7 Frugal Ways To Upgrade Your Backyard

We stuck to backyard ideas in this post because we have a How To Frugally Enhance Your Home’s Curb Appeal post which has tips for making your front yard look amazing.

Follow both of these posts to get the best outdoor space on the block.

Frugal Ways To Upgrade Your Backyard

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Hang string lights

We have a screened in porch in our backyard, around our concrete patio, that we furnished with our friend’s old furniture that they gifted us when they were moving. We gave it a nice coat of black spray paint and bought some outdoor cushions in our style to make them feel like our own.

But sitting on them at night used to mean turning on our ceiling fan’s light, which doesn’t really give the best ambiance.

So, we hung a set of outdoor string lights across the top of our back porch with light clips holders and it instantly transformed that space. Ideally, we want to swap the lightbulbs out for solar lights to make them more frugal since we’re not paying for electricity when we use them.

Change your outdoor umbrella

When our neighbors moved, they gifted us one of their cast iron patio sets. It’s so nice. One of the caveats of the gift, though, was the umbrella shade was falling apart so we’d have to replace it.

So that Christmas, my parents got us a new outdoor patio umbrella. It made such a difference.

We went with a black and white striped umbrella shade, which matched the new pillows I got for the table as well. The umbrella shade has solar powered LED lights, which you can easily turn on and off, because no outdoor space can ever have enough lights or seating.

Take care of the weeds

One of the worst parts of owning a house, honestly, is the weeds. We don’t use any sort of chemicals on our lawn, so the only way to take care of the weeds is by pulling them by hand.

So, as often as necessary, I’ll go outside with my gardening gloves and shovel and pick the weeds. 

It’s a really inexpensive way (since you’re only paying with your time) to make such a difference. This is absolutely free to do and really changes your house from looking haggard to looking pristine. And if you don’t do it, well, having someone come in to take care of your lawn after it has been overtaken by weeds is really expensive.

Make a rock garden

If you want to change your outdoor space, a great way to do that is to add a new focal point, like a rock garden.

My mom really wanted to replace one of the garden beds in my parents’ North Carolina house with a rock garden, but bags of rocks are so expensive. Luckily, while they were in their Florida house, Pete and I found a construction site near our home that was breaking up asphalt. They allowed us to come with 5-gallon buckets and take as many rocks as we wanted.

I honestly think it took us four hauls, but we were able to build a beautiful rock garden as a surprise for my parents.

When my parents got back to their North Carolina house, they added some Japanese decorative elements, plus concrete paver stones usually used to flower beds, to complete the look.

Add a fire pit

We had been talking about getting a firepit for years, but it wasn’t until we saw someone discarding one that we actually got one.

You can pick up an inexpensive, brand new firepit, or you can just wait until someone is having a garage sale or getting rid of one on Facebook Marketplace and just clean it up. If you do get a secondhand fire pit, just make sure to check that the bottom isn’t rusted out. That can cause you problems.

You can build up bricks or concrete blocks around the fire pit to make it a nice focal point (and assure you don’t burn your grass), or you can just leave it as is.

If you have a small space, look into a Solo Stove instead. We have one of those that we set up on our outdoor dining table and use it to make s’mores. It fits perfectly on our tabletop and packs up really nicely. We break it out when we want to have an easy date night at home, then pack it back up into its small box until next time. I think that’s the best part about it. It doesn’t have to be out all the time like a large fire pit does.

Stain your fence

If you have a fence already, you know it’s such an easy way to get some privacy.

Funny aside: My dad used to sit on his back patio area during the summer months to enjoy his morning coffee. His neighbor would come out in his boxer shorts (which were his pajamas) and wave every morning. That was enough reason for my dad to want a fence. He liked the neighbor, of course, but he didn’t like his undergarments.

Putting up a fence is a little bit of an investment up front, so it’s not the most frugal idea on this list, but once it’s up, you only have to spend a little money on upkeep it. Every year or so, you’ll want to stain your fence. 

Doing that breathes new life into your fence and backyard, totally updating it and refreshing the look of your outdoor space.

Water the grass

This one feels like a no brainer, but I had to add to add it to the list. Just in case. Water your grass. Green grass adds so much to your backyard.

If you have an irrigation system, this is so easy. Just set it to run when you want, for as long as you want, and it does the job for you.

If you live in an area where it rains quite a bit, be sure to tell your system not to run if the grass is saturated. That way, you won’t be wasting water. Watering, weeding, and mowing are really cheap backyard landscaping ideas — a lot cheaper than laying sod in your backyard.