How can you afford

I just started to explore the gardening, Thanks to spring..

I visited couple of nurseries around here(Northern virginia) and the prices of the plants/ trees are expenesive..

If I have to get a cluster of good colors, i think, i must spend atleast $50. I have a sun room, 2 bedrooms, family room and hallway and Deck to get container plants, and wondering how much would it cost.

Again, i have a beautiful backyard, and lots of space at the front and sides waiting for the plants.. How in the world, can i afford.

Any short cuts.

Quick question.
Seeds seemed a better option(cheap) but i'm wondering if the seeds can grow and bloom in couple of months with a proper care, lighting??..

Thanks.. And happy gardening....

Hi! Annuals will work from seed fairly quickly. I start those from seed because I have a really big yard and like a few to tuck in here and there but couldn't possibly afford to purchase nursery grown ones every year - I'd go broke :-) -Christie

Also, try to remember that there is no such thing as an instant garden. And even if we had all the money in the world to buy mature plants and trees, we'd lose most of the fun....in seeing our plants grow! :-) I started all of my plants from teeny babies (meaning, none cost very much at all except for the trees....but in the long run trees give soooooo much to the garden and grow so incredibly fast, that they are worth spending money on). I'm not great at getting seeds to germinate and grow for me, so I start with the little 1/2 cup plants and just watch them grow. Even the trees were all just 2 1/2 - 3 years old each (which meant they were all mostly just a meter tall when we put them in). Now less than 2 years later, the garden looks pretty darned good even if I do say so myself :-). If you start wih little plants, there will be a lot of space in between in the beginning, but don't let that make you impatient. Some of those 1/2 cup plants that started out as 4 inch tall "twigs" are now 3 meters wide and 2-3 meters tall! They grow up very fast if you give them the right sun/shade and water for their needs. Also regular fertilizer in the growing season (but not too much!) will take an empty dirt lot to Eden in just a years time :-)

-Julie

I would suggest going to your University Extension's annual plant sale, where you can get plants much cheaper than OTC. Also, plant seeds. If you need seeds, just ask - many of us will supply you with common seeds for the cost of a couple of stamps.

These forums are home to many wonderful and generous traders. I will be moving at the end of April, but if you will contact me at the end of May, I will gladly send you some common plants for the cost of postage - $4.85 for two pounds.

I am sure there are others who would do the same. Just remember, though: packaging seeds and plants takes LOTS of time, and most of us work full-time, so our time is limited. You may not get them right away. Just ask and see what happens. Good luck!

CO-OPS!!!!! ;)

Post items you want in the trading forum. Even if you can only pay postage, I'm sure you'll get some nice things. I just dug up a lot of sedum, "Autumn Joy" a/k/a "live forever." Would you like some?

Hook up with gardening groups too. You can get seeds from the exchanges & most sponsor plant sales that are amazing! Here in the greater Phila area, the Rock Garden Society & Hardy Plant Society both have great seed exchanges, local chapters & plant sales. There's a society for just about every type of plant. Hostas, daylilies etc.

I got started by pulling together a few friends & friends of friends interested in gardening and started a "garden club" We'd have several swap plants a year (I mostly gratefully took the first few years). Now that I've been gardening for more than 10 yrs, I always have stuff to give away, I realize how nice it is to share so don't feel guilty about taking at swaps. Folks need the room for more.

Seed starting is a great way to start playing with the dirt before the weather is warm enough to be outside too. Enjoy!

If you don't know about any of these gardening clubs/groups, ask the horticulture agent at the Cooperative Extension Agency, usually listed under the state or county phone listings.

This message was edited Mar 26, 2005 7:13 AM

Plant swaps with friends are wonderful. We just started one a couple years ago and I cannot believe how much it has grown. Aso when working outside, Just start on one area at a time. It is less daunting and you will love having at least one area totally done. So just pick which one and begin but remember that annuals are just that, annuals, so always look into shrubs and also perennials which are so easy to pass along to others and to received from others. Any local nursery can give you info sheets on shade plants, sun plants, etc. Don't be shy, just ask! Also your local library should be fountain of info for you.

What zone are you in? Do you have mostly sun or shade?

