Landscaping on a Small Budget

Hooray! Hooray! It's the first of May. We had to make a trip to town so we decided to check out a few garden centers while in the area. We usually avoid the big box stores but we were curious to see what they had available to compare quality and prices. Wow! We were impressed with the quality and selection at both Walmart and Lowe's garden centers. They carry many of the same brands and products found at nurseries including Monrovia Proven Winners at a fraction of the price.

​We spent $81.64 at  the Walmart garden center on bargains for our own beds. 27 perennials total.
  - 6 Cora Belle
  - 5 Peony
  - 2 Bleeding Heart
  - 2 Clematis
  - 12 Hosta​
​The Cora Belles are in small pots. The rest of our purchase was bare root stock.

If you're willing to be patient, small containers and bare root perennials are a great way to maximize a small landscaping budget. More plants, less money.

We were really impressed with the quality of the Cora Belles. They were produced by Sawyer Nursery, Inc. in Hudsonville, MI. Two varieties at $3.47 each. We bought 3 of each but I might sneak back for more. They're one of my favorites. We have a small collection from red to deep purple.

​Local garden clubs, Master Gardener and conservation groups are another great source for affordable perennials. Many have annual plant swaps or sell native plants and perennial starts. Check your local listings!

Bare Root Perennials

We have one pink peony that I absolutely love. So, when I spotted these for $5 each I went a little nutty. I wanted them all but settled on these four. You can't see into the packaging so I asked Jason to give them a gentle squeeze to pick out the very best ones. They all felt good and we were happy to find healthy looking roots when we brought them home.

My Peony

The Bowl of Beauty peony is from Euroblooms, LLC in Grand Blanc, MI. Two roots for $5.83!​ The Festiva Maxima, Felix Crousse and Dr. Alexander Fleming peony are products of the Netherlands. We always try to buy American products and Michigan grown plants but the Dutch have a 44% share of the world trade in floriculture products producing 77% of all flower bulbs including tulips traded worldwide. And with a last name like Sitzema...who knows?! Our purchase just might be supporting one of Jason's distant relatives. His ancestors immigrated from the Netherlands and settled here in the late 1800's.

My clematis and bleeding heart never grew back last year, froze out from the winter before. Bummer. According to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map we are on the edge of Zone 5a & 5b. However, we we don't like to lose plants so we try to stick with perennials suitable to Zone 4. (We recommend the same to others in our area.) I'm going to give the clematis and bleeding heart one more go-around but only because I love them and these were such a bargain. Two bleeding heart bare roots (product of Netherlands) $5 and two clematis (USA) $5 each.

Most perennials will eventually need to be split. Friends and gardeners love to share. Freebies are always a welcome bonus but I have also found perennial clumps at yard sales for next to nothing. Just be careful you're not bringing home an invasive species and check the pots carefully for sneaky stow-aways like bind weed and horsetail fern.

I'm crazy for hosta and I won't be happy until I have collected at least one in every size, shape and color. My absolute favorites are the big leaf varieties that grow into giant clumps. These two are from the Netherlands.  Olive Bailey Langdon 2 roots $5 and Big Blue 2 roots $3.33. We bought three of each. A total of 12 hosta for $24.99.

I think we found some great deals today. I'm anxious to get them into the ground and watch them grow. We'll use most of these to complete our patio bed project so watch for follow up posts throughout the season.

We'd love to hear about your garden bargains!
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​Happy Gardening!