We are starting in on our summertime listener requests today with a show all about making the most of your outdoor space, no matter how big or small, as inexpensively as possible.

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Want to get your neighbor to mow their overgrown lawn? Send neighbor kids to knock on their door with a lawn mower various days throughout the week. The neighbor kids will either make some money mowing the lawn or the neighbor will eventually be shamed into doing it themself. Neighbor shame, if you care more about your neighborhood looking nice than actually being nice. Neighbor shame:

Notable Notes:

What the Internet has to say:

This article from Budget Dumpster gives us some great ideas for making our yards look great on a budget

What Jen + Jill have to say:
Vertical Garden - consider this approach if short on space AND can be inexpensive to make if using recycled materials (i.e bottles, containers)
Utilize Color - consider how you use paint; if you have ‘mismatched’ planters but prefer a more clean look - paint it!
Look for plant swaps in your area
Plant useful! FORM AND FUNCTION
Rosemary - fleas+ticks
Peppermint - ants, spiders mosquitoes
Basil - mosquitoes + house flies
Lavender (the cadillac of plants!)- moths, fleas, flies, mosquitos
Ground cover - natural perennial ground cover (i.e. sedum, creeping periwinkle, violets, pansies, snow glories, moss flox)
Incorporate inexpensive lighting, fire pit, seating
Compost instead of mulch, free mulch from tree companies
Save old tires from the dump

More from the Internet:

This article from An Oregon Cottage gives us a list of the top 10 plants to grow that give us a great return on our money

More from Jen + Jill: 
Herbs - easy to grow, not bothered by pests, grow in mediocre soil
BASIL - freezes well, also PESTO!
Squash - super high yield at peak (veggie noodles, breads, stir fry..)
*important to pay attention to your climate and the varieties and types of fruits/veggies that can be grown in your area
Lettuce and greens - hearty and fast grower
Hot peppers - we love salsa!

BILL OF THE WEEK - Thank you Amanda for sharing your utility bill that you dropped by $13

frugalfriendspodcast.com/billIf you want to submit your bill of the week visit to leave us a bill

Lightning Round

How we do/will maintain our lawns
Jill
Personally most concerned about decreasing maintenance - plan to have little to no grass in backyard
Plant usefully - I like flowers, but I also REALLY like food - veggies will be priority
Plan to live life outdoors quite often - creating oasis (with my own hands) will save money on labor and hopefully in other areas in the long run
Propogate my own - from my own yard/garden AND others - considering this before I buy any plants!
Jen- I kill everything so I don’t have a garden. We compost and use well water to water our lawn.

Wrap-Up:

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