It is conference season in the "green" industry and I have been busy at both as an attendee and a vendor. Before I go to another one and get even more ideas, I wanted to share one. This fabulous one, I picked up from native plant icon Gerould Wilhelm from a talk he gave with plantsman Roy Diblik. Before I share it, let me give a bit of background from Gerould's talk. Why most trees are really lonely To simplify Gerould's talk too much, let's say the jest of it was that plants live in … [Read more...]
Live Stakes for Landscaping as Inexpensive Plants
Unless you are in the field of ecological restoration you are probably unfamiliar with the term, live stakes. But perhaps you are like me, and appreciate a good deal. Whether it is a pair of khakis for 50% off the last marked clearance price or a $5 Monday night burger deal at a local restaurant. I love saving money. This frugality (my term, my wife and kids term would be cheapskate) also extends to my yard. While when it comes to landscaping tools or plants for clients, quality is the name … [Read more...]
Simple Prairie Planting
Turning a side yard into a simple prairie planting using plants grown from seed this year is today's blog topic. I have made gardens before with prairie plants in 1 gallon, quarts and even 38 plugs size before, but never with plugs I started from seed the same year. … [Read more...]
A (mostly) Native Perennial Plug Planting Twelve Months Later
Last year, I posted about a new perennial plug planting I did in June of 2016. In that post, Planting Plugs is a Cheap and Easy Way to Plant a Landscape, I showed how a 300 sq ft perennial bed could be prepared and planted using less work and money. … [Read more...]
Planting cheaper perennials
When you have a large area you want to fill with drifts of perennials you can soon realize your vision exceeds your pocketbook. Lets look at the ways of buying perennials and saving a few bucks along the way. … [Read more...]
Bare root trees to stretch your landscaping budget
How can we get a diverse collection of plants that won’t cost a fortune or break your back? … [Read more...]
What size shade tree to buy to get the largest tree quickest
What size shade tree to buy? is a great question no one ever asks. It seems everybody just assumes you should buy the biggest you can afford. That's what nursery staff will tell you right? In a previous post, I wrote about three defects you MUST check for when buying trees. That covered looking for root related issues at the nursery. Today, I would like to talk about deciding on what size shade tree to buy. A tree is a long term investment. You should start with a high quality plant. Trees … [Read more...]
Tree planting mistakes to avoid and save time
"There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." - Peter F. Drucker Last time, I gave some suggestions on how to pick out decent trees at the nursery. In that article, I also gave a suggestion or two on how to properly plant those trees. Today, I going to suggest you skip some tree planting mistakes that are sometimes recommended. … [Read more...]
Three Defects you MUST check for when buying trees
I love saving money when buying trees. However, you do often get what you pay for. So CHEAP often equals POOR QUALITY. Poor quality trees end up looking badly, never being healthy, or just plain DIE. … [Read more...]
Save Money Buying Trees and Shrubs: Eight Tips
Yes, I admit it. I have a problem. I have being struggling with plant collector’s syndrome for over a decade now. The only thing that has kept my yard from being a complete jungle is the fact that the other syndrome I have been struggling with is tightwaditis. My support group has required me to write this post on how to save money buying trees and shrubs as part of my recovery process. … [Read more...]