the bees love those blooms.

Living Sun-Shade

Oh, and here’s a clever thing too. During the hottest part of the summer, the sun is as far in the northern sky as it can go.

So if we’re sitting on the porch in the mornings when the sun comes up it often glares right in our faces until it gets high enough to be shaded by the porch’s roof. But by then it’s too hot to be lounging outside drinking our morning coffee.

I had a partial packet of Mammoth Sunflower seeds in my seed stash. So I’ve planted a couple of mammoth sunflowers both for the natural sun screen they’ll provide with their huge leaves as well as the plate-sized blossoms that I love and are the bee’s delight.

RancherMan & I can now sip our coffee outside and be shaded from the sun in the cooler early morning hours.

Edible Landscape In Troughs

There is a large galvanized water trough set upon a layer of terrace stones on either side of the porch entrance.

Into one of those troughs I planted carrots for their pretty lacy greenery and spinach for it’s chunky crinkly texture. I also transplanted a crown of asparagus for it’s light ferny look. And the last of my sister’s gifted lavender plants.

In the other trough I planted the lacy-carrot border as well, but anchored it with garlic bulbs pulled from my grandmother’s home almost 20 years ago. Sentimental food!

I also wanted a jalapeno plant in this trough planter. It’ll be convenient when RancherMan’s grilling. We love roasted jalapenos and now he can harvest & grill a few right then, right there!

I have a *terracotta watering spike to keep the jalapeno watered. I thought the Dos XX bottle was apropos!

Even the wood mulch I added for a finished look was free!

So with gifted plants, transplants from other areas, researching soil companies, using credit card points for the stone and finding free bark mulch, this entire landscaping job was minuscule to our budget!

Rainwater Catchment System

To tie into my galvanized theme, RancherMan even set up a rainwater catchment system using another galvanized water trough.

We had a split gutter installed here. One side goes into the rain catchment, the other side to the ground.

When the trough fills up we can move the lever to have rainwater rerouted away & into a splash block, where it will drain into the grass.

He even built a wood-slat hinged top for it and used a horseshoe for the handle. Thank you RancherMan!

To use this rainwater I simply dip my watering can into the water & I’m steps away from keeping my landscaping watered. For free!

Keeping Bermuda Grass OUT!

Another feature is this grass barrier. If you’ve ever dealt with Bermuda grass, you know what a challenge it can be to keep it out of your beds. RancherMan & I installed a Bermuda-Grass Barrier.

So far has been 100% effective at keeping that dang Bermuda grass from encroaching on all my plantings.  #canyoubelieveit??!!

~TxH~

This post categorized in  

Links In This Post:

• Creating An Outdoor Living Room
• No Corporate Paycheck? How Do You DO It??
• How We Got Cheap Soil NOT In Plastic
• *Terracotta Watering Spike Uses Repurposed Water Bottle
• How We Got FREE Wood Mulch & You Can Too!
• 3 Rainwater Catchment Systems We Use
• Bermuda Grass Barrier That Works

Want To Read More About Our Porch Extension?

• Adding An Outdoor Living Space
• Landscaping On The Cheap
• No Waste (and Less Expensive) Fill Dirt For Gardens
• Cheap (or FREE) Wood Mulch For Your Garden
• Stopping BERMUDA GRASS From Your Plantings!
• How To Keep Birds Off Your Porch Railings

 

C’mon by & sit a spell!  Come hang out at our Facebook Page . It’s like sitting in a front porch rocker with a glass of cold iced tea.  There are lots of good folks sharing!  And you can also follow along on Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram

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