affordable-backyard-plantsAffordably backyard plants allow you to have a beautiful backyard to enjoy at optimal prices. However, you must understand what an affordable plant is before you begin your landscape planning. In order to be affordable, the price must be reasonable but the plant should also be low in maintenance time and costs. With this definition in mind, you can still create an attractive backyard landscape without breaking your budget. Here are a few of the methods to get the best values possible:

 

Multiply

 

Propagation may be the single more affordable way to get backyard plants because these plants are free. Everyone loves free plants. You'll need to determine whether your plant will root from cuttings or whether you must propagate using air layering. When using either method, invest in a small container of root hormone to increase your success rate.

 

Use the Internet

 

You can locate many affordable backyard plants and even free plants using online resources. You can locate discount nurseries selling plants at affordable prices, but you are taking a chance since you can not see the health of the plant before it is shipped. Craigslist.com is a wonderful place to locate plants in your area which are affordably priced and right for your climate. Freecycle.com is an online resource which connects people living near each other to post messages for items wanted and items to be given away so you may locate some great free backyard plants this way.

 

Local Trade and Barter Clubs

 

Along the same lines as internet resources are offline bartering and trading groups. Most of the larger town and cities have organizations much like clubs where members gather periodically to trade or offer items for barter. Other clubs hold events much like garage sales but which are closed to the public and the exchange medium is trade or barter only. In fact, you could offer propagated plants from your garden as a trade item for other plants and almost everyone has items around the house they don't want but someone would really treasure which can be offered in exchange for plants.

 

Start Small

 

Purchasing mature plants for your backyard costs much more than purchasing younger, smaller plants; starting seeds costs even less. Whether buying trees, shrubs, foliage plants or flowering plants for your backyard, when you start with smaller specimens, the prices are much more affordable than when purchasing the same species as a larger, more mature specimen. This method is especially practical as a means of obtaining affordable backyard plants which grow quickly.

 

Flea Market

 

Most areas have a flea market which is open on weekends. Virtually every flea market will have at least one vendor that offers plants as all or part of their merchandise. Often these plants are specimens the vendor has reproduced from their own backyard plants. Some of them may be specimens which the vendor has rescued just before being discarded by a nursery and nursed back to health. Some will come from large wholesale nurseries if the vendor has a large quantity and only sells plants. The plants may be growing in just about any recyclable container but this does not affect the value of the plant as long as it is healthy and shows new growth.

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