If u had 20 bucks & u wanted something BIG what wuld u buy

if you had 20 bucks and it is burning a hole in your pocket cause you have
an addiction....but have nothing in your garden...what would you buy?? and/or what would be the smartest purchase? what would be the biggest bang for the buck?

I would get a 1 cu ft bag of garden soil, then 2-3 plants in quart size pots. The plants would be something that would grow fairly big in one season.

syru...what would those plants be?

Right now, I'd go to the garden centre and get perennials...they will come back every year, and they are all 40% or more reduced right now.....

Esperanza does real well here, and the quart pots average $5.99 . . . so if they're on sale as well, then you would have enough with the $20.00. I had an esperanza before I moved, and while it died out with the freezing, it would come back even bigger the next year.

3 gardeners....wish i had your greenhouse here....

syrumani...i will have a look at esperanza!!!

WELL.... I took my twenty bucks and blew it! Y'all are gonna say why? and come November, I'm gonna say why? too! Hibiscus sabdariffa (annual), Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice needs overwintering), Allspice (also tender) and vine seeds for next year.

Now, the last twenty I blew was at a cool little hardware store that has a gardening courtyard and there I came home with more pennyroyal (I love that stuff) and Lysmachia nummularia just cause I liked it.

But all that shopping required another twenty for potting soil...

Another twenty for hanging baskets and a standing resin birdbath so I could drill holes in it so I could put dirt in it so I could plant ghost plant in it so where the heck am I going to put IT this November! Sticks! Don't make me panic this soon!!!!

pod you make me laugh......my addiction is at its full peak!!!!!!!!! 20 bucks i wish i had 20 bucks....but i need more plants ....moooooorrrreeeeeee

Sorry ~ I just reread and saw you said something BIG. Could I get a greenhouse for twenty bucks??!??

I got it!

first, you find a website that offers you 1/2-price gift certificates or better to a local nursery or home center or grain store. Then you take that $20 and turn it into $40 or more.

Then you head to the clearance section of said nursery/grain/home store, and you stretch it as far as it'll go. This may mean seeds of any number of annuals or perennials (resulting in hundreds of plants), or lots of plants that look 'dead' but to the trained gardener's eye, we know they are just going dormant.

Or if you only have $20, you go to the post office and get stamps enough to send bubble mailers all over the country to trade for literally THOUSANDS of seeds of your favorite kinds. Again, THOUSANDS of plants from that $20 investment. (I winter-sow...this is not a difficult task).

Or you find your favorite online retailer having a season-end clearance sale (careful, that $20 might not go far with shipping!)

Or you put $20 in your gas tank, drive to the local plant swap, and get free plants

Or, you put $20 in the gas tank, tell the DH he can take the kids and go 75 miles (assuming 21 mph with gas running at 2.79)...that'll buy you at LEAST 4 hours or more of quality time ALONE.

birds...i probably need to do the last....drive 4 hours to be alone so i will stop obsessing about my yard...;

so here is what i did today so that i could make myself feel more productive....and i repotted some stuff....that will make it hardier and then i could divide them....in fact i could divide some plants right now....but i will wait till i can get everything tidied up and growing well....; i have seeds planted to hopefully have some perennials ready for fall planting....; i have 2 dozen cuttings going....(grow, grow, grow, grow)....i love all the ideas tho ....we are so resourceful;

i do plan on winter sowing; i am also having to rethink my cuttings; i did 300 coleus cuttings this year in my sun room.....but i am thinking some i need to drop that aren't as hardy as others...; that will free up room for more stuff to overwinter; THEN i am rooting tons of other stuff...i can't decide if i really really need a greenhouse; i have my sunroom and i have my store which is south sun and i overwintered a TON of plants last year there....

i wish we has plant swaps here...and the closest to me is about 5 hrs away which is not that great of an investment in gas for some plants....; but i am getting there...i will have a jungle, i will have a jungle , i will have a jungle

So true about the trained gardeners eye ~ Birdsn.

I bought a clearance pot of Angelonia. It is an annual and was winding down. But it was only $1 and it was loaded with seed. Got that covered for next season if I only remember to plant them in time.

Meanwhile, I will give it a haircut and it will give me one more round of blooms. ; )

This message was edited Aug 6, 2007 5:09 PM

BTW, you want some seeds Sticks?

pod....you will be very proud of me...but i bought 3 angelonia for ten cents each about 2 months ago....they were neglected and i saved them...(grin); now, where are the dang seeds? i am so stupid about these things....
thanks for the offer of the seeds

birds....what did you mean by:

' first, you find a website that offers you 1/2-price gift certificates or better to a local nursery or home center or grain store. Then you take that $20 and turn it into $40 or more.'

i am clueless with regards to 1/2 price gift certificates ...

then how do you take 20 bucks and turn it into 40 bucks?


