Discount Gardening

When we purchased our home I realized that I had a deep love for gardening (and a deep hate for ugly flowerbeds.) I love to see new things bloom and grow. My best surprise this season was to see that the begonias (an annual) that I planted last summer had come back this spring!

There's one spot in the yard that I've been working on transforming into a flower bed since last summer and I accomplished my goal after 10 hours in the yard on Saturday. The overall cost for this project was $60. That cost included some bulbs, 4 packs of annuals, 2 azaleas, mulch and border bricks.


Before, It's hard to see but it was mostly Bermuda grass, clover, and other various weeds.


After

So how did I plant 40 daffodils, 35 lilies, 30 tulips, 21 hyacinths, 6 dahlias, 24 annuals, and another unknown plant that my grandmother says is beautiful for $60? Had I gone to Lowes and bought everything there it probably would have cost $250. (All of those plants didn't fit in this bed and are in another bed too.)

Here's some tips for saving money in the garden:

- Ask someone with an established garden for a cutting, a bulb, or some seeds at the end of the season. All of the lilies and daffodils came from my grandmother's garden from years of multiplying. I dug up just a few plants compared to what is still there. In the case of my grandmother's daffodils, they'd become so densely multiplied that they didn't bloom this year. Ask someone if they need anything thinned out or spread out to help them grow better.

-Check out the clearance area at Lowes or Home Depot after holidays and ask for a further discount. I got all of the tulips and hyacinths from Lowes after Valentine's Day and they were marked at $2 a pot so I asked if they would sell them for less and they gave them to me for $1 That's about .25 cents a bulb. They were forced bulbs and won't be beautiful this year but next year will have multiplied and will bloom beautifully. Check out Lowes after this Sunday (Easter) if you like Easter lilies, tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths. Check the clearance rack after Mother's Day for hydrangeas.

-Look on Craigslist. There are often people who don't like something in their yard and will give it to you for free if you'll come dig it up. Recently I saw someone giving up 10 azaleas if you come dig them and last summer someone was giving up Iris's. I also found some lime to neutralize the soil for free last winter. I've seen free and almost free mulch, pavers, plants, fertilizers and garden tools on Craigslist before. Look at the site often and be patient until you find what you want.

Do you have any other tips for cheap gardening? I would love to hear them.

Check out more tips at Works For Me Wednesday.