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Fancy ornaments, outdoor decor, luscious plants… the options are endless when it comes to beautifying your garden. But if you’re not careful, these adornments can quickly soak up your hard-earned dollars. Thankfully, though, as long as you know where to look, you can glam up your yard without going broke. Take a leaf out of this lovely space, filled with items from council collections, thrift shops and friends. The result? A garden of oddities, surprise and delight – with zero credit-card headache.

1. Unusual objects scattered around a seating area make great conversation starters.

2. Ornamental lanterns look magical when aglow. For added interest, stagger their hanging heights.

3. If you’re a big fan of succulents, don’t let them get lost in your garden. Use chairs or upturned pots to raise them to eye level.

4. To perk up a dull masonry wall, try covering it with a climber, such as creeping fig, and hanging an outdoor clock.

5. After impact? Use large plants, like this magnificent grass tree (Xanthorrhoea sp.), to punctuate ‘blah’ areas.

Are you after ideas for a complete garden makeover?Here are our tips.

6. Inject a touch of whimsy to serious garden beds with fun animal statues.

7. For a great combo, plant a red cordyline in the centre of a sandstone pot and surround it with a ring of mondo. Simple, but effective.

8. Anything and everything can be used to house succulents. Just drill a couple of drainage holes in the bases before planting.

9. If you’re low on space, a small fire pit can double as a nifty barbecue.

10. Can’t let go of that commemorative cup? Use it to pot succulents. To bore drainage holes, use a masonry bit, sticking masking tape across hole position, and turn hammer action off.

11. How’s this for creative recycling? The bird feeder is actually made from a re-purposed metal lampshade, curtain rods and an old side-table top. So the only things you need to pay for are a treated pine sleeper and paint.

12. Gardenias provide exquisite perfume during the warmer months and act as a fab green hedge the rest of the year.

13. Pretty and tough, kangaroo paw is a favourite low-maintenance plant..

14. If you’re after big and bold, you can’t beat taro (Colocasia esculenta).

15. Not only do succulents, such as echeveria, look intriguing, they also produce gorgeous pendulous flowers.

Get inspiration from the world's strangest and grandest gardens.

16. Let gazanias go wild in hot sunny spots and you’ll have a fab carpet of colour.

17. Wonderfully fragrant star jasmine grows quickly and needs plenty of sunshine.

18. For a low-maintenance way to glam up lightly shaded ground, try Serbian bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana).