Turning your garden from a barren patch of land into a sprawling oasis can seem like it will cost more than you can afford. However, there are plenty of ways to make gardening more affordable without compromising on your vision for an outdoor space where you can confidently entertain guests. If your garden is bigger, you may have to tackle small areas at a time, but smaller yards can be transformed much more quickly. Regardless of the size of your garden, this list of tips will help you to transform your garden on a budget by pushing you down the right path and kickstarting your outdoor transformation.

Invest In Hardy Plants

Plants that require a lot of care and are prone to wilting when weather conditions aren’t ideal will cost you a lot of money in the long run, especially if you don’t have much of a green thumb. Buying the true needlepoint holly, evergreen shrubs and crab apple trees will help you to keep your garden looking lush and vibrant year-round, as these plants are known for being particularly resilient. Of course, the types of plants that will thrive in your garden will depend on the kind of climate you live in and the soil you have available. Chat to someone at your local garden center if you feel unsure.

Put In Some Elbow Grease

One of the biggest costs of renovating your garden is labor. If you’re willing to put in a bit of work yourself, you can save a lot more than if you’d hired someone to do the work for you. It’s easy enough to handle tasks such as weeding, mowing the lawn, and giving fences a lick of paint, so if you have the time, it’s definitely worth thinking about. Alternatively, ask a handy family member or friend to come and show you the ropes before you get stuck in yourself.

Embrace Upcycling

Buying new garden furniture, pots and fences can cost a lot of money. If you already have some chairs and a table that are looking weary, consider upcycling them. There are lots of ways you can make old things look new again and will certainly help you to transform your garden on a budget. For example, you could learn how to sew new cushions for a swing seat or use paper mâché to give plant pots a new lease of life. If you don’t have anything for your garden, pick up some cheap pieces in second-hand stores and see what you can do with them.

Borrow Tools

Gardening tools can be expensive and if you know you’re never going to use them again, buying them might not be worth the money. Ask your neighbors and friends if they have some tools they’d be willing to lend you for a few days, most people will be more than happy to help out. For bigger tools like drills and power washers, you may want to ask around local hardware shops to find out whether they have any for hire. Alternatively, your garden renovations could inspire a love for DIY, so buying tools could be seen as an investment in future projects that will save you money.

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Life is a transformative journey, whether or not you welcome the changes along the way.

Nothing remains the same, and you shouldn’t want it to – even when change is painful or frightening.

Beautiful poetry about change reminds us that even as the seasons change and those we love become different or leave us behind, we evolve and grow into new versions of ourselves. 

The poems about change and growth in our collection reveal how change is exhilarating and bittersweet.

As you read them, open your heart and mind, and embrace change as a welcome friend.

15 Exquisite Poems About Change That Will Transform You

We suggest you first read each poem to yourself and then read them out loud.

You’ll be surprised how profoundly they touch you as you hear the flow of words and absorb their meaning.

Not only are you reading poetry about changes in life – but also you’ll find these are life-changing poems that speak to the deepest parts of your psyche.

So give them the time they deserve and savor each one like a treasured gift. 

1. There is a life-force within your soul, by Rumi

There is a life-force within your soul, seek that life.
There is a gem in the mountain of your body, seek that
mine.
O traveler, if you are in search of That
Don’t look outside, look inside yourself and seek That.

There is a life-force within your soul, seek that life.
There is a gem in the mountain of your body, seek that mine.
O traveler, if you are in search of That
Don’t look outside, look inside yourself and seek That.

2. Change, by Mary Love

Count me among 
the weird, the odd, the unruly.
Stare if you must
then kindly step out of the way. 
I am here to change the world
and I have a lot to do.

3. When I Rise Up, by Georgia Douglas Johnson

When I rise up above the earth,
And look down on the things that fetter me,
I beat my wings upon the air,
Or tranquil lie,
Surge after surge of potent strength
Like incense comes to me
When I rise up above the earth
And look down upon the things that fetter me.

4. Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

5. Change, by Wendy Videlock

Change is the new,
improved
word for god,
lovely enough
to raise a song
or implicate
a sea of wrongs,
mighty enough,
like other gods,
to shelter,
bring together,
and estrange us.
Please, god,
we seem to say,
change us.

