Most of our long time readers know that Gardening and Landscaping is a Huge Passion of mine and is an area where it would be very easy for me to totally blow our budget. The minute spring begins to brighten the dreary winter yard, it’d be very easy for me to head to Lowe’s or any other local store and beautify our outdoor living spaces quickly. The reality of that…I can easily spend $100 or more, in less than 5 minutes at the store.
Does that mean I have to look at my yard and envision what it could look like, if only I had the money? Of course not…you all know me better than that!
The only thing that constrains my desire and plans to beautify my yard is my own lack of time & energy. I fully believe money should NEVER be an issue in decorating your home-whether that be indoors or out !
So here’s a few of my tips to help you save BIG on your outdoor projects:
1) Never buy plants, flowers, shrubs,etc. on impulse. Why do we do this in every other area (groceries, etc.) and then go out and fill up our cart without much question to the cost, as if there’s no other option? Always have a plan and know exactly where you will plant every item.
2) Check online nurseries before you hit any stores and compare prices. You can usually DOUBLE the amount of plants you get and pay less than HALF of what you would pay in a store. When you purchase from a nursery online ( like Brecks and Nature Hills Nursery ) you are eliminating “the middle man” and essentially removing “the middle man’s” profit. In addition to the savings, your plants are also shipped live on the date you order them. Having been a Live Nursery Specialist (in one of my former lifes LOL) for a leading Garden Center, I can tell you that most plants leave a nursery-packed tightly onto carts that are packed tightly onto trucks and then travel (sometimes long distances!) to the stores. Once they reach the stores, they are likely to sit until the store rearranges stock, creates new displays, etc. There might even be a 2 week time period between the plant leaving the nursery and when it is watered and placed for sale in a store. Plants DO go into shock from the rapid and extreme climate changes and lack of water,etc.
3) Online Nurseries typically also offer Huge Discounts like BOGO FREE and B1G1 for a penny sales or such as the $25 off $50 Deal right now at Brecks. Again, you get MORE for your $$. I’ve also found that most of the larger online nurseries will mail you catalogs for FREE (helps you plan!), and your catalog will come with a Huge discount Coupon to earn your business.
Here are a few of my Fave Nurseries you can request FREE CATALOGS from online:
4) Purchase Bulbs & Perennials and avoid replanting every year. Annuals can supplement nice color at times, but when their bloom is spent-so is your money! Bulbs & Perennials are like an investment – they will multiply in size each year, so that you can divide and double your money, as well as plants, every single year! (Tips in my post here on dividing bulbs)
5) The #1 culprit that leads to the biggest waste of money when buying plants/trees/shrubs is lack of knowledge. You don’t have to be a green thumb to get & maintain a beautiful yard-but simply evaluating your yard and each item you want to plant is key. If your yard is mostly shade and you select an assortment flowers because they are pretty, you might have just wasted your money. Check the care label on every plant – they are usually color coded these days like this:
YELLOW=SUN this plant needs full sun or it may not bloom or grow
ORANGE=PART SHADE these plants can handle morning or evening sun, but not both
FULL SHADE plant labels vary in color and can sometimes be blue or green-these are plants that will usually burn up in the sun, cannot tolerate drought conditions and need full shade
Hopefully these are some helpful tips for you! If you have some money saving & gardening tips of your own, let us know in a comment!
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