I live in Florida. My home is a dark chocolate brown and cream trim. It is a 2 story traditional. So far I only have grass and a couple of azalea bushes. I want to do some zeroscaping in certain areas. I don't want to underwhelm the house by putting small flowers. What are some things i can do that are pretty low maintenance and affordably priced?
Answers:
1Zero-scaping on a limited budget is a challenge because the cost of getting the concrete, stones or gravel is initially quite expensive.
Some of the things you can do cheaply are:
* Build earth bag walls and coat them with plaster - these are cheaper than other forms of walling. Put in a pond or a barbecue pit where you have dug out the soil. There are some good sites and books on earth bag building.
* Make your own cement paving stones - it is cheaper to make than to buy. Most gardening books have instructions on making them.
* Recycle - look for houses that are being demolished in your area and buy long pieces of wood, bricks and stones that you can put down as pathways and flower bed edgings
* Learn what wood preservatives are available in your area - build trellises and arches for creepers out of long poles and demolished old packing cases. Creasote poles should match your house color.
* start a rockpile - everytime you dig in the garden and find rocks and boulders collect them for building rockeries.
To cover the earth I would suggest that plant goundcovers that are endemic(native) to your area. They have the advantage that they don't need to be mowed like lawns. Separate the no mow groundcovers from your lawns with pathways. Edge the flowerbeds bordering the lawns with bricks or rocks to make mowing easier.
Get lists of plants that are endemic to your area and find out what they look like. Then plan plantings using the natural plants. These will be easier to maintain and use less water. Look for native, feature or sculptural trees, that you can plant.
Learn how to propogate plants through cuttings and start your own small plant nursery. If you go to friends and family ask if you can take cuttings and collect seeds from their plants.
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