Remember that soil preparation is really important. While you're talking with the county extension agent, be sure to request a soil test kit. You will put soil from different areas of your property that you plan to plant in, send them off and get a read-out back. It's not easy to understand, but your local agent will explain it. Then you'll know if you need lime and other specific nutrients for the specific things you plant to grow in a given area.

I don't know if your Lowe's does it, but mine clearances plants all the time. And especially in the fall, I can get some great deals. Often I get perennials, shrubs and trees for $1 a gallon! I've gotten wiegelias, spireas, butterfly bushes, texas sage, crape myrtles, roses, caryopteris, hibiscus, astilbe, hostas, hucheras, and much more for just a buck.

Walmart also clearances and I've gotten a ton of my plants there. And usually in late July or early August, when most people won't dare get out in the heat, I can snag brand new landscape timbers at Walmart for $1 each!

Seeds are also great. Some of my favorite plants come from seeds: Amaranthus, coleus, four oclocks, sunflowers, larkspur, morning glories, nasturtiums, etc. Purple leaf basil and purple leaf perilla are great herbs with scented purple leaves that contrast with all the green. And don't forget to tuck tomatoes and peppers into your flower gardens. Not only are they edible but they add color and texture and a bit of sweet surprise when your visitors are wandering along and suddenly there are ripe cherry tomatoes begging to be picked.

Too bad you don't live closer. I could load you up. I'm hosting a plant swap in May if you will be in the area. I live in Ark. about an hour from Memphis. We might even catch some great clearanced items at Lowes or Walmart.

NancyAnn

When I bought my house, there were a few daffs and a few iris. Other than shrubs and some foundation plantings of shrubbery, those few bulbs were all I had. I learned to grow from seed and also traded some of the few plants I had for others. I bought clearance plants when I could actually afford it and added those to the seed grown and traded for plants and actually started a single garden. For about 5 years, I only did veggies, herbs and perennials from seed and bought a couple flats of annuals to fill in pots and window boxes and naked spots. Then I started about 400 types of seeds per year to have enough for me, enough to share and enough to trade! Now I have plants coming out of every available inch of yard I have with the exception of the hill in the back yard and the grass paths out front. LOL

That said, think about posting a have list and wanted list and I would be willing to bet we would help you. :) Spend your time and money improving your soil as said above. Plan one bed at a time. I planted everything in threes and as each plant was big enough to hold it's own space, I moved the others or traded them for new things. You'll get there. My great uncle was good at saying "All it takes is hard work and money".

About 8 years ago I had a series of life changing events(left a job of 9 years, sold my house, ended a 10 year relationship, lost a parent and a dear friend to cancer) and found myself free to pursue my passion for growing things, but unable to invest much in it. Thus arose my passion for heirloom annuals and pass along perennials. It turns out the "poorest" time of my life became the greatest gift the universe could give me. As a young gardener I turned my nose up at varieties I considered common or old fashioned. As a result of a tough time, I discovered the joys of seed saving and propagation and the world of wonderful heirlooms. I am a much better gardener because of it and wouldn't trade the hard times for anything.

When is the next DG Round Up in your area? You don't have to bring much to come away with tons of plants!

Nice to meet you gemini! I am sorry for the rough times you left behind you. It sounds like you spent the time very wisely, learned much and are a better person for it. Thank you for sharing.

Speaking of Lowe's : if you get a spring storm, head there the next day. We get hail storms here all the time and since so many of our Lowe's keep their stuff outside - they clearance it out like crazy after a storm. I've gotten tons of plants -cheap- there with just minor leaf damage. They don't like to sell stuff that isn't "pretty" - but most perennials bounce back fairly quickly provided they aren't totally destroyed. Oh, annuals too - last year I got a bunch of African Daisy plants in 1/2 gallon pots -huge plants- for $1 each! -Christie

You can spend your money on a good book on Propagation. You would be surprised how many plants you can get from buying just one. I have many many shrubs,hedges, perennials, own root roses etc. I make them all the time and most grow so quickly that soon you have enough to share.
Buy a few things that are known to multiply easily in their own. Many plants form clumps on their own. Bulbs multiply and spread.
You can do some research on the lily family. The bulbs are not that expensive and several varieties planted can get blooms all season long until front.
Try a large specimen plant that is beautiful and easy to care for and work around it. Use ornamental grasses which take up space and accent them with flowering plants. The possibilities are endless.
Many people don't even try cuttings to find out how easy they are. I know I didn't even know there was such a thing as making a new plant from an established plant until I got onto garden related sites. Do a google on propagation by cuttings. You may be able to persuade a neighbor to give you their "trimmings"

