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You've got a great vision for your garden but that vision doesn't come cheap. Or does it? There is nothing saying you can not have a great looking landscape without breaking the bank. But how exactly do we do it? One needs to be a bit conning is all.

When you walk about the neighborhood and you see all these other gardeners dividing their perennials and weeding out very prolific plants you should ask for them. Most gardeners if they are any sort of decent people will gladly contribute to your garden. With these plants though they may not be what you want, you can start a perennial border and with the help of self sowing annuals will in no time give you a wonderful addition to your landscape.

When shopping for plants it may seem like a great idea to get the cheapest plants on sale but first look at those plants. They probably have been around for a while and might be root bound or worse, neglected and nearly dead already. Why waste money on something that may die soon? No, it is far more cost effective to buy a good quality plant that can be guaranteed to live. Lowe's and Home Depot have for a long time been one of the only places that actually guarantee the plant for up to a year from purchase. Take advantage of that and if the tree, shrub or perennial dies you can get a replacement. That's a darn good way to landscape on the cheap with a plant that will prosper.

As for those who have patience enough, you may want to buy small trees from a mail order place such as The National Arbor Day Foundation which sells yearling trees, evergreens and shrubs at remarkably reasonable prices. This way you can have many plants and eventually they will grow to be something in your landscape. After a few years they'll be a great size as some trees can grow astonishingly fast.

Stark Brothers always has fruit trees on sale at the end of summer and at the beginning of spring the perfect time to plant a tree. And they too guarantee their stock will grow or you get a replacement or your money back. Many other catalogue places which sell plants have a policy such as that and that can save you money in the long run but the best way to save the most money is to grow all your plants, perennials, anyway, from seed. Seeds are quite economical and very inexpensive as compared to live plants.

At the garden center or even a mail order place you will see in a seed pack you will get anywhere from twenty to fifty seeds for only a few dollars but an already growing perennial can be seven on the low side and upwards of twenty dollars even for a typical Daylily or Foxglove.

No, seeds is definitely the least expensive way to go unless of course, you get all your friends to "contribute" first. But anyway you go about it, landscaping need not empty your wallet and leave you poor. You just have to be careful and watch for the "bargains" which might not be bargains after all.

Learn more about this author, Glory Lennon.
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