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Parenting - The Frugal Gardener
The Frugal Gardener
by Rachel Paxton - rachel@creativehomemaking.com
Gardening can be expensive. When you're on a tight budget,
garden projects seem to fall way to the bottom of your list
of spending priorities.
I love the outdoors. And I love spending time at home in
our yard. We've never been able to spend the kind of money
I'd like to for landscaping, but over the years we've found
some ways to make a little bit of money go quite far.
Shop end-of-season sales. It's easy to remember to do this
when shopping for clothes and other household items, but
I forget the same goes for plants. You can get a great deal
on outdoor plants and trees shopping at the end of the season.
Even annuals that are almost out of season are a good buy.
They won't bloom again until next year, but for the savings
you're getting it's worth it to plant them now and wait
until next year to enjoy them. You can also get a great
deal on fruit trees at the end of the season. Don't forget
to check out the sidewalks of grocery stores and neighborhood
markets. They mark down the prices of plants significantly
at the end of the season.
Divide and transplant. It doesn't take long for plants
to start to take over your flower beds. I grow some herbs
and daisies that seem to creep inches through the flower
bed each week. Instead of letting plants like these take
over the flower bed, transplant them to another part of
the yard. Flowers like daisies are easy to dig out in big
clumps and move around wherever you want them. In several
years time, the investment of a few dozen flowers or flower
bulbs can multiply into many times the amount you recently
purchased.
Give and receive. It's fun to trade plants with friends
and family. I've landscaped much of my yard this way. Iris
bulbs from one friend, grape vines from another, it adds
up fast! And all from people who were looking to get the
excess plants out of their yard. After your yard has had
a few years to get established, you will be able to share
also. This is the best way to plant your yard with no expense
at all.
Look for unexpected opportunties. One of our neighbors
gets free sod from several local curb companies. After a
job, they just unload the sod at his house. When he doesn't
have a need for the sod, he gives it to us free of charge.
We've put down several hundred dollars worth of sod at no
cost to us.
Creative container gardening. I like to plant in containers
a lot, but planters can be so expensive. Get creative about
your garden containers. People use wheel barrows, tool boxes,
kitchen sifters, colanders, old boots, children's wagons,
baskets, and many other things for creative container gardening.
Just make sure there is adequate drainage so the water can
find its way out. See http://www.gardenguides.com
for more container gardening ideas.
Weigh the alternatives. It's easy to get carried away in
the vegetable garden. I get all caught up in having a little
of this, and a little of that, often spending more than
I had intended to and growing vegetables that cost next
to nothing at the grocery store when they're in season.
For example, green peppers in season you can get for 4 or
more for $1. That's maybe not worth it to me to grow them.
Tomatoes, on the other hand, are definitely worth the effort
and will save us a lot of money throughout the summer.
You don't have to have a lot of money to have a nice garden.
You just have to be creative and look for opportunities.
Make the decision that you will only spend what you can
afford, and you will still end up with a beautiful yard
you can be proud of.
Copyright 2001.
Creative Homemaking - http://www.creativehomemaking.com.
Suite 101 - http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/creative_homemaking.
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the
author of
What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250
quick
easy dinner ideas. For recipes, tips to organize your
home, home
decorating, crafts, and frugal family fun, visit Creative
Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com
and Suite 101 at
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/creative_homemaking.
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