Gardening on a Budget

Gardening doesn’t have to be expensive, It can be a inexpensive way for you to escape the drudgery of a job, kids, or just plain boredom. You can start out small and work your way up to a nice sized flower garden, with all the trimmings. There is no need to do it all in one day or weekend. Take your time and choose wisely when picking out plants and decorations. Pick a website that has a large selection of items that you like and order them one at a time if you have to. You’ll enjoy your garden time much more if you don’t rush or work too hard. Check around for the best prices, The internet is a great place to shop for garden décor and plants. You can even shop in your jammies, without wasting gas or having to pay for your lunch out.

You can dig up a small area to start with, maybe start with about six taller plants and a birdbath. Then when you see some other plants that you like you can dig more area around your first addition and plant the medium sized plants on the outside edges. If you have bare spots between plants when they grow I suggest filling them in with oriental lilies or Asiatic lilies, for a permanent solution or you can even plant some annuals to fill in until some more permanent plants catch your eye, or you can afford to get the plants you want or can’t live without. (once you’re hooked you’ll know what I mean.) Or just put a statue of a frog until you get a plant that you want inthat spot. another thing I do is put a plant growing in a pot in bare spaces until I make up my mind as to what I want as a permanent solution for that space.

If you have a friend or neighbor that gardens, they most likely would gladly give you some starts or cuttings of their favorite plants. Most gardeners are very generous that way. I have never met a stingy gardener. They all like to show off their most prized plants and are always eager to help with advise and if they can, starts off of their plants. That is how my gardens have grown so large. I have purchased some of my plants but the majority of them have been given to me. I also divide my plants when they get too large, and give some away then plant the rest. I have even had people stop and get out of their car and ask me about a plant or two that has caught their eye, only to head back to their car, happily with one or more plant starts in their hands to plant in their own gardens. I like to spread my plants around.

To finish off your garden, whenever you decide how large you want it to be, you can then decide what kind of border you want. The nice landscape blocks are rather expensive but they last forever, timbers are a cheap alternative but they will rot over time, plastic borders or fencing last a little longer but do break after a while. Or if you don’t mind taking a while you can drag home your own rocks to make the border. I have two large garden borders and one long row of river rocks of all sizes and shapes, that I have drug home over the years and too many to count shells to decorate with. They make a great natural looking border and they didn’t cost me a dime. I know a lady who used old bowling balls to surround her whole flower bed, Some she bought at yard sales and after a while people just started bringing her their old bowling balls to use. Sometimes the best things in life are free.
The birdlady