As a young homeowner and someone who is pursuing a more, shall we say, creative career in the arts, I find I have had to be crafty with my gardening. In fact, I’ve learned a lot about how to garden on a budget.
Here’s what I’ve come up with:
- If you are landscaping your property, try using whatever rocks are already in your yard. I was surprised to unearth a treasure of these glorious old Sudbury rocks — forget Manitoulin limestone, these babies have reds and blacks and yellows that are reminiscent of slate.
- Find out what you already have. Wander your property, you may be surprised to find you have some wild bergamot growing in those weeds. Or perhaps you have perennials from last year ready to be split. I dug up a pleasing amount of Virginia creeper and have plans to make a living fence between my kitchen window and my neighbours driveway.
- Be neat about it. So what if you’re sad about having to wait until the perennials go on sale, you can still mow down those dandelions. Better still, shuck them — get rid of the buggers. Can’t afford a clever dandelion-shucker? Use an old fork. But don’t throw them in the compost. Use the leaves in your salads, make jam, or wine. Your neighbours will be so pleased that you have done it, and that you brought them some homemade dandelion jam.
- Winter your annuals. I’ve had the same terracotta pots of geraniums for years. I figured this one out when my old Italian neighbour brought out these massive pots of gorgeous blooms. (She also turned me on to the dandelion wine…). I’ve been doing it ever since, and I get the added pleasure of having summer reminders in the colder months.
- Compost. Can’t afford big bags of manure? Use the leaves lying all over the ground you neglected to rake in the fall. They’re all wet and have been decomposing nicely. They should add some nice humus to your soil. Just make sure they’re not infested with whitefly. Sometimes wet leaves make a nice home for pests. Just check them out carefully for little eggs.
- Know some gardeners and be nice to them. Help them weed a bit. Offer to lift some heavy rocks. They may offer to split some perennials for you. If they’ve been gardening long, they’ll want to get rid of some — it’s inevitable. They may even have a seed or two to part with. You can get a head start on those in the cooler months inside.
- Do the work yourself. Get dirty and enjoy the process. It’s yours, after all.
This is what I’ve been doing and so far, so good. No major disasters, no interminable pests. Just a lush looking yard that is miles better than it was only a few months ago.
Anne Boulton is an avid gardener who lives in Sudbury. Contact her at [email protected] or visit her blog at boultonanne.typepad.com/greenboots.
- Posted by Laurel Myers
