Let’s say your garden could use a facelift, but your bank balance is telling you to keep it simple. Well, you’re in luck! After years of transforming gardens all over the country, we know that residential landscaping and gardening doesn’t have to mean expensive makeovers or hard-to-maintain spaces.
So, let’s make this simple. Here are five cheap landscaping ideas that New Zealand homeowners like you can use to make their outdoor spaces their own, one DIY at a time.
Edge your garden beds.
One of the simplest ways to give your garden a fresh, manicured look is by edging your garden beds. Overgrown grass or blurred lines can give your garden a rustic, expansive look, but cleanly defined edges create an appealing visual contrast between your lawn and flower beds. This is a great way to give your yard an instant lift.
You can achieve this look for next to nothing using natural or recycled materials like bricks, river stones, or even old timber that you might already have on your property.
Pro tip: Use locally sourced stones or reclaimed wood to keep costs low while giving your garden a unique Kiwi touch. If you’re dealing with straight lines, using string along the edges as a guide can be helpful, but for a more organic vibe, you can let the curves of your garden dictate the borders.
Use tyre planters for herbs and flowers.
Rather than letting old tyres end their lives in a landfill, you can give them a second life as funky planters! Tyre planters are one of the best cheap landscaping ideas NZ homeowners can take advantage of simply because there is no shortage of old tyres.
They’re perfect for housing your collection of herbs, smaller vegetables, and beautiful blooming colours. Stack them to form tall, durable raised beds to house your feature plants, or keep them low and scattered around your backyard to provide more choice and variety.
Building a tyre planter is a super simple process. Start by cleaning out your tyre thoroughly (a hose and a scrub brush should do the trick). Then, drill some small holes in the bottom layer for drainage. Finish it off by adding soil and then your choice of plants. You might want to kick off with something easy here, and robust herbs like parsley or mint are both cost-effective places to start.
Lay stone paths for rustic walkways.
There’s nothing like a well-placed path to tie all your landscaping together beautifully. In particular, rustic stone pathways add plenty of character, which makes them a popular addition to gardens all over the world. The added benefit, of course, is that these stone walkways come in many affordable shapes and sizes.
Search your local scrapyards, gardens, and second-hand stores for stones, pavers, gravel, or even crushed shells to bring that natural look to your garden without hurting your bank account.
If you’re DIYing this path, you might have to dedicate a weekend to the task. Start by clearing and levelling your chosen area – make sure to map the path out beforehand! – and laying some weed matting to keep that pathway weed-free. Place your stones or pavers at regular intervals, filling the gaps with gravel, soil, or ground cover like thyme for some extra texture.
Invest in some basic raised garden beds.
If you’re someone who wants to make space for vegetables and other consumables in your garden, there’s a way to do that affordably, even if you don’t want to dig down into your existing garden. Raised garden beds! When it comes to cheap landscaping ideas NZ homeowners can use to improve their surroundings while adding some practicality to the space, this is the way forward.
These are a great solution for growing plants while maintaining control over soil quality, drainage, or weeds. These accessible additions can be built fairly cheaply using planks of untreated pine or even old pallets.
This is the kind of DIY that can balloon in cost, so make sure to choose the simplest avenues if you’re looking to keep costs down. One of the best cheap landscaping ideas NZ homeowners can lean into is reusing old bricks, wood, or concrete blocks to build these raised beds anywhere in their garden.
Propagate using local plants.
And finally, who says cultivating a garden with a bunch of variety has to start with a trip to the nursery? It’s free – or very close to it – to propagate your own plants. All you need is a little bit of practice, and it’s easy to keep adding more and more plants to your space.
Popular New Zealand natives like flaxes and cabbage trees tend to thrive from simple cuttings or divisions. Of course, they’re naturally suited to our climate, but they’re also low-maintenance enough to keep on giving with even beginner gardeners.
Not to mention, adding native plants can do all sorts of wonderful things for New Zealand’s ecosystem! It attracts native birds, encourages pollinators to get comfortable, and strengthens the root system for the other plants in your yard.
There you have it! Those are the top five cheap landscaping ideas NZ homeowners like you can use to transform your spaces the DIY way. Small, thoughtful changes like edging your garden, upcycling old materials, or planting natives can make a big impact.
Tackle your landscaping with help from Paramount.
If you want to achieve exceptional results for your outdoor spaces without effort, call Paramount Gardening, your elite property care partner. We manage everything from lawnmowing to specialised maintenance for elite gardens.
Enquire about contracting us as your dedicated property care partner today.
