The secret to a beautifully landscaped yard and garden isn’t necessarily spending a lot of money. In fact, you can have a landscaper’s dream for free.
A couple of weeks ago, my family and I attended a yard sale. While we didn’t find anything we wanted to purchase, we did find a very pleasant family who had an absolutely gorgeous yard. There was a bank of different flowers and plants to the left of the garage, and a trellis arch off to the right of the house that led back to a secret garden.
Naturally we complimented the homeowner. She was flattered and admitted that it took a lot of work. She also admitted that everything we saw, with the exception of the purchase of the house of course, cost her next to nothing. All of the plants, flowers and trees were either already on the property and just moved to new locations or given to her by friends and neighbors who know about her passion for gardening.
We plan to try to get as many plantings as we can for free when we are ready to really landscape in a few years (right now, we are still in the process of slowly clearing the land).
In addition to asking friends and neighbors for cuttings and plants, bushes and trees that they no longer want, you can also get free gardening elements from the following sources:
Volunteer at a botanical garden. Not only will you get a ton of material as plants are thinned, overgrowth is tamed, extra seedlings aren’t needed, etc.
Freecycle. You can find everything from fencing to farm equipment, plants to trees available for the taking.
New construction sites. Sometimes new construction sites are a wealth of native plants or even former landscaping gone wild. I know someone who got beautiful and hardy rose plants this way.
Landscaping companies–especially those catering to businesses. Many times retail and other business locations hire landscapers who pull out old plants and bulbs to change out seasonal displays. These old plantings are usually tossed because it is cheaper for the companies to get new already blooming plants instead of saving and nurturing the old ones.