Mary, our oldest daughter, chose to spend her spring break at home. We all had a wonderful visit with her. Our days were filled with lunches out with friends and the evenings were spent eating dinner at home with relatives. Time was set aside for shopping with Grandma and of course attending the school musical. During her last day, to be completely honest, I shed a quite a few tears when I caught a glimpse of the clock and realized that I only had 14 more hours with her. After those precious hours passed, I knew it would be four months before I could hug her again. My first thought though, after waking up on the next morning, was actually one of relief. Whew! What a whirlwind week, lots of fun times, but also quite a few extra expenses. As many of you are already painfully aware, college kids can be quite costly.
Expenses can add up at times. During those times, it is helpful to look at areas in which money can be saved. Gardening is one area that with some thought and proper planning, expenses can be cut back with little or no affect on the beauty of your yard. Here are a few ideas of ways that you may be able to save on your gardening expenses this year.
1. Organize a plant exchange. Invite friends and relatives to a patio party. Request that everyone divide a few plants from their yard and bring them to the plant exchange. Plant exchanges can be fun, inexpensive ways to fill up areas of your yard. Just be careful that you aren’t planting something that will take over your gardens. Ask lots of questions about the plant and know its name and growth habit before you plant it in your yard.
2. Consider planting annual flower seeds. By starting seeds indoors and transferring them outside after they have germinated, you may be able to save hundreds of dollars.
3. Take cuttings. Is there a plant in your yard or a friend’s yard that you like? Prune off a portion of it and try growing it on your own. With a little research and time you may be able to propagate a new plant. Root stimulator works very well to help cuttings get established faster.
4. Try to do more organic gardening. Insecticides can be expensive. There may be organic or natural alternatives to controlling pests in your yard.
5. Most garden centers have ‘Plant Hospital’ or clearance areas. With a little TLC you could turn a plant that they might throw away into a beautiful focal point in your yard.
6. Save seeds. Annual and perennial flowers produce seed at some point during their lifecycle. Often, those seeds, if collected and stored correctly can be planted in your yard the following year.
7. Ask for a ‘Gardening Help’ day instead of a conventional present. Sometimes a little sweat equity from an adult child or a grandchild can save you hundreds of dollars.
8. Divide the perennial flowers you already have and plant them in other areas of your yard. Plants such as daylilies, hostas and ornamental grasses often benefit from being divided. It is a win-win situation. The parent plant does better and you have more plants spread around your yard.
9. Buyer beware. Sometimes the best way to save money when gardening is to not plant something to begin with. Make sure you know the mature height and width of a plant before it is planted in your yard. Make sure you understand the growth habit. A plant called ‘Snow on the Mountain’ sounds like it would be beautiful in any setting. Trust me, it is not.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc., a garden center and landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or tgsinc12@msn.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.
