Most of these tips I have used for years! Thanks for sharing! Tawra
From: Robin
1. My county, through the league of cities,
offers free, native trees. I live in south FL so
we can get loquat trees, mango trees, tamarind
trees and many others. They also tell you all
about the trees before you get to select some.
2. In my county, some of the cities take all of
the discarded christmas trees and make them into
mulch. Again, free for the taking but bring
something to put it in.
3. In most areas, there is an organization
called "freecycle". People who have useful items
but do not want to send them to a landfill, can
post them on their local list(s). You can also
post wanted on them. Start at www.freecycle.org.
I have seen all sorts of gardening supplies,
pots, yard items and more listed in my little
area.
4. I have several vacant lots in my area. I have
picked up rocks and concrete pieces to put at the
base of some of my younger plants. Also, these
come up on freecycle too.
5. Learn how to propegate plants. You can take
cuttings and get them to grow. Many homeowners
have no problems with giving you a couple of
cuttings.
6. I try to really ride around the area I live in
to see what other people have done. Some people
have great advice or ideas you can copy. You can
go and speak to the homeowner and get their tips.
While currently I am looking at additional
storage areas, I did see where several other
homeowners simply put a privacy fence around
their carports. Very smart and lower cost than
trying to enclose the carport.
7. It is worth a shot to call your county's
extension office for advice. They may be able to
help you with questions and tips.
8. Shop seeds only at sales. And, there is
research to suggest that year old seeds have a
higher amount of sprouts than the ones fresh for
this season.
9. Some stores will deeply discount plants which
may be a little wilted. Or, they are trying to
get rid of the extras after a holiday. In
addition, my work brings in a couple of dozen of
pointsettas and pulls names of employees to give
them to.
10. Try eBay. I have several friends who love
orchids. One went onto eBay and spent around $30
shipped for nearly a dozen plants. At most orchid
shows, you may get 2 plants for $30.
11. If you notice that an area changes plants on
a seasonal basis, try asking for what they are
taking out. Many business areas do this. This
time of year, they have impatients. In the
spring, it is often marigolds.
12. Check out the internet for advice and also
listen or watch gardening shows. There is a 3
hour one here locally on Saturday mornings on the
radio. I pick up a lot from them.
13. Don't give up. I live in an area where we got
direct hits from Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane
Wilma. Katrina took about half of the branches
from my one "adult" tree in the front yard. Wilma
took out all of the rest. I had maybe 2 or 3
tiny, 18 inches to 2 foot branches left at the
top. It is just over a year later and the tree
looks almost as good as it did before the
hurricanes. Many people simply cut them all up.
In addition, one of the branches took out an oak
seedling in my front yard (I have 2 planted).
That is, it broke the entire seedling at the
ground level. The second one is now about 6 feet
tall while the other one came up and is now about
a third smaller than the other. I was shocked
when I realized that they were all coming back
wonderfully.
Before I bought my home, I lived in a large
apartment building. I was the only one with a lot
of plants outside. One day, a bulb was dropped (I
have no idea how it got there) and I planted it.
I do not even think that it was totally under the
soil. That was 20 years ago. Last year, it
bloomed 2 or 3 times with a perfect, white easter
lily.
From: Selanie
Trees are expensive, especially one of a decent size. We attempted to save money by picking out trees from my husband's family farm. Unfortunately, the larger ones didn't make it
because we didn't cut around the roots enough. The one that had few enough roots to make it
ended up getting chopped by the lawnmower because it was so tiny. I think we'll try again this
spring, just being more careful to not disturb the roots. Any friend or family that has wooded
land would probably be more than happy to let someone pick a couple of trees off unused land.
Plus, you know they are native to your area.
Tawra: This is a good idea but it can be more work than it's worth. This is one of those areas where if you have the time try it but it is easier to move smaller trees than larger ones.
