Gardening on a Budget
Volunteer Your Time!
Yep, that’s right, volunteer your time and there’s no better way to start than getting out in your community. Luckily I already had a few friends with yards full of perennials and as you know, perennials occasionally need to be divided.
There were also a few homes down the street that had some spectacular plants that I wanted to get my hands on and as luck would have it, these elderly owners needed help with their garden.
It’s not hard to knock on a neighbors door, even if you don’t know them, to tell them that you absolutely adore their flowers and that you would like to volunteer your time to help them divide those plants when they are ready as long as you can take a few of those divisions home with you to plant in your yard.
Trust me! My friends loved me even more and my neighbors found a reason to give me a call too just to check up on my gardening projects, a few even came over to help me out.
Seek Out Connections
Big home improvement stores, discount stores, small mom and pop stores and nurseries sometimes throw away plants that are damaged and cannot be sold, buddy up with the sales people because they’ll either save those plants for you or give you a ring when the manager has said, “toss ’em”.
Keep your eyes open, check with them often and make sure that you do something nice in return for the sales people that do help you out. I opted to bake a few batches of oatmeal raisin cookies placed in some pretty boxes I found on a clearance rack and attached a homemade note thanking them for helping me out in my quest for free flowers.
Advertise
This is a last resort! When all else fails to reap rewards, advertise your needs. An ad in the local paper is only ten bucks at the most placed under ‘services offered’ or a similar category.
Put the word out that you want to start a garden and if anyone needs an assistance that you’ll work for plants. I didn’t do this but I saw an ad in a newspaper when I was living in Kentucky, I wanted to help out so I called the lady up and she said that she had more offers than she could get to. She told me that she actually had to ask people just what types of varieties they had growing in their gardens to see if she already opted to help someone else with the same.
That’s amazing!
I suppose the same effect could be gained by placing a few flyers around town or in neighborhoods with plenty of attractive gardens too. It’s worth a try when you’re working on a budget.
It’s All in Selection
Selecting the right flowers for your garden is most important because you need flowers that will give you the elements you envision. Take into account the conditions in your area for planting such as sun, shade, desired plant heights, desired plant textures, soil and water conditions.
Also consider the type of garden you want. If you’re looking to work towards a lush environment then it only makes sense to choose flowers that will spread. Spreading plants usually thrive in the right environment and you can also help create more flowers from the source. Trim of the cuttings of new growths, simply plant them in the soil nearby and watch them root; usually it only takes a couple of weeks.
Care for these new plants carefully because while they may be small and fragile once they root but next season they’ll be beautiful. Keep in mind that if there are specific flowers that you want, you don’t see any in your neighborhood but you’ve saw those plants at the local store, remember, tell the sales person to keep an eye on those plants for you. You may get lucky.
Do Your Homework �
Gaining the knowledge you need to care for flowers once they’re planted or flowers that are damaged is very important. The last thing you want to happen is to watch the flowers you’ve worked so hard to get die is heartbreaking. Read any kind of material that will help you broaden your skills and ask the owners that you help out for tips.
Gardening tips are as endless as those that bakers share for recipes. Each gardener has their own secrets and usually these secrets are only secrets because no one ever asks! Gardeners are more than willing to share their love of gardening with tips and tricks that no doubt improve your abilities.
At the End of the Day
Once you’ve complete your project, you’ve helped a lot of people beautify their yards and you begin to sit back to enjoy your own, enjoy. Your garden will mean so much to you as it will to anyone else that helped you create it.
When you glance around you’ll remember the time spent getting that plant, you’ll remember the people responsible for helping you to get those plants and your garden will be priceless filled with memories that will last longer than any plant that you paid for.
You’ll feel a sense of pride for good reason and you’ll have a big story to talk about when people visit while you and your visitors enjoy a patchwork garden put together by so many people.