6. For A New Beginning, by John O’Donahue

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety

And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

7. Love’s Change, by Robert Bridges

So sweet love seemed that April morn.
When first we kissed beside the thorn,
So strangely sweet, it was not strange
We thought that love could never change.
But I can tell — let truth be told —
That love will change in growing old;
Though day by day is naught to see,
So delicate his motions be.
And in the end ’twill come to pass
Quite to forget what once he was,
Nor even in fancy to recall
The pleasure that was all in all.
His little spring, that sweet we found.
So deep in summer floods is drowned,
I wonder, bathed in joy complete.
How love so young could be so sweet.

8. Change, by Kathleen Jessie Raine

Change
Said the sun to the moon,
You cannot stay.
Change
Says the moon to the waters,
All is flowing.
Change
Says the fields to the grass,
Seed-time and harvest,
Chaff and grain.
You must change said,
Said the worm to the bud,
Though not to a rose,
Petals fade
That wings may rise
Borne on the wind.
You are changing
said death to the maiden, your wan face
To memory, to beauty.
Are you ready to change?
Says the thought to the heart, to let her pass
All your life long
For the unknown, the unborn
In the alchemy
Of the world’s dream?
You will change,
says the stars to the sun,
Says the night to the stars.

9. The Song of the Potter, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Turn, turn, my wheel! Turn round and round,
Without a pause, without a sound:
So spins the flying world away!
This clay, well mixed with marl and sand,
Follows the motion of my hand;
For some must follow, and some command,
Though all are made of clay!
Turn, turn, my wheel! All things must change
To something new, to something strange;
Nothing that is can pause or stay;
The moon will wax, the moon will wane,
The mist and cloud will turn to rain,
The rain to mist and cloud again,
To-morrow be to-day.

10. The Struggle, by Edgar A. Guest

Life is a struggle for peace,
A longing for rest,
A hope for the battles to cease,
A dream for the best;
And he is not living who stays
Contented with things,
Unconcerned with the work of the days
And all that it brings.
He is dead who sees nothing to change,
No wrong to make right;
Who travels no new way or strange
In search of the light;
Who never sets out for a goal
That he sees from afar
But contents his indifferent soul
With things as they are.
Life isn’t rest — it is toil;
It is building a dream;
It is tilling a parcel of soil
Or bridging a stream;
It’s pursuing the light of a star
That but dimly we see,
And in wresting from things as they are
The joy that should be.

11. Sonnets to Orpheus, Part Two, XII, by Rainer Maria Rilke

Want the change.  Be inspired by the flame
where everything shines as it disappears.
The artist, when sketching, loves nothing so much
as the curve of the body as it turns away.
What locks itself in sameness has congealed.
Is it safer to be gray and numb?
What turns hard becomes rigid
and is easily shattered.
Pour yourself out like a fountain.
Flow into the knowledge that what you are seeking
finishes often at the start, and, with ending, begins.
Every happiness is the child of a separation
it did not think it could survive.  And Daphne, becoming
a laurel,
dares you to become the wind.

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12. Before I, by Insiya K. Patanwala

Before I became strong, I knew what it was like
To be weak,
How difficult it is to love yourself,
To find the wholeness that you seek.
Before I knew the light,
I have had my fair share of darkness, too,
Where my world fell into a hopelessness
And I didn’t know how to get through.
For I have known the tears it takes,
The courage to stand up again,
When you are broken down and bruised
And you know nothing but the pain.
You forget to appreciate love,
If you haven’t seen the hate,
Till you forget the meaning of smile and laughter,
And your heart is left abate.
I have known the strength and courage
It requires to get it right,
To face the things that hold you down
And hold your head up and fight.
Before I was who I am now,

I was someone I didn’t want to be.
I was lost, battered, and defeated,
Before I knew how to be me!

