Okay I have garden fever with hopes of help to dig my beds this week and if I can get as much done as I'd like, that's a lot of plants so I am looking for deals (especially since I haven't exactly priced out a load of soil and gravel yet).
In Calgary I tried my favourite garden centre and noticed their prices seem to have gone up a lot. Shrubs now around $44 each, Hostas $25, annuals $3/6pack. Of course my fav Costco has been okay and I've purchased some bulb packs of Hosta, fern, astilbe, elephant ears, and a couple of other good shade things but they will take forever to come up this year I bet. tonight I also picked up a flowering plum tree (purple leaves!), some golden elders, dogwoods, ninebarks, clematis, and a few annuals. NO contest on prices with the shrubs between $12 - $18, the tree was $29, the annuals $10/36 pack (and their Hostas were just as big as the other place and $10).
Anyway, the Costco I went to tells me that is it, no more shipments and the garden centre will close on Friday. NO sale they knew of but my fingers are crossed as I would love some of those hostas and more shrubs and such if they would mark them down. I still need hardy roses but they didn't have any.
they had some nice sized junipers for $13 but I was feeling under the money crunch with what I had so I'm hoping you guys have suggestions of places where you have seen good prices. Other years I've managed to fluke out and hit good sales at Rona or Zellers or Super Store but I can't even remember when that was (late or early summer).
So, any tips or hints of where or when I should look for some deals in plants that already have their heads up and will fill some space?
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DBD, take a walk around the neighbourhood and see if anyone is doing any gardening........I get a lot of people asking me for plants and if I'm removing any extras, I usually give them away to whomever asks me.......I feel better than throwing them away.
I get the freecycle posts every day and there have been a lot of people asking for plants. I've wondered if they are getting them. I'll have to check craigslist.
there is nothing at the moment in Calgary, but i have seen on the online classifieds people selling perennials/trees/shrubs/etc....
keep an eye on [URL=http://www.kijiji.ca]http://www.kijiji.ca[/URL] and [URL=http://calgary.craigslist.org/]http://calgary.craigslist.org/[/URL] :)
Keep the ideas coming.
I wish I could find someone splitting their perennials. That helped me a lot at other houses but I think it's a little late this year as most of the exchanges are done early May.
As for Costco, well you know how fast they turn things. It is a little nuts since a lot of Calgary gardeners don't plant until first week of June (and we had frost last week so any earlier is risky).
To get max amount of plants to fill a bed at bargain prices I would keep an eye out for plant sales in your area, run by the horticultural society. I hit two early in the spring, and loaded my car full with great deals.
After that, check around the neighbourhood for people selling their plants dug out of their garden. I know of a farm near me that has selling more than $400 plants all for less than $5.
I bought hostas at the horti-sale for $5 (won't go more than $9 for a big one), astibles were $3, shrubs were no more than $16, and clematis around $25, peony were $9.
Good luck in your search.
Gee - Costco closing the garden centre already - you had snow last weekend - that barely gives you a week. Do any of your other grocery stores carry plants. Or farmers markets?
I remember getting some good deals on ligularia and astilbe in 2 gal. pots last August at Rona. They had them sitting just outside the garden center entrance. Other than that Can. Tire had annuals on sale in small pots and 6 packs even yesterday. :) Happy gardening.