Hi Wendy, do you have a favorite book on propagation? I would love to know. Thanks Mikey

I have a favorite I use all the time. It is an American Horticultural Society book. Plant Propagation
The fully illustrated plant-by-plant Manual of practical techniques. Alan Toogood Editor in Chief.
It is really well illustrated and easily followed. I love it. I have had a lot of luck using it to propagate things I have not been able to do before.
It also has seed sowing instructions too I believe.
I like the Burpee book on seed sowing also.It gives info on things such as light required or not for germinating certain seeds.

Make a hypothetical plan of your dream garden (No matter how much you learn, it will always be hypothetical every time you "improve" it - LOL - so never mind what you don't know, now, just do it.) This will get you focused on what you want and how to get there.

Next: read. I think you get the most for your book money from those Brooklyn Botanic Garden handbooks - one for every topic, including design, propagation, butterfly gardens, herbs, natives, etc. But don't stop at facts. The best food for gardening is dreams, so pounce on the inspiring prose and unique perspectives of Henry Mitchell, Stephen Lacey (The Startling Jungle), Elizabeth Lawrence, Vita Sackville-West, etc.

Having done the foregoing (which is an ongoing process - never finished), you will have a master plan. The advantage of this is that every time you plunk down a buck, you will have weighed various options against each other and picked the best one for your money and time, with respect to the overall, long-term picture.

The plan may only be a figment of your imagination for a few years, as far as the neighbors may be concerned, but you'll be surprised how doing a little bit at a time adds up over the first 3 years.

While you are pecking away and waiting for the garden to look like a garden, make a feature of annuals. Trellising can give you a sense of boundary, something to walk under and a little privacy alcove to soak in butterflies in a short time. Morning glories, night-flowering gourds, moonflowers, cypress vine would be a lot of fun. At the intermediate level, cosmos, dahlias and scabiosas give flowers until frost (short kinds alleviate staking) and nasturtiums finish off the hubbub as an edging, nicely (if you have woodchucks, rabbits, etc. other annual edgings might be blue ageratum, low carpeting types of snapdragons, sweet alysum, instead). Throw in herbs like the basils and fennel and dill, etc., for character. Tomatoes and swiss chard 'Bright Lights', etc. for more character.

As we made our own garden, we grew annuals first in each section to clean the area of weeds and improve the soil.

For soil amendments, we maintained a compost pile where weeds (don't put the ones that have gone to seed or the ones with perenial, persistent roots in there or diseased plants) and leaves and lifted sod etc. could rot. If you use kitchen garbage, be sure to dig it in so as not to attract the wrong kind of wildlife. Some people buzz theirs in the blender before applying to garden. Generally, stick to fruit and vegetable waste, but egg shells and coffee grounds and hair are okay.

Finely shredded bark mulch can be economical to mix in your soil, but either use it for plants prefering acid conditions, or mix in a cup of lime per wheelbarrow of mulch (I don't remember the exact ratio or type of lime here). Rotted hay or straw is nice (one of those has seeds and I don't remember which one to watch out for - they were not a problem for us)

If you have really persistent weeds, put down 12 layers of newspaper with mulch on top for a year (containers of flowers could be set on top in the interim). I confess, that for sheep sorrel (watch out for horse manure - that's how we got ours) or bindweed or poison ivy, we have used herbicides which we try very hard to avoid.

Don't forget us - let us know your wants. Right now I'm pruning box (medium-fast grower not for edging) and yew (Hick's) - those cuttings could use a home. Softwood cuttings will be available at the end of May into early June in our part of the world - just say what you want. I put cuttings in the ground under glass jars. A neighbor made a tent of plastic over his cuttings and they did well (better make it in partial shade in Virginia).

Good luck - I think everyone in this thread would love for you to keep us posted on how your garden is coming along.

I love planning a flower bed by using a garden hose, just laying it in various shapes until I find one that I like and looks good with the house. They I spray-painted the ground following the shape of the hose and prepared the bed within the paint lines.
Are you ready for some plants? I have some sedum "Autumn Joy" t hat I could send.....