I always go when they have their spring stuff out. We bought 3 really nice arches from them a few years ago.

I got a prime pair of fiskars loppers for 8.88.

Wow. With every other mecca of shopping within a 7 mile drive, the nearest Big Lots are 19 and 24 miles away. Doesn't seem horrible, but they are in places that I only drive to under extreme duress because the traffic is so horrible. There are a couple closer to my Mom's in Philly, I'll have to check them out the next time I am there.

I breaks my heart I don't have a place for an arbor!!

I love Big Lots, my hubby and I go every Sat. just to see what's new. Now that Christmas is over they have their garden stuff stocked again. Bargains galore.
Nancy

I do love Big Lots for the great prices! The one near me always has body bag roses at amazing prices at planting time. I've gotten some nice OGR's.
It is the kind of store where they don't have everything you want, but what they do have is a run away bargain!

What is Big Lots????? I am not familiar with it.

Hi Devon
I think its another term for the big box stores like Home Depot, Lowes, The Building Box, Rona. etc etc.
Niecey

Devon:

It use be called "Pick and Save" in Southern California. Used to more like $1 store. But for past few years their prices has gone up (relatively) and they carry for regular items rather than just sur plus stuff.

FJ

Big Lots is a specific store.
Usually in my part of the world, they are where there used to be a big modern shopping center twenty to thirty years ago, that had the tenants move out, and then Big Lots and others moved in for more reasonable rent.
Rhonda, thanks for the heads up.

Another place for odd gardening stuff is Harbor Freight, where DH saw Felco holsters (for secateurs) for 50cents.

Ronda, I'm so glad you brought this up. Ours has big patio covers set up with garden furniture inside of them and the prices are great.

I have bought nice leather gardening gloves, multi-spray hose nozzles, plant markers, wheeled pot caddies, holders for pots that hook onto our fence, glazed pots (DH drilled the drainage holes) clippers and more at Big Lots.

Most of these are seasonal items for spring and not carried all year.

There was a Big Lots four blocks from our house, but it is now being transformed into a Whole Foods, so I have to drive about five miles to another one -- it's worth it to me.

Ann - ask your DH is Harbor Freight carries any Felco tools. There's one about 15 miles from me next to Kohls, but I never go in because I thought they carried just boring guy stuff. But if they have gardening tools cheap, I'm gonna go. Thanks for the tip!
-terry

Geez, I haven't been to Big Lots in yrs. I never looked for gardening stuff, let alone bagged roses! Hmm... next time I get to Chico I'll have to go look! I remember growing up in Oxnard and we lived right behind the big shopping center. Pic 'n' Save was my mom's favorite store! We'd walk up there and spend hours in there. What memories! Did any of your Pic 'n' Saves change to "McFrugal's" before going to Big Lots? I always thought that was such a goofy name!

I buy my potting soil there.

It's a rainy day here, so a note on the short lived McFrugals in is order.
Once upon a time, before Katrina, New Orleans was trying to bring in "industry". But the mayor's idea of industry turned out to be a wearhouse for transhipping the stuff that came in as container freight from foreign ports.
Great fluff accompanied the announcement that Pick and Save was coming, only when it came, it was McFrugals.
If you drive east of NOLA on I-10 and watch closely, as you come down off of the first tall bridge (over the inaptly called industrial canal), you'll see a huge burned out building. That was McFrugals.
And yet McFrugals never had a store in NOLA, nor did Pick and Save.
If McF hadn't moved out, and the building hadn't had a fire, Katrina would have swamped it.

Devon
Big Lots buys close out stocks from bankrupt wholesalers & manufacturers, those with excess inventories, and manufacturers who have a large overstock of an item. They buy only in large quantities. They get new stuff in all the time and seldom have the same item if you go back.
Some manufacturers take back unsold merchandise each fall. Big Lots buys this along with any excess inventories from the previous year.
If you see something you want you had better buy it as chances are it will not be available next time.
You can get some great deals but most stores I've been to are highly unorganized with lots of damaged stock and missing parts.
The major difference between Big Lots and other close out stores is Big Lots is a national chain.
You can go to their website for more info and a store locator.

