Reduce, reuse and save money

When thinking about your landscape it can be hard to imagine how you can reuse and reduce you water while still having a great yard. There are many ways to still have a great landscape without the typical water waisters and the expensive designer mulches. Some of these tricks are simple while others may a little imagination.

The first and most obviouse water waister is grass. You can transition from a cool season grass that strugles in the summer and requires a lot of water to a warm weather grass. The warm weather grass like bermuda love the heat and require less water. If you love your fescue and can not bring yourself to to convert, try making your grass area smaller. Pick an area that gets some shade in the afternoon and make an interesting shape for your grass to grow in. After you have established where you want the grass to grow, make the remainder of your yard mulch beds. Now you have cut your water use, still have grass and cut your mowing time.

Mulch is a great way to accent your grass. The green against the brown mulch highlights your grass area. Now you are probably thinking mulch is very expensive to cover large areas. There is a secret to saving on mulch. Stay away from the bagged designer mulches and use some of the shredded varieties. These are made from scrap wood of different kinds. The cheapest however can be found at your local landfill. Yes thats right, landfill. Most cities have an area where yard waist is taken and then shredded and composted to make a great mulch. This type of mulch is not a hard wood mulch, but made up of lots of different yard clippings. By using this type of mulch you can help to decrease the amount of yard waste that goes in the landfill, give your landscape much need nutrients and save you lots of money!

Now that you have decreased your grass area, added mulch and are feeling pretty good about yourself don't stop. There are still lots of way to continue to save. While you're putting in those mulch beds add a drip irrigation system to give water only to the plants that need them. Why water your whole beds when you can deliver the water right to the plants roots where it needs to go. These systems are very easy to install and have lots of options on emitters. You can even use a timer on your hose bid to schedule exactly when and how long you want your area to be watered. No more sprinkler moving or hand watering giving you more time to enjoy the wonderful yard you have just created.

There are many more tips to saving and reusing in the garden. These can be found on most websites. Check our our web site at www.cheapscapesnc.com for more tips.