10 Plants To Buy On A Budget
It wasn’t that long ago that I stood in my yard and it was far from beautiful! However, with a small budget and the right plants it is finally beginning to take shape! I love to research plants. For me, I want to have plants that bloom all summer and add interest in the fall and possibly winter. Sometimes spending more on a plant that can serve you all year, is worth the extra money. I also buy a lot on clearance, but the key is to know what plants you want so you know what you are looking for! Here are 10 plants to buy on a budget.
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10 Plants To Buy On A Budget
1. Hostas
Most of the time you can find a friend or family member that have hostas and would be willing to give you some for free! Hostas grow so large and are easy to divide. If you don’t know anyone with hostas, try a neighborhood perennial exchange. Everyone brings 5-10 hostas or perennials and then exchange plants so everyone leaves with 5-10 different hostas or perennials.
Hostas make beautiful fillers for any landscape. If possible, try to get a lot of different varieties so you have some lighter green and some darker green hostas. As time goes by, you can continue to divide them up to fill in other parts of your landscaping. Hostas are one of the most beautiful, hardy and budget friendly plants you can have!
Varieties in my yard:
Sagae Hosta (pictured below): Height: 20″, Zone: 3-9, Light: full shade to part shade
Paul’s Glory Hosta: Height 24-36″, Zone: 3-8, Light: full shade to part shade
Elegans Hosta or similar variety: Height 24-36″, Zone: 3-8, Light: full shade to part shade
Kingsize Hosta (I believe this is the variety I have…my neighbor gave it to me out of their yard): Height: 36-40″, Zone: 3-9, Light: full shade to part shade
2. Sedums
I am partial to the Autumn Joy Sedum. I picked up several at a roadside stand for $1 each. Sedums grow quickly and you can divide them every 3 years. For most of the summer they have beautiful green stems, then in late summer/early fall they bloom with a beautiful deep burgundy color. The blooms look gorgeous in any fall flowerbed. I actually wait to trim them down until the following spring, so they add winter interest as well!
Variety in my yard:
Autumn Joy Sedum: Height: 16-24″, Zone: 3-10, Light: Full to part sun
3. Hydrangeas
I know what you are thinking, Hydrangeas are not budget friendly…however, just hear me out. If you are going to spend money on a focal plant for your yard, you will get the most bang for your dollar with Hydrangeas. Particularly, the Limelight Hydrangea. The Limelight Hydrangea will produce endless blooms all summer long, and then the blooms turn a beautiful ruby color in the fall. Once the blooms dry up, they are perfect with evergreens for winter interest. I found most of my Hydrangeas between $35-$40 dollars. Keep in mind the size, Limelight’s are quite large but they have a Little Lime version that is just as gorgeous. There is also a Bobo Hydrangea that is even smaller and I bought those for around $15 at my local greenhouse.
Make sure to research how long a plant blooms, sometimes a plant for $10 that only blooms for 2 weeks is not as good of a deal as a more expensive plant that blooms all summer long! That is why I recommend these plants to buy, even on a budget.
Varieties in my yard:
Limelight Hydrangea: Height: 6-8′, Zone: 3-9, Light: sun or part shade
Little Lime Hydrangea: Height: 3-5′, Zone: 3-8, Light: sun or part shade
Bobo Hydrangea: Height: 2.5-3′, Zone: 3-8, Light: sun or part shade
L.A. Dreamin Hydrangea (pictured below): Height 4′, Zone: 5-9, Light: sun or part shade
4. Salvia
This is another plant that I have found at local flower stands for around $1. Salvia produce beautiful purple blooms or pink, depending on the variety. It will bloom all summer with potential for early fall rebloom. Salvia is one of those flowers that doesn’t get talked about much, but is beautiful and great to buy on a budget!
I recommend cutting Salvia back late spring or early summer. It promotes rebloom and keeps the plant from flopping over if it gets too large.
Variety in my yard:
Salvia Nemorosa ‘East Friesland’: Height: 12-18″, Zone: 3-9, Light: full sun
5. Catmint
Walkers Low Catmint is the variety I just planted last year. Now it is a little more expensive than some of the previous plants I listed, so I waited to grab them in the fall once they were on clearance. This plant has been on my wish list for a while. It has beautiful purple blooms and is a great border plant. I can’t wait for it to fill in this summer!