This message was edited Aug 6, 2007 5:39 PM

3 for a dime ~ I am jealous.

where are the seeds?

Well large plants for 20.00...not around here!.......plants are really expensive.I would hit those tables with the half dead plants- and spend it on the ones I could save....20.00 plants for a dollar because they look a bit crook....or the flowers haven't flowered yet or have- and no one has tidied up the mess yet.. so the plant looks bad...the one with a couple of yellow leaves...etc...it isn't even about the money really I can't bear to think of them being "murdered" just because they are not perfect....I am sure you all feel the same.Some of my best plants have come from there.. it's almost like they know you adopted them :)

chrissy....plants are purdy dang cheap here....got a huge ginger last week for 12.98....week b4 a huge gardenia for 12.98; this week i am thinking about the bleeding heart or jasmin....but was trying to stretch my bucks so i could get as much as i could!!!

Lowe's in our area has Esperanza on sale for about $5. They are in square pots but the plants are very large. Here is one that I bought last week. I would also buy some of those glazed pots that are on sale!!

Dang! lucky duck......What gingers do you have? I have the Shell ginger ...plain (from a friend) a lovely varigated one (cost 23.00 for a small pot of it years ago ) ..now it is huge....I cut branches of it to bring inside when the flowers are just beginning ...it lasts for weeks and visiters swoon over it.......the white ginger for the perfume...mmmm
and the happy yellow smells lovely too....just one bloom and the whole house smells wondeful. Bleeding hearts ...you are making my heart bleed!:)))))))) ha ha ha I bet you are just loving that:)

Sticks ~ I'm sorry. When you first asked where are the seeds I thought you were joking about misplacing them like I tend to do...

The seeds are in small round seed pods located on the flower stalk below the current blooms. Leave them on till they turn brown and dry. Then, I pick them and put them in a shallow bowl and let the house a/c dry them out further. On the Angelonia seed, when you break open the pod you will see quite a few little seeds to each pod.

Now planting 'em ~ well, I'll tell you more next year. : ))

Sticks, sign up for the Gurneys.com catalog and springhill and I think there are a couple more. In spring you will get $20 coupon on the front cover. As long as you order under $20 it is free! Not always the best plants but I have gotten many for free that way. I use my neighbors address my brothers and mine every year. $60 free.
After the free catalog is over there is usually a $20 off a $40 purchase.
chris

sticks- many local radio stations around here team up with businesses and offer gift certificates for 1/2 price...consumervalueminute.com is one, but not sure if that's local or if they are affiliated elsewhere in the country, but they have GCs for 1/2 price (ie: a $25 GC costs 12 plus a small handling fee).

Our local Agway has been running their GCs all summer with one station...$50 GCs for $25...I've gotten several. I'm saving them for clearance, as well as bulk purchases like mulch or potting soil. 1/2-price mulch totally works for me.

Bottom line: double your money by finding the 1/2-price GCs that are out there.

Neofill (dot com) is the supplier...perhaps you might check around to your local stations to see if they do anything like it, or if any of your stations are owned by the 'clients' listed on the Neofill website.

This message was edited Aug 6, 2007 8:49 PM

chrissy...i bought the variegated (green and yellow) one ; it was 3 ft high and about 3 feet wide for 12.98; don't mean to make your heart bleed.....; the jury is not out on buying the bleeding heart as i am not sure how easy it is to grow and the one that was there didn't have a fragrance...

dell i will have a look at esperanza....; as for glazed pots....; i just bought the mother load at hobby lobby for 3 bucks a piece....here is a photo:

http://davesgarden.com/place/fp.php?pid=3765624

and another:

http://davesgarden.com/place/fp.php?pid=3765631

the jury isn't out on the finish of the second pot ....but i love the shape and style

pod...will look at the angelonias tommorrow to see if i can see seed pods...

chris....you are amazing, i wasn't aware there was anything like free stuff except to other people not me...(grin) will have to check this out....
YOW this is so exciting i didn't realize there were so many resources!!!!

birds...wow, can i follow you around?? i didn't know about gift certificates!!!! so amazing where have i been all my life??

It's sort of an 'art' to be a cheapskate, but when you know where the deals are, and how to find them, store-clearance-schedules, etc...it becomes habit.

