Image – Wikimedia/Traveling Mermaid
Having a patio, even if it is small, is having a unique opportunity to enjoy a garden. There are many ways to decorate it, and the best thing is that you don't have to spend a lot of money, not even on plants.
so if you want to know how to decorate a small patio with little money, put our advice into practice and, you will see, how easy it will be for you to enjoy a magnificent garden.
Get plants for little money or for free
Let's face it: mature plants are usually worth a lot, especially if they are large or slow growing. As what interests us is to spend as little as possible, let's choose young plants, since they have a much lower price. This is especially recommended if they are rare or unusual species, trees or palms.
Or even if we want to save even more, we will be able to buy seeds and grow them from the beginning, since, for example, vegetables (tomato plants, lettuce, peppers, etc.) and aromatic plants (lavender, rosemary, thyme, basil, etc.) germinate very well and quickly. To give you an idea: in local markets they usually sell plants of about ten centimeters more or less 1 euro. With one euro it is possible to buy an envelope with twenty or more seeds. If they all germinated, you would have 20 plants that have cost you only 1 euro.
Furthermore, it is interesting to know that many plants reproduce by cuttings, such as succulent plants or some cacti, as well as woody plants. It's just a matter of knowing the best time to cut them, and taking care of the cuttings with care so that they emit their own roots.
Reuse old objects
One way to save money is by giving a new life to those objects that can be useful to us. For example, a shelf that is rusting, if you give it a coat of paint (or two) it becomes a shelf that will look new and in which you can put some plants or even use it as a greenhouse if it is covered with plastic.
The same thing happens with furniture. They often just need to be painted or upholstered to make them look pretty.. And it is not necessary to throw anything away as long as the basic structure is fine, because the rest (cushions, fabric,...) can be changed.
And not, neither do you have to throw away the tires or the bottles: They will serve as pots and vases respectively. These objects have the added advantage that they can be decorated to your liking, so if you love to draw, don't hesitate to personalize them to make your small patio look more.
Don't put too much of anything in your yard
We are talking about a small patio, so it is important not to put too many plants or objects, since you have to be able to walk freely and comfortably. So, we have to think very well how we are going to decorate it, making a draft before starting to place anything. In this draft we will take into account the meters that we have in order to have a more or less clear idea of how we want the patio to look once it is finished.
For example, if the patio measures 6 square meters, on one side we will put a two-seater garden sofa, two rose bushes in pots, one on each side of the furniture, a small table in front, a small latticework through which a jasmine will climb, and if we want a small tent to have shade. Few things, but enough for that patio to be enjoyed.
Include artificial grass in the design of your patio
Artificial grass is a carpet that will allow you to sit on the ground of your patio, and also make it look much better. It is also a way to cover the ground when you do not like it. And the best thing is that It is quite cheap if you think that it does not need any type of maintenance, apart from removing the dirt that may fall on it.
By the way, Did you know that apart from green there are other colors, such as red or white? If you dare to give your patio a different design, you can put, for example, white artificial grass where you have the sofa, and red in the area where the children are going to play.
Match the colors
Soft colors (white, pink, orange, etc.) and strong and striking ones like red or blue can look very nice if you know how to combine them. So, The first thing you have to decide is what you want to highlight: whether an object or place with a soft color, or another with a striking color.
For example, let's say you want to create a composition of plants in a window box, but you want one to stand out from the rest throughout the year. To do? Put green plants on the sides and another in the center of another color (red or multicolor). If the latter is also a little larger than the rest, the better.
If you want to highlight a specific area of the patio, you have to put something that attracts attention, such as one or several colored plants, a decorative object, and/or a path leading there bordered with lanterns or decorative figures.
At the end what it is about is to throw imagination, and to combine all the elements that are going to be in the patio in a way that makes it beautiful and pleasant. And for that, it is not necessary to spend a lot of money.