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There are many free ways to improve your garden. Get started now to be ready for 2016!
- Use shipping pallets.
Shipping pallets can be of use and are almost always available for free. Try looking at free stuff on craigslist.org. Pallets are a fabulous source of wood that can be used to fix broken outdoor furniture, create raised bed gardens or even to build a deck. People have even used them to build garden sheds.
2. Do stoop to picking through trash.
You’d be surprised at what you can find by the side of the road or waiting for pickup at the curb on trash day. Wood is always a great resource. I unearthed these thick planks found along a country roadside and have put to them to use as a commodious and sturdy bench suitable for outdoor seating and display of intriguing found objects.
3. Reuse old stuff.
It often happens that people will give you items that seem to serve no earthly purpose. For years I stashed a disliked copper platter in a remote corner of my basement. But just this past summer, I found a suitable use for it. Perched atop a plastic pail, it is a display for a crumbling ceramic bowl. The copper has taken on a turquoise hue and lends the appearance of a sculpture garden display.
Repair broken furniture with stuff you have. My shabby chic garden chairs where sadly seatless. But I put them to use again with pallet wood and slender branches cut to size.
4. Plant Perennials.
Plant perennials including those you can eat. Russian kale is hardy in cold weather and survives from year to year. Not only is it attractive in your garden – it also is pretty delicious and nutritious. Rhubarb, blueberries and blackberries are all happy to live through our most brutal winters and they’ll feed you year after year.
5. Share cuttings and collect seeds from established plants.
Don’t be embarrassed to ask your friends for cuttings. Many plants can be rooted in a cup of water. New rose bushes can be propagated by bending branches and planting the ends in the soil.
6. Let imagination be your guide.
Look at your discarded objects in a different way. Do you have an old doll that could add some whimsical charm to your vegetable garden? Those headless Greek sculptures are quite pricey but a discarded plastic doll might look just right next to your cabbage and lettuce.
There are so many free ways to improve your garden. Make your home delightful when you reconsider throwing stuff away. Just ask yourself “What can this be now?”
