Welcome!

There are lots of ways to get plants, & going to the store & buying them is the most expensive.

If you can get plants for less money, you can get more plants!

Firstly, get a few packets of seeds from Dollar Tree;
there aren't many seeds in each pack, & not all the seeds will germinate, but you don't need 100 larkspurs or 3000 4-oclocks.

& the seed packets are 4 for $1.

Secondly, ask for cuttings in the neighborhood (offer something in exchange, or offer to help in the garden, which is sometimes more welcome to longtime gardeners anyway).

Thirdly, go to the area just above the first thread on this page & you'll see "Exchanges", "Gallery", & "Conversations".

Click on "Exchanges", & look for the April Plant Swaps;
there's one in Ft Worth, which is close, & one in San Antonio, which is far away but it's a really good one if you have friends or family or business reasons to give you an excuse to go there.

There'll also be a plant swap in Waxahachie, just south of Dallas, in April;
I'm thinking it'll be the 11th,
& one in Denton, but I don't think it's been announced yet.

If you're looking for something in particular, you can ask on the Exchanges page;
you can offer some of those larkspur (or whatever) seedlings in return!

Even if you haven't got any plants to trade, come to the swaps anyway;
bring some bakery or homemade cookies, or some gardening gloves (I like the Dollar Tree variety), just anything a gardener can use-
gardening books, garden art, sun block, hand lotion, Yardley soaps, trowels, garden carriers or baskets, etc.

& the balance of trade is in your favor;
you'll go home with much more than you brought!

You can also get plants at garage sales & from craigslist & freecycle.

You'll need to get some decent potting soil & maybe some nice-looking pots anyway (if you just want black nursery pots, some of us, by which I mean usually my own self, always have those at the swaps), so if you're at a nursery or big box store, do be sure to see if they have something you want.

Get the smallest plants, because they'll adapt to transplanting & grow much better, which is more gratifying & enjoyable, & they're a *bunch* cheaper.

meaning you can get more plants.

If you live near a farmer's market, they usually have 3" or 4" pots of herbs as well as fruits & vegetables.

You can grow many vegetables from the seeds of vegetables that you buy at the supermarket, so remember to think before you discard your squash seeds (& before you cook them!).

about stores:

If you're near Central Expressway & Forest Lane, Northaven Gardens is a wonderful nursery;
it has everything, & the people are very helpful.

It's south of Forest Lane, a right turn off the southbound access road.

Check their website;
they often have special events in the evenings & on week-ends.

Again, welcome!

& happy...

forgot to say:
Bring in those plants when the temps drop to near-freezing.

Even if the cold doesn't kill them, it'll set them back.

& annuals are great for summer color & they don't necessarily have short bloom times.

Zinnias are the gardener's best summertime friend;
they're fast-growing, they bloom for a long time, they don't need a lot of care, & they're tolerant of heat & dry soil.

They'll even re-seed, but if your garden is all in pots, you might want to clip the dead heads once the flowers dry, & save the seeds to plant next year.

The tall zinnias tend to flop over, too, & they take a lot of room, to use the smaller or dwarf varieties.

The best ones I ever had were orange Profusion zinnias.

They bloom like maniacs, they hold their color, & they're about 8" tall.

Profusion zinnias also come in a deep pink & in white, but those colors get "muddy" as they age & dry out.

It isn't a problem if you are an attentive gardener & you dead-head to keep the plants blooming, & the pink & white ones are very pretty & fresh-looking.

Keep your eye peeled for Neirembergia "starry eyes", That will bloom for months and is pretty heat tolerant. Your NW exposure is a difficult one. It is shady now but soon it will be blistering in the afternoons. Mexican oregano has pretty pink blooms for a long time. I am unsure of their hardiness in the Big D. I am by Austin . Purple wandering jew will be root hardy in the wintertime and will grow well in pots on a balcony. They will take shade and hot sun. I bet you could find some at a plant swap. They are pretty ubiquitous around here and contrast nicely with white artemisia and many other things.. I grow portulaca in pots. I like the different colored ornamental sweet potatoes in pots. The foliage is the color and they drape so nicely. Coleus are also good in our heat in pots if you keep them watered. Iron plants will do well in pots.

irisfan42 and wantonamara - Thanks so much for the great suggestions. I bought some seeds from Walmart where I found the packets for 20 cents. I also managed to plant some herbs like cilantro and nigella from the seeds in my kitchen and peppers, mint from the grocery supplies. :) I have kept my eyes peeled for plant cuttings from the neighbours but so far haven't had much luck. I'm happy with the collection so far and will take it slowly in growing the garden adding the above mentioned plants as and when I see something attractive in the clearance racks. :)

I think the annuals' growing season in PA might be different, or probably the plants you tried. In North Texas, you get a pretty long growing season to where many popular annuals have a long blooming time. For example, pansies, begonias, petunias, and zinnias (to name a few) are pretty much in constant bloom once they being blooming.

I believe last year I went to some plant swap/sale in Allen/McKinney area as well as Grapevine. Keep an eye out and see when those get announced also.

Besides the independent nurseries scattered around, there is also a chain store of nurseries called "Calloway's Nursery" that you may enjoy browsing. There is also a nursery near the Dallas Farmer's Market, with lots of nice plants to look through.

As for seeds and cuttings, the other posts did a great job of covering various points. I myself have given and received plants, seeds, and cuttings from craigslist.

The area has a bad habit of having warm days and nights for a while and then having 1 or 2 really cold nights that hurt any plants that had come up. For example, this coming weekend is predicted to be pretty cold, including precipitation. If not totally killing the plant for that season, at least there was freezer burn on some leaves that would recover. So keep an eye out for those kinds of really cold nights until spring is in full swing, which hopefully is not too long from now.