  |
|
|
|
I love the look of a beautiful flower beds but to start a new garden from
scratch can be costly. I know.
When we moved into our farmhouse there was not a stitch of landscaping around
the house. I thought it was odd
that such an old house wouldn't have a few flower beds but I guess back when
this was a working 200-acre farm,
there was little time for such foolishness as flowers. Instead of flowers, we
got fruit trees and herb gardens, so I
shouldn't complain too much. Besides, I looked at the lack of landscaping as
a blank slate--I could do whatever I
wanted and create a flower beds that is truly unique and all my own.
I called everyone I know (know well enough, that is) that has a lovely garden and asked if I could get some starts of plants when they thinned theirs. I even offered to help do the dirty work of digging, separating and re-planting bulbs and plants. The response was overwhelming. From my Mom, I got vine roses, hollyhocks and lily-of-the-valleys. My sister gave me ferns, bleeding hearts and hostas. My friend Sara gave me a lot of wonderful ground cover stuff and a bunch of flowering plants that neither of us know the name of and some shoots from her rose of Sharon bush. My neighbor Joanna gave me tulip bulbs and an azalea bush that was floundering in her shady yard. Friends and family members gave me seeds as well. Gas stations, direct mail companies and schools oftentimes give away packets of seeds for promotional use that then found their way to me. I started many of the seeds indoors so after the first frost, I had morning glories, sunflowers, zinnias and cosmos to add to the garden. My Dad got wind of my requests. He owns a large piece of property that he hunts on. There used to be a farmhouse on this property and, according to Dad, there were lots of bulb flowers that still came up around the foundation. He offered to let me dig as many as I wanted. I got daffodils, crocuses, lilies, and a trunk load of irises. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Mooching in the Mulch in Frugal Living is owned by Karen L. Harris. Permission to republish Mooching in the Mulch in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
