7 Ways to Refresh Your Backyard Without Spending a Dime

If you go through a lot of eggs in your household, chances are you have egg cartons piling up all the time. But don’t toss them just yet! You’ll be surprised at the variety of useful and decorative things you can make with these short-lived containers. And best yet, you probably already have all the supplies you need to give them a new lease on life.

Outdoor DIY projects can be fun, but there’s always a bit of pressure to finish them quickly. After all, you can easily hide that half-finishedaccent wall inside your home, but that partially constructed cinder block garden is on display for the neighbors to see.

Decluttering your space is simple in theory: just sell, donate, or discard/recycle anything you don’t use or need anymore. But it's the practice of that simple theory that can be hard. 

Calling birds to your home with a bird feeder can create a calming, cheerful ambiance that is practically unmatched, but bird feeders can also attract unwelcome visitors, particularly raccoons.

Sure, Bambi is cute. But what’s not so cute is when she’s chowing down on yourvegetable garden or devouring yourhostas anddaylilies. Even if you’ve never had deer visiting your yard before, there’s always a first time. And no plant—even those said to be “deer resistant”—is truly safe from their voracious appetites.

The Wandering Dude Plant, also known as Tradescantia Zebrina, is known for its creeping vines that love to cascade and explore. While it has a free spirit, you can definitely encourage it to grow in a certain way.

In an ideal world, storage space would be unlimited. Or, better yet, in a truly perfect world, extra space would appear the moment you realize you need more of it.

After a successful season of spring cleaning, it’s not uncommon to look around and realize your home could use some upgrades.

In the arc of an Irish gardening year, May is the month of magical things. The first rose. The first swallow. The first properly hot day. The first beech tree in full leaf. The first sighting of wisteria in magnificent lilac bloom, draping itself languidly against a high, sunny wall. As nature flashes its brilliant feathers, it’s also our last real opportunity before summer finally arrives to make a substantial difference to our gardens or allotments, whether that’s filling them with fast-growing annuals to provide plenty of homegrown produce for the months ahead, planting up spectacular summer containers, or fine-tuning flower borders for maximum impact. With all of this in mind, here’s a handy little to-do list to help you stay on course.

You must be careful when you enter the backyard of garden designer Jeff Epping. No because you’re likely to trip on something but because you might be dive-bombed by a pair of nesting hummingbirds, or a bevy of butterflies, or any number of other pollinators that make this shady Midwestern garden their home. Jeff Epping is the principal designer at Epping Design & Consulting and the former director of horticulture at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin. Given this background, it’s no surprise that his home landscape is something special. He writes about this beautiful space in his article, Design an Engaging, Naturalistic Garden in the Shade.

Instead of filling your medicine cabinet to the brim, think about the types of bathroom items that you can house under the sink instead to save some space. While not everything belongs under the sink, there are many products that you can safely store there, experts say.

During May, the charity Plantlife encourages people not to mow their lawns. As well as attracting and helping wildlife, it's an opportunity to enjoy the sight of flowers blooming in long grass. Observing what appears – from interesting wildflowers (orchids, perhaps) to wildlife (such as grasshoppers) – is fun and, obviously, No Mow saves a lot of time. However, going the whole hog isn't for everyone. Those with children who enjoy careering around the lawn and people who entertain in their gardens won't want to let all their grass grow long. Therefore, a smaller No Mow area is more appealing and something that can be kept up throughout the summer.