Where to Buy Garden Plants on a Budget

When I lived on the east coast, I use to love taking a Sunday drive through the more prominent neighborhoods and admire how absolutely beautiful their landscape looked. Then I would go home to my house on base and wish I knew where to buy plants like that and wonder if I could even afford to do so when money was just as tight as it is today. Now years later, I’ve learned that even when you’re working with a budget, it’s possible to create a beautiful landscape no matter where you live. Here’s how:

Focus on the soil already in your ground. You’re not going to be able to spend your hard earned money on a nice garden and enjoy it if it won’t survive in your soil. Try investing in a good compost to improve the quality of your soil instead of buying all new soil since that can actually get very pricey.

Then, check out a mail order nursery catalog or two. Many of these will offer extremely discounted savings and some offer free shipping. But, do not rule out your local nurseries and garden centers either. If you visit your favorite garden shop late in the season many of them will offer a drastic markdown in prices because they want to rid of them.

You could also take the smaller route and just purchase your favorite plant in pint size verses the biggest size possible. In the years to come that small purchase will grow in size, so in reality you’re getting what you originally wanted in the first place. Or just grow your own by starting them from seeds or take cuttings from your favorite plant and root them.

If you really need to watch your budget, there are many ways you can still have a nice garden without costing you a penny. For instance, check with your city to see if they’re giving away a tree or an abandoned site where flowers may be growing. Sometimes if you’re a good customer, your local garden center may be willing to part with a few freebies if you buy one or two from them since they can‘t make money off of plants that have been at their store for a while.

You could also check with your neighbors, friends or family to see if they have a plant you might like and offer to trade cuttings. Or if they’re not willing to part with them, you could ask them where to buy plants for cheap. Chances are they’ll know of a few places you hadn’t even considered.

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