Kerry Ann Mendez - The Budget-Wise Gardener : With Hundreds of Money-Saving Buying & Design Tips for Planting the Best for Less

Praise for
Kerry Ann Mendez
and
The Budget-Wise Gardener

Kerry Ann Mendez has revealed the best trade secrets for maximizing your garden budget! The Budget-Wise Gardener is full of great strategies to save time while getting the most bang for your buck. This is a must-have resource for practical applications in every outdoor space.

~ Brie Arthur, horticulturist, author of The Foodscape Revolution

Any time I can save money on my gardening obsession Im happy. But getting the dirt on great garden-related deals from Kerry Ann Mendez will always get my attention. As a talented designer and frugal gardener, Kerry Anns advice is money in the bank and well worth my time.

~ Joe Lampl, founder of joegardener.com and creator/host of Growing a Greener World on national PBS

Whenever Kerry Mendez is at bat I know things are about to get interesting. Kerry is knowledgeable, articulate, and engaging. She delivers fresh, helpful information with brio and class great stuff that home gardeners and pros alike didnt know they needed to know in order to have better, more sustainable, easier, lovelier gardens. Kerry hits a home run every time.

~ Owen Dell, RLA, ASLA landscape architect, author, educator

Kerry Ann Mendez is a down and dirty dynamo, connecting with other hands-on gardeners to speak of common bonds and share her considerable know-how.

~ Tovah Martin, author of Tasha Tudors Garden and many other gardening books

I am all for saving a little money, but not at the expense of the quality of my flowers and containers. However, it did not take but a few minutes of reading The Budget-Wise Gardener to convince me that Kerry Ann got it. Her ideas are simple and down to earth, and make sense horticulturally and financially. I have no doubt that many of them will soon be part of my own garden.

~ Allan M. Armitage, Ph.D., horticulturist, award-winning author, creator of the app Armitages Greatest Garden Plants

The topics of Kerry Anns books are always themed perfectly to our audience at the Boston Flower & Garden Show in this case, appealing to the thrifty gardener who wants to be the talk of the town without breaking the bank. Kerry Anns vast plant knowledge and enthusiasm for suggesting just the right plant for every situation make a seat at her lecture and a copy of the accompanying plant list two of the hottest things to score at the show!

~ Carolyn Weston, Show Director, Boston Flower & Garden Show

Few people understand how to combine low-maintenance garden design with an abundance of plants, yet Kerry Mendez once again proves that she is master of both. Her indefatigable enthusiasm is evident in her new book, The Budget-Wise Gardener, featuring savvy tips for gardeners of all ages, cost-savings ideas for growing a fabulous garden. Astutely practical and sure to inspire.

~ Ellen Ecker Ogden, author of The Complete Kitchen Garden

With her wide experience as home owner, practical gardener, consultant and garden designer, Kerry Mendez understands the many issues facing todays gardeners. Kerry is passionate about motivating people to make the most of their garden, patio or window box offering excellent ideas and solutions in her approachable no-nonsense books, entertaining lectures and online communications.

~ Adrian Bloom, award-winning designer, writer, nurseryman, gardener and president of the Blooms of Bressingham Gardens in Norfolk, England

THE
Budget-Wise
GARDENER

THE
Budget-Wise
GARDENER

With Hundreds of Money-Saving Buying & Design Tips for Planting the Best for Less

Kerry Ann Mendez

The Budget-Wise Gardener

With Hundreds of Money-Saving Buying & Design Tips for Planting the Best for Less

Copyright 2018 by Kerry Ann Mendez

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

ISBN-13: 978-1-943366-33-0

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017943777
CIP information available upon request

First Edition, 2018

St. Lynns Press . POB 18680 . Pittsburgh, PA 15236
412.381.9933 . www.stlynnspress.com

Book design Holly Rosborough
Editor Catherine Dees

This title and all of St. Lynns Press books may be purchased for educational, business or sales promotional use. For information please write: Special Markets Department . St. Lynns Press . POB 18680 . Pittsburgh, PA 15236

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TO MY DEARLY LOVED SURROGATE CHILDREN:

CONNOR PREECE

JILL HENDRICKSON

GABI BOWDITCH

BLADE AND CHRISTINA OSBORN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

I love getting a deal. And so do you. There is something deeply satisfying when you acquire something highly esteemed for a song. Even better when its a plant!

Ive been called cheap (I prefer frugal) by some in my family. But being thrifty allows me the luxury of splurging at times! Actually, my love of gardening was a direct result of my financial hardships earlier in life. I needed a second job to pay bills, and although I didnt know anything about growing perennials, I applied at a five-acre field-grown garden center. Getting a tan while I worked seemed like a good idea. Praise the Lord for Melba Higgins who took a risk on me, offered me a job at $6 an hour and mentored me under her horticultural wing.

My budget-wise attitude was put to the test after I became a plantaholic. Flower gardening grew into a passion and then my livelihood. A home-based gardening business is not a high income profession, yet I was determined to create flower gardens and container gardens that were lush, opulent-looking, and done on a tiny budget. My penny-pinching skills soared to new levels for finding great plants, organic gardening products and other landscaping essentials. I also became skillful at saving money (and time) on routine maintenance chores including watering, weeding, mulching, preventing critter damage and more. Everything I designed had to be easy on the pocket and on my back.