4 tips for saving money on plants

Although a backyard garden is something most people would love to have, the price of new plants can be outrageous. Here are 4 simple ways to save money when you start a garden:

Why pay top dollar to a garden centre when you may be able to find plants that are every bit as healthy at other outlets?

• Arboretums and botanical gardens often hold plant sales, as do neighbourhood and high school gardening clubs.
• Though your local nursery owner won't be happy, your purchases will go toward a good cause.

You could pay top dollar to give a potted plant to a friend for a birthday or other special occasion, or you could keep your money and find beautiful plants in your own garden to use as gifts.

• Many perennials need to be divided every couple of years as they grow.
• Flowers that grow from bulbs, such as tulips and lilies, are the easiest to divide.
• After these plants flower, gently lift them from the ground, pull off the little bulbs that have formed alongside the original bulb and replant these in potting soil.
• Voilà! A living gift for your best friend.

Although garden centres don't like to talk about it, many of those pricey perennials they stock on their shelves are available for free in your neighbour's garden.

• Ask if he or she has any perennials that need to be divided — offer to help with the labour in exchange for taking some home for your own garden.

Nurseries and garden centres would love to sell you the biggest plant they can, since they can charge top dollar.

• However, if you're buying flowering perennials, choose a one-litre (one-quart) container of plants over a 3.7-litre (one-gallon) container.
• Young perennials tend to grow quickly, and within a single season they will catch up in size with those larger plants you could have purchased at a considerably higher cost.

Although most of these options still require a bit of cash, time, and effort, they can dramatically reduce your plants expenses. For anyone looking at starting a garden without breaking the bank, these tips are an excellent way to start!