Even though I love to travel, I can also be a homebody.  My fave channels are HGTV and TLC and the main reason I wanted to buy a home was to have my own piece of land to garden.

I am a sucker for gardening stuff.  We have a pretty big yard, for an urban neighborhood and we had to pretty much start from scratch when we moved here.

The yard was in poor shape with the entire back yard filled with pea gravel and bamboo and the front yard surrounded by very badly kept privet hedge.  There were lots of other invasive plants that we ripped up as well and very little that we kept other than the trees.

Now that all that pea gravel is gone (after digging up 36 pickup loads full ourselves) and we have grass (from seed) and a beautiful fenced in yard (front and back, no more privet), we have been turning our efforts (and wallet!) to making it more beautiful and serene with perennials and shrubs and other gardening hardscape.

But, since we are limited on funds and have a lot of ground to cover (literally), we are learning ways to do this more frugally.

1.  Be Patient. Buy smaller plants, that are less expensive.  It will take a year or two longer for it to grow to a mature size, but as you know, the years go by quicker than you think it will.  And, it’s fun to watch your plants mature in your yard.

2.  Go Native. If you, like me, were not blessed with a green thumb or the natural ability to nurture nature, then buy plants that are native to your area.  They will grow because they belong, not because you baby them.

3.  Befriend people with big gardens who divide and give away plants. One of my best friend’s mother divides her plants all the time.  I am on her “list” of people to give plants to.  Love it.  My Dad does this too.  He has given me loads of Hostas and has a Red Bud tree and Crepe Myrtle tree that he is giving me too.

4.  Experiment with some of your own plants. I took cuttings of three of my plants last year and replanted them, just to see if they would grow if I did this.  And they did!  So, this year, when I trim them, I am going to replant all of the cuttings and watch my garden expand for free!  My Dad does this all the time too, hence the Crepe Myrtle tree I’m getting.

5.  Know when your favorite nursery is having sales. I am on the email list of my favorite nursery.  They have a reward program and I get emails when they have special sales for reward program members.  They have great sales too!  Many nurseries often also have sales during the hottest month (when nobody wants to plant) and at the end of the season.

6.  Check Craiglist, Freecycle and yard sales. Craigslist has a ‘farm and garden’ area (where we found our fabulous Compos Tumbler!) and I have seen many plants posted on Freecycle, but they go fast!  I bought a stone planter with a Plantation Lily in it for $5 years ago from a yard sale.  It’s beautiful and the Lily comes back every year.

7.  Look for perennials that drop seeds and spread. New plants every year for free!  You can even dig them up and replant them in different spots.  Of course you don’t want them to be invasive plants, but self-seeding isn’t always a bad thing.

8.  Focus on perennials. I had to stop buying annuals.  I just can’t afford to buy plants every year that don’t make a reappearance each year.  It’s hard sometimes as there are some wonderful plants, that I love, that are considered annuals in my area due not being able to withstand our winters.

9.  Learn to love foliage as well as flowers. There are a lot of beautiful plants out there that are not super showy in terms of flowers.  Since we have a lot of shade due to huge Sugar Maple trees in our yard, I had to learn more about shade plants, which don’t usually have much in terms of flowers.  Some of my favorites are Heucheras (coral bells) and Sedums.  Their foliage is beautiful and come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.  And, they are pretty economical.

10.  Put the word out for what you are looking for. If you are looking for rocks for example, for some hardscaping, you’d be surprised who is out there looking to get rid of some rocks!  We  had all sorts of people come and help us dig out our pea gravel so they could take it home and put it in their own yards.

11.  Go on garden tours. If you have residential garden tours in your area, this is a fantastic way to discover new plants and landscaping ideas, as well as what grows well in your area.   My Mom and I go on these for Mother’s Day.

12.  Look for drought tolerant plants. Save time, money and the environment with plants that don’t require a lot of extra watering.  Plus, they have a better chance of surviving a hot, dry summer.

Help me save some money!  What are your frugal gardening tips?

Find more tips of all kinds at Works For Me Wednesday at We Are That Family.

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06/24/2009 | Frugal & Green Living, Gardening.

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