A Sample of my garden bounty I’ve heard it said that gardening is an expensive endeavor. And it certainly can be. Just take a look in any garden store or online catalog. There are plenty of things you can buy, from tools to trellises, to totes and more. And plants aren’t cheap either! But I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be. I have been gardening here for over 20 years now and I do what I can to keep the costs to a minimum. I love to bring people on tours of my property and tell them how I acquired each plant or other garden paraphernalia for free or at a very low cost. And after gardening in this manner for several decades I have quite a few gardens to show for it. My Veggie garden (shared by a few flowers 😀) In the ornamental (flower) beds most of the plants have either come to me from gardening friends, who give them to me when they are are dividing up their own perennials (I do the same for them in return), or from “orphan” plants that need a good home. Sometimes they are offered to me from people who just don’t want them anymore, or sometimes they are looking sad on the clearance rack at a garden center. Both of these beauties (blue forget-me-nots and pink peonies) were shared from friend's gardens ,As long as the plant has good roots, I do not concern myself with how pathetic the foliage and flowers have become. Often the garden centers will put them out for clearance just because somebody forgot to water them, and the tops have died back. They are ugly to sell this way, but the savvy gardener knows that taken home and given a little TLC that plant can thrive and, if it is a perennial, live and flourish in your garden for years to come. I bought 24 of these dianthus on a clearance rack this spring, selling for $1 per 8 pack. For a grand total of $3 I got enough to line my entire front walkway. And the best part is, although they sell them as annuals, they will actually come back for me year after year. I also get free plants from my own garden. I divide perennials and plant the divisions around my yard, and I also take cuttings from some plants and root them to make new ones. Often shrubs will put out “suckers” around the base of the plant that you can dig up to create another shrub for yourself, or to trade for something else with one of your garden friends. I bought two of these hydrangea bushes, and used branch cuttings to make another three. Now I have five of them lining the side of my garage (for the cost of two). And many annuals are free too! You buy them once and plant them in your garden and they will reseed themselves for the rest of your days. All you need to do is creatively “edit” them to pull them out where you don’t want them or move them around to where you do. I have many plants that grace my garden from year to year this way, including cleomes, cosmos, poppies, sunflowers, morning glories, dill, lettuce, and daisies. These cleomes and cosmos reseed themselves and pop up all over my gardens to my delight each year And this frugal gardening does not stop at the flower gardens. I am very frugal when it comes to my veggies too. It is very easy and economical to grow most of your vegetables from seed. For the price of a cell pack, you can buy a packet of seeds with enough in it to last you for years to come. Just store them in a cool, dry place (I use plastic containers in my refrigerator). An almost free fresh salad bar for the price of a few seeds Some other ways to be economical in your vegetable patch are to source your own planting and mulching material. Your own shredded leaves are garden gold, used as mulch or allowed to break down into compost (or leaf mold). You can also use your own yard waste and kitchen scraps to make compost. And look around for other sources organic materials to use in your beds. Our town has a huge pile of wood chips free for the taking. Ask someone nearby with animals if you can use their manure (we trade veggies for cow manure with a local cattle farmer). Your own shredded leaves turn into a (free!) "garden gold" soil amendment As for tools and other garden paraphernalia, you can’t beat yard sales, and now you can even just search for them at the click of a button on sites like FB Marketplace. As they say, where there’s a will there’s a way, and if you have the will to garden there are a multitude of ways to do it for very little cost. I am as proud of how little I spent to create my gardens as I am of their beauty. And nothing tastes as good as free fresh food, straight from your own backyard! Wishing you all a bright, healthy, and beautiful future!
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