The mulch aisle at the garden center has a way of making ordinary tree debris look like a luxury product. Meanwhile, the leaves scattered across your lawn and the pile of small branches near the shed may already provide much of what those bags promise: moisture retention, weed suppression, temperature moderation, and organic matter for…
gardening
9 Garden Supplies Worth Buying When Stores Start Clearing Summer Inventory
Garden center clearance season can feel like the gardening equivalent of finding a forgotten twenty-dollar bill in an old jacket. The big summer rush has passed, shelves start looking a little picked over, and suddenly useful garden supplies can become much easier to justify. The trick is knowing which bargains deserve space in the garage…
Garden Centers Are Starting to Clear Shelves, but Not Every Discount Is Worth It
Garden centers are starting to clear their shelves, and that can make late-season plant shopping feel like a joyful treasure hunt. A perennial marked down to a few dollars can become one of the smartest purchases in the garden, but a sickly plant with a dramatic discount sticker can turn that bargain into an expensive…
10 Plants You Should Divide in Fall Instead of Buying New Ones Next Year
Fall has a sneaky little gardening superpower: it can turn one established perennial into several new plants without sending a single dollar to the garden center. Dividing certain perennials now gives each section room to develop roots before winter, while also giving crowded plants a much-needed reset. The trick involves knowing which plants actually enjoy…
7 Garden Tasks That Get More Expensive If You Put Them Off Until Spring
Spring will morph a manageable garden to-do list into a full-blown project. A soil problem that takes a little planning in fall can become a scramble for amendments, a neglected tool can turn into a replacement purchase, and a planting window can disappear while the garden waits for someone to get organized. Every garden chore…
Fall Leaves Could Replace Something You’re Paying for at the Garden Center
That pile of fall leaves gathering along the driveway may look like yard cleanup, but it can also replace products that gardeners routinely buy at the garden center. Instead of bagging every leaf and hauling it away, gardeners can turn those leaves into mulch, compost ingredients, or leaf mold for future garden use. A thick,…
You May Be Throwing Away Garden Supplies That Could Last Another Year
Garden season can trick you into thinking perfectly good supplies are objects that look ready for retirement. A muddy hand trowel, a slightly rusty pair of pruners, a half-full bag of potting mix, or a stack of dirty nursery pots can seem destined for the garbage, especially when the garden starts winding down. But “looks…
9 Things Gardeners Should Never Throw Away at the End of Summer
The end of summer can make a garden look like it has nothing left to offer. Spent plants, half-used seed packets, empty nursery pots, piles of leaves, and crooked tomato stakes can quickly resemble a collection of gardening junk, but much of that “junk” still has a job to do. A little sorting can save…
Some of the Best Garden Bargains of the Year Show Up After Summer Ends
The calendar says summer is winding down, but garden-center bargain season is just getting interesting. Once the big rush for colorful annuals fades, many nurseries and garden centers start clearing space, which can create excellent opportunities to pick up plants and supplies for less. That does not mean every sad-looking plant in the clearance section…
10 Garden Expenses That Aren’t Worth Paying for in September
September can make gardeners spend their money on things the garden never asked for. Garden centers fill up with colorful plants, bags of mysterious amendments, shiny tools, and products promising to solve problems that might disappear on their own once cooler weather settles in. But September also gives gardeners a chance to save. A little…