Cheap Landscaping Ideas for Sand-Foundation Front Yards

Despicable Dilemmas

• Plants need three basic things to survive: sun, water and nutrients, typically from the soil. A major dilemma with sandy soil is that the sand particles are large and coarse, which creates large air pockets in between particles. The water that flows through the sand is only in contact with the plants' roots for a brief period of time. Depending on the plant, this can be a good thing -- overwatering is the No. 1 cause of plant death in a landscape. While many plants need water to stay in contact with the roots longer than sandy soil allows, many of drought-tolerant plants don't. Drought-tolerant plants are often ideal solutions for sandy soils.The cheapest landscaping plants are those that don't require much water and that thrive in poor soils without amendments.

Sizzling Succulents

• Succulents and cacti are known for their ability to withstand the sizzling heat of arid regions, but many can handle less arid areas as long as water is kept to a minimum. Succulents and cacti are often easily started from cuttings. For a colorfully flowered addition that's low in price, consider low-growing, wide-spreading stonecrop (Sedum), which grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 11, depending on species. Most stonecrop species offer gardeners easy cultivation, and in many cases, broken leaves will take root to form new plants. This allows you to get an almost endless supply of plant for a low start-up cost.

Graceful Ground Covers

• Due to their zealousness for spreading, ground covers make low-cost additions to yard, and many do well in sandy soil. Common bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) is a common sight throughout much of North America. It prefers dry, acidic and poor soil. This mat-forming, evergreen ground cover reaches less than 6 inches tall but may blanket the ground for several feet. Rounded evergreen leaves decorate red branches; small, red berries appear after white or pink flowers. Many low-growing junipers (Juniperus spp.) also have wide spreads and add texture and beauty to the front yard with sandy soil. For silver-blue, rich texture, consider the 6-inch tall, 8-foot wide "Blue Rug" creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis "Wiltonii"), hardy in USDA zones 3 through 9. This cultivar, along with a few others, is commonly available in the nursery trade.

Naturally Native

• Native plants sometimes carry a heftier price tag than their non-native counterparts, but they are the best adapted to your region and the soil. Even though they're often more expensive at nurseries, check with native plant councils, university extension offices and local gardening clubs for native plant sales. Natives are on the cheap side in the long run because they don't require the specialized care that many other plants do. They have evolved to live in the region -- and the sandy soil -- over thousands of years.