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Propagation, free-scaping, cost-scraping

Since I'm not made of money like the guy on that commercial, and just renting this house, there's no way I can or want to spend money landscaping here, but I want more beautiful plants. I've been able to add (or expand) the following plants by propagating what was already here, and from cuttings that people let me take from plants in other yards.

Gardenia

Hydrangea

Roses

Cannas

Lantana

Butterfly bush (Buddleia)

Turkey figs

Confederate roses (Hibiscus mutabilis)

Sedum

Sweet potato vine "Margarita"

Tradescantia pallida and zebrina

Wax Begonias

Elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta)

Dahlia

Passionflower vine (Passiflora)

Non-hardy plants:

Coleus

Perilla 'Magilla'

Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus)

other Begonias

many house plants

Basil

For next year, I already have my sights set on (though don't know if all of these will work):

more of everything above!

Daphne

the native Rhododendron in my Mom's yard that smells so GOOD

Rosemary

Azalea

Camellia

Magnolia

In addition to the plants, I've been on the look-out for free organic matter (OM) to compost and mulch with and was pleasantly surprised with the success of this. It wasn't without effort, but well worthwhile. People are surprisingly willing to donate even though I thought that since they didn't want to have their own compost piles, they wouldn't be interested. Tell people (who are just going to discard their OM) that you want their leaves and the trimmings from their shrubs and they will call!

Places that sell bags of stuff like soil, manure, and mulch often have a clearance spot where ripped bags are half price, often worthwhile deals there.

I don't run the hose often for plants in the ground, if things go well with getting an occasional rain, but hadn't realized how much water about 100 potted plants were going through until I started catching rain water in whatever will hold it. Make sure to use or dump it before mosquito larvae mature in these, but a great way to save a little more, and the water's better for the plants. That's about 50 gallons per week not coming from the tap on weeks when it does rain.

Mom'n'pop garden centers might bargain with you. If it's a small enough place that the owner is there, ask for a discount, and/or match the price at the giant store down the way. If they'd rather have a few of your dollars than none, it may be do-able for them. Especially as the season goes along, they start to get desperate to get rid of stuff that's still there. When you first go there, say hi and ask what's on sale today? And if you're buying a few things, they might say yes if you ask for a cutting or two, within reason regarding the size of the plant you want to snip. Ask if they have an "ICU section" with any currently dormant or otherwise "ugly" plants, maybe too many weeds in a pot to see the "real" plant so nobody wants to buy it, stuff that got sunburned or frostbite but will recover. They may also order something just for you, along with their regular order, if you ask. This can prevent you from needing to buy something via mail/internet.

I also wonder about trading. Like, "I see you don't have any Hydrangeas. Could I trade you 4 of my nicely rooted cuttings for one of your ____?" Sometimes the number of plants of each type required for an order from a wholesaler can seriously impede the number of different plants that places are able to offer. Has anyone worked out some deals like this?

What are you propagating? How are you free-scaping/cost-scraping? How have you managed to make your local owner-operated store more useful (less costly) instead of going to a big-box store?

You can't see the bricks edging the bed below, but they're there, found at an abandoned house. The table with the top painted blue was made from scraps at my honey's work that would have been in the dumpster. I spent about $20 (mostly on the Caladiums) on this area, new last year:

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