13. A Little Bird Am I, by Hanna Heath

I ask but this one small thing.
Give me the worldly skies
For I cannot stay trapped here
A little bird am I….
Let me leave this here land.
Don’t keep me in a cage.
Let me fly to the highest heights.
Let me come of age.
Let me soar among the clouds.
Let my wings spread into flight.
I need to be free; I need to see
The world without a fright.
I have spent my life so grounded,
But my instincts pull me up.
They tell me to go, to see the new,

To finger each buttercup.
I need to witness greatness,
need the sorrow of poverty.
I need to show the world my wings
And shed this gravity.
I want a life of freedom,
And I want to know what’s real.
I want to step to the edge of earth
And watch the sea reveal.
I want to take the longest ride,
And I want to feel the wind
I want to share this life with you,
So, forgive me, for I have sinned.
For I know I’m leaving you behind
To shadow in my wake,
But I cannot stay in these four walls
Simply for your sake.
I will keep you in my mirror.
With me you’ll always be.
I will share with you my tales,
And I will return to thee.
So I ask but this one small thing
Give me the worldly skies
For I cannot stay trapped here
A little bird am I….

14. Proverbios y Cantares XXIX, by Antonio Machado

Wayfarer, the only way
is your footsteps, there is no other.
Wayfarer, there is no way,
you make the way by walking.
As you go, you make the way
and stopping to look behind,
you see the path that your feet
will never travel again.
Wayfarer, there is no way –
Only foam trails to the sea.

15. The Change Has Come, by Paul Laurence Dunbar

The change has come, and Helen sleeps–
Not sleeps; but wakes to greater deeps
Of wisdom, glory, truth, and light,
Than ever blessed her seeking sight,
In this low, long, lethargic night,
Worn out with strife
Which men call life.
The change has come, and who would say
“I would it were not come to-day”?
What were the respite till to-morrow?
Postponement of a certain sorrow,
From which each passing day would borrow!
Let grief be dumb,
The change has come.

What changes are you experiencing in your life right now? Or how is life presenting you with a moment for transformation and growth?

Hopefully, you found a change poem in our curation that speaks to your experiences and emotions. 

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Yoga is an ancient practice that has been around for hundreds of years. It is practiced worldwide in different ways and has exploded in popularity recently. In fact, yoga is no longer viewed as only a practice; it has become a lifestyle for many people.

Although yoga can be traced back centuries, its benefits can be enjoyed almost immediately. Incorporating a short yoga practice into your daily routine can bring you tremendous benefits that improve both your physical and mental wellbeing. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the most significant transformations yoga can have on your life.

Improves Your Physical Health

At first, yoga may seem like a relatively mild or low-intensity form of exercise, but you will soon find out that it is indeed a physical workout and can quickly build your strength and stamina. Yoga does involve less impact on your joints and improves your body’s flexibility and ability to truly experience relaxation.

Here are some of the health-related benefits experienced from yoga:

• Improves balance
• Reduces fatigue
• Increases flexibility
• Maintains a healthy heart rate
• Improved kidney function
• Pain and tension relief
• Weight management
• Improved circulation
• Reduces sleep disturbances

Mindfulness And Inner Peace

Yoga is a philosophy that unites the body, mind, and spirit through meditation, physical postures, and breathing. Yoga aims to quiet the mind and encourages you to be present and connected during the practice. This creates a deeper relationship and better understanding of how your mental and physical states coincide. By focussing on breathing, you can train yourself to pay more attention to bodily sensations, emotions, and feelings.

There are meditative aspects of yoga that allow people to achieve a deeper spiritual connection with their bodies and minds. With an understanding of mindfulness, you can achieve a higher level of consciousness. This state of mind will create a sense of inner peace in yourself and better equip you to navigate your everyday life.

Reduces Stress

Stress has an incredible effect on our body, and many people operate daily with such high-stress levels, they begin to suffer the consequences physically. Yoga postures work to negate the physical effects of stress on your body. By encouraging a sense of relaxation, yoga works to lower the level of cortisol in your body which is a stress hormone.

Yoga is also well known for alleviating the adverse effects of anxiety, depression, fatigue, and insomnia.

Keeps You Young

Yoga is a natural, anti-aging practice that can make you look and feel more youthful. The physical and mental benefits experienced by those who practice yoga stimulate telomeres, an enzyme that works to reduce cellular aging. Yoga also helps increase your energy level and overall sense of wellbeing, contributing to that youthful feeling we all strive for.