Catmint is also great paired with red or pink Knockout Roses.
Variety in my Yard:
Catmint Walker’s Low: Height: 24″, Zone: 3-8, Light: full sun
6. Boxwood
Last summer I bought 3 Winter Gem boxwoods to plant in my front flowerbed. Almost my entire front flowerbed disappears when the cold weather hits and I have been itching to plant some evergreen shrubs. I absolutely love my little boxwoods! The deep green color was a beautiful sight all through last winter and I definitely see more boxwoods in my future!
Make sure to check the variety you plant as the size can change. Most boxwoods range from 2 -3 feet to 4 -5 feet, so choose the right size for your landscaping.
Variety in my yard:
Winter Gem Boxwood: Height 2-3′, Zone: 5-9, Light: sun to part shade
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7. Knock Out Roses
When adding color to your landscaping, knock out roses should be close to the top of your list. These beautiful shrubs produce blooms all summer long! I have two varieties in my yard and they do not disappoint. Again this is a plant that will cost a little more, but when you get blooms all summer long, it will definitely be worth the cost. You can catch these plants on clearance occasionally at the end of the season.
Varieties in my yard:
Double Knockout Rose (red to pinkish blooms): Height: 3-4′, Zone: 5-10, Light: full to part shade
Knockout Sunny Rose (yellow blooms): Height: 3-4′, Zone: 4-10, Light: full to part shade
8. Cherry Truffles
This plant is a type of Coral Bells. It has beautiful red color all year round! The leaves have slight ruffles on the edges, which add interest as well. I bought these on clearance in the fall and have loved them ever since! When looking for plants to buy on a budget, always hit greenhouses at the end of the season. If you know what you are looking for, you can find some great deals, like these Cherry Truffles!
Variety in my yard:
Cherry Truffles Coral Bells: Height: 8-10″, Zone: 4-9, Light: sun to shade
9. Tulips
Nothing cheers you up like seeing plants emerge from a long cold winter! Tulips are the right plant for the job. Over the last two years I have planted over 200 tulip bulbs. The impact of those beautiful blooms everywhere are worth every penny. Just make sure not to trim the stems down until July, otherwise you can kill the bulb and your tulips won’t come back.
Variety in my yard:
Stunning Apricot Tulip (pictured below): Height: 22″, Light: full sun to part shade
Purple Lady Tulip (pictured below): Height 20″, Light: full sun to part shade
Daydream Tulip: Height: 20″, Light: full sun to part shade
10. Dwarf Korean Lilac
When we moved into our home we had several lilac bushes, which I was thrilled about. However we had a couple dwarf varieties, which I have fallen in love with over the years. Dwarf Korean Lilacs are bursting with blooms in the spring, smell wonderful and are half the size of a giant lilac bush. I would highly recommend these bushes even though they do not have a long bloom time. The green foliage is really pretty when the bush is not bloom and I often use them with cut flower arrangements.
You will see my dwarf lilacs in the picture below. We had just pulled out a full grown lilac bush that was dying (and planted a new juniper), so the front corner is still a work in process.
Variety in my yard:
Dwarf Korean Lilac: Height: 4-6′, Zone: 3-7, Light: full to part shade
I love plants! However, I can’t go out and spend a huge amount of money on them. I need to make every dollar count and that is why I recommend these plants to buy on a budget! I would love to know what plants you love in your yard! Share your favorites in the comments below.
Ready to improve your landscaping, but don’t know where to start? This is how our flowerbed looked when we first moved in.
And this is how it looks as of last fall! I am still adding a few more plants here and there…but a huge improvement.
It took a lot of hard work, and while we aren’t done yet…we have come so far! I learned so much along the way I wanted to share it with you. I created my eBook Landscaping Made Easy, to lay everything out in an easy step by step process! It includes several helpful worksheets to aid you in improving your landscaping just like we did. To learn more, check it out HERE. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started!
Well I hope you love these plants as much as I do! Thanks so much for checking out my post!
