Budget Landscaping - Save Money by Calling First
Time again I watch people spend time and money shuttling from place to place in search of a better price. Why not call first? It’s so obvious and simple yet seems to be a forgotten part of shopping. Budget shoppers know better. With gas prices north of $4 and wireless all-you-can-eat minutes, it’s like getting gas in your tank for free.
We are in the process of adding plants and shrubs to our yard. Our budget is very limited and to the point of I’m adding plants bit by bit, funded by the sale of items I have on Craigslist. Within a 15-mile radius there are approximately eight nurseries or garden centers including the big box stores such as Home Depot. Before hopping in the car, I sat down with a notepad, pen, Google and a phone to call around to find out inventory and pricing. In doing so, here’s what I found and eventually saved:
Star Jasmine - 1 gallon
Orchard Supply Hardware $4.99
Sloat Garden Center $7.99
Sunnyside Nursery $9.99
Home Depot N/A
Green Jeans Nursery $14.99
You can see prices ranged from $4.99 to $14.99 for the same plant. In addition to getting prices, I also asked about inventory and condition. The person at Orchard Supply was honest in saying that while they had 12 in stock, the plants were picked over and only 4-6 were good candidates.
I ended up purchasing the viable plants from Orchard Supply while out on a loop of errands so not to make a special trip.
Comment by canoer on 15 June 2008:
Calling is good, when you can actually reach a person in the department you need. Your Home Depot N/A rings very true in that regard.
Finding out where the local store gets their plants is helpful too, especially buying perennials. I’m in Idaho and we get tons of plants from Monrovia. That company is based in California but who knows where the various wholesale nurseries they contract with are located. We buy their plants but often wonder if they really will thrive in our area.
Our local Fred Meyer stores buy a large number of plants specifically from a wholesaler out of Utah, and those plants have a great reputation for surviving, because of similar climate and soil conditions.
And we buy a lot from a few local nurseries that we know grow their plants from local seed, in local conditions. The price may be initially higher, but the plant quality is always better and the plants tend to be hardier for our area.
We also collect our own seed and divide our plants. We tried bamboo and it didn’t thrive but we were able to sell the plants on Craigslist to someone with a less arid location and recoup our money that way.
A few weeks ago we transplanted 100 plugs of Mexican Feather Grass (Nassella tenuissima) and a few hundred plugs of Egyptian Onion (Allium cepa)that we had grown from our own seed.
Doing your own propagation is a great way to keep your budget in check, so long as you don’t spend the saving on back liniment from all that digging!
Comment by ManicMom on 17 June 2008:
This is a helpful tip once you have some fully established perennials. Check out the neighbors to see what they’ve got too much of and offer to trade. I have an inordinate amount of Red Sedum (this stuff grows no matter where it gets plopped!), yellow day lilies, Corn flowers, and daffodils. My one neighbor has Hostas and Peonys growing out the yang. Another one has tons of iris. Depending when the the dividing/transplanting is appropriate for which plant, we trade.