More Dirt Cheap
Aaah, that whimsical little query, “How does your garden grow?” For most, the honest answer is it grows fine after dumping bushels of money into it every season! So take the Frugalitarian™ approach to your lovely Eden and make it prettier without the price tag. Here are some tricks of the Frugalitarian™ trade:
- Every Frugalitarian™ should make time in their life for rummage sales – we do. It’s a favorite pastime. And when you’re trolling for treasures, don’t just think indoors. Gardening tools and plants can be scooped up for pennies on the dollar by the watchful rummager.
- Craigslist is a mecca for Frugalitarians™. If you’re not using it now, jump in because it’s the official go-to site for almost anything! Frequently, plants are offered free if you dig them up yourself. You can also get rock, brick, and all kinds of landscaping materials. You’re saving someone else the chore of removal so prices are usually incredibly good.
- Perennials. They’re called that for a reason – continual, durable, long-lasting, recurrent, yearly. Technically, they’re not everlasting, but with a little care, you’ll buy them once and watch your investment grow – and multiply – every year for many seasons. Always choose perennials over annuals. You’ll get way more flower power for your money.
- Shop the sales starting in September. Nurseries and plant retailers need to get rid of as much as they can at the end of the season so you can find deep discounts. It’s an especially good time to buy the big stuff – trees and shrubs – on clearance. And you still have plenty of time to get them planted and taking root before winter.
- We know what you’re thinking, “What about garden design?” Some of us have all the will to make it happen, but lack the vision to lay it all out. The solution? Hire a landscape designer to design your dream garden and then plant it yourself over the next few years. Ask the designer to recommend stages to work up to your beautiful, finished garden. We have a friend who couldn’t afford to do it all in one year, but with a plan in hand from a great designer, she has a pretty spectacular garden a few years later. She just followed the plan and added the plants a few at a time every spring.