OT, but here's another one: Restaurant.com is running a 50% sale right now, too...if you use them for GCs. They are always 1/2-off anyway, but now they are 50% off the regular (1/2) price! $25 GCs (regularly 12.50) are now $6.25. A good way to go out to eat for CHEAP!

Sticks I love those pots you bought at HL. I am especially fond of the funny looking one...reminds me of Aladdin's lamp! Our HL is over an hours drive so would cost me a fortune in gas to "save" $ on pots. Dollar Store also has some cool ceramic pots...I think they are $6 for 3. Can one have too many pots?

If I were going big I have always wanted to try redwood and giant sequoia. I think they were $5 a gallon pot plus shipping.

dell....i own those dollar store pots!!! i got the ones in a sort of gold color and YES they are beautiful!!!

birds.... i am going to have to follow you around!! i am really good at alot of penny penching...in fact, i am getting cheap in my old age....but it is FUN to be cheap!!!! one can do so much with little!!!!

i have to say that i don't LOSE well, and so i went out to do my 'penny pinching'...wasn't that impressed with my plant selections...home depot never has sale plants....altho i must say that their plants are in great shape here and fairly well priced....i had my mind set to buy a huge jasmine (3 ft) for 12.98....but the jasmine that had bloomed had no smell....so i left the things there and went about my shopping....
nothing nothing nothing nothing.....i hate it when i am trying to find a sale and NOTHING!!!! so i stop at another nursery and they say their stuff is 1/2 price.....THERE THERE THERE WHO HOO!!!!

so i find 2 lousy fan flowers...(but i had looked all over in the last month and couldn't find them) so i was kinda happy to get them for 1/2 off....so i find NOTHING else....WHAT NOTHING?? I WANT SOMETHING!!! so i go into pay....and before me are persian shield!!! i have been looking for persian shield OMG..>>>> someone has already bought those....a whole flat of persian shield at half price....i am so sad...i find nothing else....i want bargins!!!!

Oh, MAN...I feel your pain, sticks.

When I was really REALLY into bargain hunting, there was a 75% deal going at Target on the Power Wheels vehicles...a $200 item for $50....HAD to have one. I eventually DID find one...and had it bucket-brigaded up to my area from about 150 miles away...but it took a LOT of calling around to find it. It was a sale that not even the employees knew about (we bargain hunters know where to find the connections, that's for sure!) I was really bumming it before I found it.

Then there's the couponing, and not having that elusive coupon that you know every other area in the country got, but you didn't...to go with the sale that's coming up...

but I digress...

oh but you are so right birds....now i will probably pay 5 times as much for something that i really don't need but that would have to do to make up for the loss of those persian shield...........arrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh

I would buy things on sale....and probably things that will self-sow or multiply for the next year. And they would have to be FAST growers so I would get enjoyment out of my $20. that year also.
1. Nandina bush for the tall background (can't kill 'em and they multiply like crazy....) $5. on sale
2. Yaupon (low-growing bush for mid area) $5. on sale
3. dwarf zinnias (low-growing annuals for front) $10. for an entire flat (not sure they self-sow)

actually, sticks, I have three that aren't doing much of anything in a container of mine...I don't think I like them very much...They're very much alive, just not my style I guess. Got any tips on how to ship them, cuz I'd be more than happy to send them your way.

Sticks, I've been lurking on this thread, unable to decide what I would buy. It's awfully rare for me to be able to stop at $20, unfortunately, even when everything is on sale!!!

Right now the Ace Garden Center where I shop a LOT has a ton of blue pots on sale so I'd probably go with that . . . like I need more blue pots, you know!!

@@ birds@@ wow wow wow...you have persian shield!!!?? and you are offering it to me!!! OMG...i would love it ...but i don't want to empty one of your pots.....but yes i want it!!!! but do you think you can keep it alive till it starts cooling?? what i am wanting to do is root them so i can have a million next year.....I LOVE THEM!!!! and they have been harder than the dickens to find here....

to ship them all you do is:

desoil almost all of the soil but a handful over the roots

put a wet paper towel around soil that has the roots in it...

then put a baggie over the paper towel soil root mass

secure the the baggie with tape

finally wrap the entire plant in newspaper (that kinda protects the leafs and stems)

when it cools down i will show photos....whoo hoo!!!! thank you thank you!!!

i even went back to that stupid nursery to make double sure that those things were no longer there and they were no longer there....(waaaahh)

Hey Birds ~ do ya think Sticks would be suicidal if they died on her... roflmbooooooooooo....