How Does Your Garden Grow? Frugally!

As we inch closer to the end of May, the frost is likely gone (hopefully!) and it’s time to start thinking about greenifying your yard or outdoor space.

Beware though. It is really easy to get caught up when planting your garden (although in all honesty, you deserve loads of plants and flowers after that harsh winter!). Expenses can rack up quickly, so plan ahead and employ a little ingenuity.

Get Seedy

Wherever possible, plant seeds over bushes, shrubs or flowers. While they take more planning, patience, research and knowledge, seeds represent substantial savings over already bloomed plants.

Furthermore, many seeds come in a package (likely many more than you need) – so partner up with a neighbour or friend and share the spoils (and the costs).

Use Cuttings

Again, along the same line as using seeds- don’t go out and purchase full-grown plants. Ask friends, relatives and neighbours with green thumbs if you can harvest a few cuttings here and there.

Plant these cuttings, and watch them grow! As an extra money saving tip, when the plant grows to a decent size, divide it and plant other plants.

Don’t Forget Your Veggies

Get all urban farmer, and keep a corner to plant a vegetable garden. Vegetables gardens can be huge, but if they are not your focus, you can still generate some produce in a relatively small square footage.

Easy to tend, a vegetable garden can keep producing a steady stream of produce for you through the summer- saving you a trip to the grocery store (and into your wallet).

Also- this is a great learning activity to do with kids, who can learn about, plants, growing, responsibility and care- and rewards for their efforts!

Size Matters

If you do end up buying grown plants, know that they are often priced according to size. Simply, bigger plants are more expensive- and smaller ones are more affordable.

From a budgetary standpoint, you will get more mileage out of many small plants, rather than bigger more expensive ones.

Check out Community Events

Many clubs, sports teams, churches or community organizations will host plant sales at this time of year as a means of fundraising. You can often get access to a solid selection of plants at a discounted price.

Wait out the Season

While you may be itching to grow your garden, if you have your heart set on buying grown plants, if you wait until a little further into the season, you can get them at a deep, deep discount (like 50-75 percent less than what you will pay through May into late June).

If you wait a month or so to plant, you’ll still have a good stretch of summer to enjoy your garden and still keep some green in your wallet.