Here is a link that might be useful: about Big Lots

We lost our Big Lots store about 2 years ago,and I hate it that we don't have it no longer.I use to buy a lot of my gardening things there.Bought fantastic pruners for a dollar,and a arbor...
Jean

We had a Big Lots down the street from us for years (started out as McFrugals) but I never went in figuring it was mostly that cheap shoddy off brand Dollar store merchandise. However my niece in Georgia said she loved going so I decided to give it a shot and lo and behold there were gardening items there that were very useful and of acceptible quality. Wouldn't you know it, they closed the store up 3 years after I discovered it. They have one about 10 miles away and after reading this, I think I'll make a point of checking it out this spring.

We check Big Lots about once a week too. You never know what your going to find. They have a lot of garden and patio stuff coming in right now. I've bought a lot of pots, hose parts, soil and yes, bagged roses there. If you want the roses keep checking them frequently when roses start to show up in your area. If you don't get them right away don't bother. They just haul the boxes out to the floor and they never care for them at all. They may be only $2.99 but they aren't a bargain if they're dead. Last spring our stored kept them in an unheated trailer behind the store for more than a week before the flyer came out on them and they were frozen. I think I bought 2 or 3 that looked green but none of them made it. They also have a very high rate of mislables.

Sorry Devon
For giving you the wrong info.
My bad.

Ok so its a specific kind of bargain store.
You learn something different every day around here.
Niecey

Has anyone tried their "Village Green" brand of pruning tools and are they any good? They have a 8" by-pass pruner for $5 in their weekly ad, along with a "Wilson & Fisher 8" Anvil pruner for $6.
-terry

I forgot to mention that they have NICE umbrellas for your patio table. They even have the lights that can be run underneath the umbrella for soft lighting (no bugs). My experience has been that all the good spring stuff is gone by April....but new things arrive until March. You can buy decorative birdhouses for 5-10 dollars...I love them!!

I always get my gloves and pruners there. I am notorious for leaving gloves and pruners outside since I set them down and then cant find them again. With the prices at Big Lots....I don't even have to cuss when I do find my pruners with rust on them.

I am a Big Lots stalker Jan-April. :o)

Ronda

Big Lots is located next door to work so I check in almost daily.

Register at their site and you will receive coupons via email for great discounts. I just used a 20% off coupon which saved a lot on top of the original discounted prices. This makes the large items (arbors) really inexpensive.

I just got back from Big Lots and bought 5 pruners for $24.00. One only cost $2.50 because someone had taken the plastic cover off the front, so they marked it down from $5.
Two pruners were $4 each; and two others were $6 each. Not a bad deal. I'm like you, Ronda; I leave them everywhere and I go through them like crazy during the summer. Besides roses, I have to keep the smokebushes in bounds, along with pruning ornamental tree branches and all my slew of perennials.

I did sign up for the garden buzz, so I'll keep my eye out for the 20% off coupon. I've got my eye on the wooden arbor coming in April.
-terry

Oh, they have 14" plant dollys for $6 and boys Spiderman underwear! I might have to make a road trip...

Diane - saw the plant dollys. Looked pretty good. Am on the lookout for Transformers underwear for my grandson Gabe.
They also had their pots, hoses, and deck chair pads out.
How long until April?
-terry

How do the roses do from Big Lots????? I just called and the one here has gotten theirs in for $3 each. Can't beat that. Let me know if anyone has ever tried them. Thanks, Judy

It's taken me around 5 tries to join so I can post here on this thread!

I wanted to tell you that I bought 4 of these roses from Big Lots around the first of March. I think they had just put them out. The stems were green and there were fat buds about to break, so I grabbed them before the inevitable deterioration from being dry and under fluorescent lights took its toll.

I took them home, soaked them in warm water for a couple of hours, then potted them up in potting soil in large plastic pots. I watered them in, and I'm putting them outside in the sun whenever it's above 40�F. They have really leafed out and look vigorous and healthy.

I liked that there was a rugosa shrub rose plus some good (White Dawn- one of my favorites) climbers, which we were going to buy anyway. I'd say they were not a bad bargain. But if they had sat for a long time, or were brown or dry looking, I wouldn't want to try.