That would be very dangerous. I would not consider doing such a thing.

Everything I spend would be considered "home improvement". Home Improvement will increase the value of your home. Therefore it is a necessity.

I grow tomatoes in 20 different large containers. When I empty the dirt into the garden, I am increasing the value of the home since we actually have a clay yard. Thus - home Improvement.

I have about 150 roses, and have bought about 12 more to plant in the spring. If I don't plant those roses, much of the good soil is likely to wash away, thus decreasing the value of the home - Home Improvement.

The mulch is a huge investment, but it keeps the roses cool and protects them in the summer so I don't have to replace them each year - Home Improvement.

When you get right down to it, I don't spend anything on roses, I spend money to maintain the value of my home. Therefore I don't need a spreadsheet of expenditures.

However, I do maintain a google spreadsheet that gives data I need to remember on my landscape home improvement - roses.

This was fun.

Sammy

Sammy...you are a HOOT! Got a great laugh from your post and I am in total agreement. Home Improvement...priceless!! Lesley

Yes, I absolutely agree with you about the home-improvement. However, I'm still renting. I know I should put all my saving towards my first home, but I just can't resist roses.

Over the years, I learned not to 'collect' all types of roses but instead, buy the ones that I love to have. That way I get to enjoy them more.

Having said that, I feel like having to go to the hardware store every 5 weeks to buy a new pair of secateurs or glooves. If only I could cut back on that, that would be great.

I thought about that once, but all too soon realized there would not be a spreadsheet big enough to cover everything. If you are into roses, you don't need a spreadsheet, you need an unlimited money supply. LOL

Since everything I buy is charged on a credit card and every credit card transaction is downloaded directly into Quicken, the data is already there for me to evaluate without having to keep a separate spreadsheet. I throw everything for the garden into one expense category (Garden), but it would be easy enough to have subcategories for New Plants, Fertilizer, Labor, Fencing, etc. It's enlightening (frightening?) to see that the biggest expenses every year boil down to the dogs and the garden...."my favorite things".

I just wrote on another thread that we garden for fun. If you start taking things too seriously, it won't be fun anymore. I am paid good money to create spreadsheets and manage funds. Gardening is a way to relax and forget my dull job.

Therefore, it is necessary to be completely irresponsible while gardening in order to maintain one's happiness.

No, in the big scheme of things, roses are fairly inexpensive. Try (if you eat meat) cutting out one or two meaty meals a month, or grow some of your own veggies ( a packet of seeds is super cheap!), and over a year's time, you've saved enough to buy several new roses.

Why, oh, why would I want to keep track of my expenses? What if my husband saw it!?! I have been assuring him for years that I get the majority "free" on some sort of loyalty incentive program. He is not stupid, but the lie comforts us both and provides marital harmony.

Actually, good luck with keeping track of your expeditures. I obviously don't, but gardening is my one splurge. I am willing to wear old clothes, continue driving my swamp car, and dye my own hair (although if any of you actually know me--this is totally my natural hair color as I am certainly not going gray!). I put costs in equivalent number of roses to decide what gets fixed: 3 months of hair dye--one rose, fixing swamp car's blinkers--10 roses; buying new car--way, WAY too many roses. So far, I get hair dye, but keep swamp car without useable blinkers.

If it were just me, I would go with the Sammy method. :) However, my DH is one of those types that has to know where every penny is spent. Doesn't care what I spend it on, but he just likes to know. He is a little old fashioned and just gets the old fashioned ledger journals (from any office supply store) and makes categories that pertain to our lifestyle. Easy enough to use, just takes some time, and you choose what to name the category and how detailed you wish each category to be (landscaping vs. roses, mulch, tools, etc.) As long as you don't have a big 'misc' category, you will be able to see where your money goes.

Good goal. Everyone needs to know where they're money is going. But don't feel guilty that you're spending a little of your savings on roses. Everyone needs some enjoyment.

Spreadsheet? Decent idea, but maintaining it would take away from time in my garden...so....no way.

Besides, I don't want to know how much I spend on the roses. Beauty should have no price.....

I DO keep track of my roses on an Excel spreadsheet by cultivar, where purchased, year planted, type, root system, etc. simply because I have over 300 and I forget sometimes if I already have it so I don't want to duplicate it when ordering.

I keep the e-mail invoice copies filed by year and the prices are listed. I did ask my insurance agent if I needed to keep a separate policy on the value of my collection, but she told me it would be insured as part of the value of the house. Sure hope she is right if I suffer a widespread loss such as fire or if the neighbor's kid drives through the yard again on a drunken spree :(
-t

One way of cutting back is to buy really good quality gloves and secateurs. A Felco with blades that can be sharpened and changed is an investment that pays. My oldest Felcos are 17 years old. My Burgon and Ball secateurs are a little younger, 10 years.

Nope- spreadsheets are not my forte. However, we do keep track of the total of all garden expenses by year - hate to say it, but including everything (plants, water (!), plant food, mulch, pots, seed for the birds, garden structures, if any, lighting if any, books, tools, etc.etc.) it adds up every year to several thousand dollars!

It is worth it, of course, but not something I would like to spend time on every day doing data entry into a spreadsheet!

Jackie

For me it's not so much a spreadsheet on how much money on roses, but gardening in general! Supplies, tools, perennials, clems, roses, fertilizers, etc. If I really wanted to look at what I spent all year, I have but to look at my "yearly account summary" on my credit card! Yikes, it would scare the H$## out of me! Yes, I do keep my card paid down, but that just makes me think I can afford to spend more lol!
I do, however, keep a spreadsheet on what I bought, how many, where, with heights, widths expected, bloomtimes, etc. It's come in handy on occasion.

I don't know why my area and zone keep looking like a bunch of symbols!? Oh well, as long as the post's are there...

I keep a spread sheet that lists the names of the roses, colors, type, source, year purchased, bed in which planted, etc. But NO PRICE! That would ruin all the fun.

I know how much I can't spend on roses. That's quite enough for me :D :D