Individualized Practice 

Yoga is a highly customizable practice. It can easily be tailored to accommodate preferences, capabilities, and injuries. Those that participate in yoga can adapt their approach as needed, and it can change over time as you develop and progress both physically and mentally. Yoga is meant to serve you and you alone. It is a personal practice, and the results you will experience are equally individual.

Start A Yoga Practice 

One of the best parts about beginning yoga is that you don’t need to source expensive equipment. It requires only the most straightforward supplies, a rubber mat with a sticky surface to assist your foothold. Some styles of yoga do utilize additional props like bricks and bands, but this is not needed to get started.

If you are interested in starting yoga, it is suggested to find a beginner class in your local community. If you are looking for yoga classes in Greeley, Colorado, there are plenty of lovely studios to choose from.

A yoga instructor will help ensure you have an enjoyable and proper introduction to the practice of yoga. Make sure that you select a day and time convenient to your schedule. Yoga is meant to be relaxing, and you don’t want to feel obligated or conflicted when it’s time to attend your classes.

Yoga has the power to transform your wellbeing, and there are many associated benefits that you will enjoy along the way.

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If you’re looking to slim down, get fit, and build strength, far too many people think you need to camp out for hours at a time at the gym. Though it may certainly help to train hard in many circumstances—depending on your goals and your fitness level—the truth is, you don’t necessarily need to spend that much time working out to see great results, especially if you’re working hard enough and you’re efficient with your time. After all, most of us nowadays don’t have as much time to focus on our fitness anyway—so we need to stick to routines that will give us the most bang our buck.

If you’ve only got ten minutes to squeeze in a workout, don’t worry: Assuming you’re adhering to a healthy diet, that’s plenty of time to transform your body. The workout I’ve designed below is super-effective at building muscle and slimming down because it targets every major muscle group. Best of all, you can do it anywhere with a pair of dumbbells. (Bonus: if you don’t have any dumbbells, I’ve provided alternative moves you can do instead.) Done right, it will burn fat, elevate your heart rate, and rev your metabolism.

If you’re game, set a timer for 10 minutes and perform as many sets of the following exercises as you can—back to back. And if you’re hungry for even more cutting-edge exercise advice, make sure you’re aware of The Popular Workout That Can Cause Lasting Damage to Your Body, According to a New Study.

Holding a pair of dumbbells up to your shoulders, squat all the way down, and as you come up, press the weight over your head. Lower the weight under control back to your shoulders, then perform another rep. Do 10 reps.

Alternative bodyweight exercise: Burpee with Jump.

Start by getting into a pushup position, then spring your feet forward towards you and jump up. Do 10 reps.

For more great fitness advice, know that This Is What Walking on a Treadmill Does to Your Body, According to Experts.

Holding a single dumbbell, get into a staggered stance. Keeping your core tight, drive your elbow back towards your hip, squeezing your lats. Do ten reps.

Alternative bodyweight exercise: Plank Bodyweight Row.

From the pushup position, take one hand and pull your elbow towards your hip, flexing your back, then with the other arm. Do 10 reps.

Get into a split stance with one foot forward and one foot back. Lower yourself all the way down until your back knee touches the ground, then push yourself up using your front foot. Do 10 reps with each leg.

Alternative bodyweight exercise: Bodyweight Split Squat.

Perform the same movement with just your bodyweight. Do 10 reps with each leg.

Keeping your chest tall and core tight, lower the weights in front of you while pushing hips back. Feel a hamstring stretch, then drive your hips forward, squeezing your glutes. Do 10 reps.

Alternative bodyweight exercise: Hip Thrust.

With your upper back supported on a sturdy surface or bench and knees bent, lower your hips, then extend all the way up, flexing your glutes at the top. Do 10 reps.

Want more great exercise tips? See Why Drinking This 30 Minutes Before Exercising Helps You Torch Fat!

Tim Liu, C.S.C.S., is a fitness and nutrition coach based in Los Angeles. He helps busy men and women lose fat and build muscle without having to live in the gym.

