I bought a pot of four plants and plugged them right into some left over hanging baskets. Photo by Doug Oster
Monday, 9 July 2012
Garden bargains start now, add instant color on the cheap
Getting a garden bargain is almost as exciting as planting for someone cheap like me.
This is one of my favorite times of the year at garden centers and nurseries begin to mark down plants in an effort to give them a good home.
The season is only half over, there's plenty of time to plant all sorts of things.
I picked up some beautiful 'Sweet Heat' peppers at Hahn Nursery for only 99 cents each (in three inch pots). This new Burpee introduction starts off sweet when bitten into, then finishes with a nice bite. The plants looked great and for that price I found room in a bed after pulling some garlic. Your local nursery will have their own specials too.
Many garden centers have big vegetable plants that could go right in the ground now and produce in a couple weeks. I always shop at a good garden center, I know the plants have been taken care of.
Sometimes the cool stuff is sold in bigger pots instead of flats. Early in the season I want to buy in flats, but when the price is reduced it's a great opportunity to try something new. Annual flowers in three inch pots are nice and big and can be plugged right into the garden or in a container.
One of the best deals I found was a one gallon plastic pot planted with four different varieties. I bought four of them ($10 each) and filled up last year's left over hanging baskets. They were big and provided instant color. By the end of the season with proper watering and fertilization they will be twice the size they are now.
I'm lucky enough to have an unheated greenhouse, those baskets will last two months or longer after a frost in there.
Spend time at your local nursery, see what's in stock and what's on sale. I'll be returning every week to see new bargains.
I'm not sure what's more fun, getting the deal or planting it!
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