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If you are looking to improve yourself, it is up to you to make changes that will change your everyday life. Putting in hard work is necessary if you wish to grow yourself and pave the way to a more successful future. This might be the sign you were waiting for in order to start challenging yourself in order to improve certain areas in your life. The personal growth challenges you choose to follow can be bigger or smaller. Regardless of that, they are always a great place to start and can help you discover a lot of things about yourself. If you need help finding the right challenges to get started, here are some ideas you can use.

1. Set a morning routine for yourself

One of the biggest challenges you can set for yourself is following a certain routine every single morning. Many people struggle to find a way to start their day that will make them feel awake and motivated. This might be a good chance for you to start such a routine and enjoy its benefits. A simple and measurable goal is to start eating a nourishing breakfast every single day.

The important thing to remember is to start slow. You do not need to start waking up earlier and doing more things immediately. Take it one step at a time and only add new things after you are able to easily keep up with each day’s schedule. This way, the morning routine won’t become a chore and you will enjoy every part of the process.

“If you win the morning, you win the day.” – Tim Ferriss

2. Make little notes with positive affirmations

A great way to challenge yourself to grow is connected to the way you talk to yourself on a daily basis. Change comes through positive situations and using positive affirmations can help you feel happier and more confident. You can start this challenge by putting your favorite affirmations on post-it notes and placing them around your house. Some great affirmations you can learn and challenge yourself to repeat daily are the following:

• I am worthy.
• I am enough.
• I don’t sweat the small stuff
• I am capable of change.
• I can do anything I set my mind to.

Repeating these affirmations on a daily basis can help you remind yourself of how worthy you are of good things to come your way. Change might not happen overnight, but believing you are capable and worthy of it will make things a lot easier.

3. Declutter your house and working space

If you tend to let things clutter around your house and working space, this is the perfect challenge for you. Keeping your house clean and tidy surely requires energy and time but leaving it cluttered will impact your productivity. You can break this challenge into smaller goals and make it a lot easier for yourself to keep up.

For example, you can start by setting up a system to take out the trash every day. Along with that, you can try to always return things to their spot after using them. These simple steps can help you set up new habits and ace this challenge without any issue. At the end of the day, the more organized your personal space is, the more productive and positive you will be.

4. Read a book every month

Something that can truly change your life for the better is reading more books. Books have so much to give you and it is very sad that fewer people seem to devote time to reading. Books can help you find a productive way to spend your time, offer you the knowledge and help you expand your vocabulary and way of thinking.

Thankfully, technology has helped us make this challenge a lot easier. Services such as Scribd and Audible give us access to thousands of audiobooks. If you have a hectic schedule and can never seem to find the team to read, you can switch to audiobooks instead. By listening to a chapter while you drive to work or do the laundry you will be able to easily reach your goal every month.

5. Limit the time you spend on social media

While phones might be necessary for our day-to-day life they can also become quite addictive. Making sure to get enough off-screen time is essential and can help you change your life for the better. This challenge is an easy one on paper but can be rather challenging. You should start by turning your phone off an hour before you sleep. 

Getting some time away from the screen will help you spend more time doing other things you enjoy. Along with that, it can help you improve the quality of your sleep and make you feel less nervous. Instead of spending time looking at what others are doing online, spend this time for yourself. Cook a meal you enjoy or practice some yoga before bed and spend your time doing something good for you.

6. Try to take a walk every single day

If you live a hectic lifestyle, you might find that you never have enough time to exercise on the daily. Going to the gym might not be an option for many reasons, but going on a daily walk can be the next best thing. Apart from exercising, walking can offer you more benefits than you can imagine.

Taking a walk can help you find some time with yourself and your thoughts. It can allow you to rethink certain situations and things that bother you and allow you to see them with a clear mind.  Some fresh air and a change of scenery are necessary on a daily basis. Spending more time with yourself can prove very useful when it comes to your personal growth and walking can greatly contribute to that.

“A walk in nature walks the soul back home.” – Mary Davis

The point of the personal growth challenges is to motivate you to try new things and lead a better life. It is only normal that you will not be able to complete every challenge you set for yourself. Instead of being upset over that, try and find ways to make them work in your favor and unlock new skills. Which of these challenges are you looking forward to trying the most?

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