Hi Tameron - and welcome!

My name is Jeff, I live out in Mantua.
Most of the local nurseries are having sales on plant material this time of year, perennials trees and shrubs. I have seen some cool things at the Lowe's and Home Depot in Streetsboro - although I would strongly advise against buying any annuals from these two places in the spring. The growers that produce for these two stores have over dosed their annuals with growth regulators to keep them short (more short plants fit in the delivery trucks) that they never grow out of it and stay small and stunted all season.
I am a grower myself, my speciality is unusual plant material - most of my plants are taken to the North Union Farmer's Market held on Saturday mornings at Shaker Square.
If there is ever anything that you are looking for as far as plants I'm sure I could point you in the right direction.
Honestly the least expensive (and rewarding) method of having plants for your yard and garden is to learn how to grow them yourself -seeds and cuttings aren't that difficult if you have patience!
Sincerely, Jeff

hi! i live in madison it is far away but you can try a few things.there is a web site called freecycle.org and you can put your story on there and if anyone has plants they want to thin out and just don't want to throw them away they'll email you to come and get them.plus here in madison a nursery called blue stone has a end of the year sale(july)where you get an flat of perenneals for $25,which you get about 40 plants.people drive for hours to come to this sale.you can call them 1-800-852-5243 and get a free magazine of all there flowers.plus it helps to see what they are if someone offers them to ya.have fun gardening jeanne

Hi, Tameron! Some other cost-saving measures that I try to take include buying fast-growing perennials in smaller sizes (they often settle in faster and catch up to their larger counterparts well), knowing what I can divide to get more plants, and starting perennials from seed instead of buying plants--this works especially well if the plant is an easy one to grow from seed, and if you want quite a few of the same plant.

By the way... I'm going to hijack Tameron's post a little, and use it to introduce myself as well since I haven't yet done so. I'm on the other side of the big city (in Lakewood) but work in Sagamore Hills and am very familiar with Madison and Mantua as my former in-laws live in those areas. It's nice to see a few familiar place names here. :)

I'd had my own garden for 5 years, but just moved to a new house and new suburb (post-divorce) and am starting to get things into shape here. The old place, in North Royalton, was heavy clay, and here I have sandy soil! It's taken some getting used to, that's for sure...

Hi Tameron! And hello Kymie!

Welcome to both of you. I found this website 4-5 years ago, and I love it. Not many of my friends are gardeners, but I've found a very friendly, very knowledgeable, and all-round fabulous community here.

Tameron, since you have a lot of space to fill on a budget, let me put a bug in your ear about Winter Sowing. It seems out-there, but it is in reality, a very commonsense way to produce a tremendous number of hardy plants for literally a fraction of the cost of buying them at the garden center. I've got a very little garden in downtown Columbus, but it's really changed the way I look at starting plants.

And check out the seed and plant exchange forums. This place would be invaluable for the advice and camraderie alone, but it really is like being plugged into a network of some of the most generous gardeners. Loads of seeds, common and unusual, for trade, and lots of people even giving away seeds for the cost of postage.

Welcome to both of you, and good luck with your gardens!

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing Forum

Wow! I wasn't expecting so many responses this quick. Thank you for all of the great ideas! I'm planning on going to Lowes and Home Depot tomorrow and see if I can find anything on sale. I'm also going to "attempt" winter sowing. Hopefully I'll have some luck with it!

Jeff - I'm actually only about 10-15 minutes from you. I live in Garrettsville. Are you talking about the nurseries in Mantua having sales right now or just nurseries in general? Where is Shaker Square exactly. Sounds familar but can't pin point it. Are they fairly priced or is that just for unusual plants? As far as the type of plants I'm looking for, I'm just needing anything that's cheap, preferably fast growing and safe for small children and pets.

Jeanne - I'll have to take a look at that site. Are you talking about Bluestone Perennials? If so, someone else has mentioned that to me. I went to their site and ordered a catalog.

Kymie - It is great to see others from our area. I have two areas in my yard that are sandy soil also. The front and far back of the property have 80 foot pines and then the center of the yard is good soil. I'm not sure what I can even plant under the pines. I know shade plants of course but I'll have to make raised beds in all of those areas due to the tree roots. Will ground cover grow in those spots?

Alison - Going to try winter sowing. I read somewhere that you can do it in ziplock freezer bags and use close pins to hold the sides open. Any word on whether this works or not? What do you guys use to plant them in? Flats, pop bottles, containers? Everyone here seems great! I've already had a few people offer to send me some seeds and a few offer to trade my veggie seeds for flower seeds. I'm glad to be here and I'm sure I'll meet alot of wonderful people!

Hi & Welcome aboard! So glad you found us. This forum is friendly and helpful (actually...I've found that all the forums have that tone)

I've been coming to the Gardenweb since 1997 or 8...it's changed my life in gardnening. Check out all the forums. All questions are welcomed.

I live in Cental Ohio..so, I can't help you with places to buy in NE Ohio. Good luck and good gardeing.

Beverly

Tameron -- I haven't tried the ziplock baggies, but a quick search will probably turn up someone who has.
I use gallon milk jugs, 2-litre pop bottles, and 1/2 litre water bottles for individual vines like morning glories and hyacinth bean vines.

My standby is the large aluminum steam table trays I get from a restaurant supply store. They're like very large lasagna pans and cost less than a dollar. Wrap them in a clear plastic garbage bag and -- voila!

If you want to boost your chances with wintersowing, the forum has a database of what worked well in each zones. But I've had very few failures!

I'll have to check those databases out. I'm sure that will help.

I've asked friends and family to save their plastics (bottles, jugs, etc...) for me! They think I've lost it when I told them about winter sowing...LOL

Welcome...it's nice to see new people from NE Ohio on here.It seems most everyone is from the central or southern part of the state.Maybe we can have a local plant swap sometime,even if it's just small and informal.

Jeff,what kinds of unusual stuff do you grow?I've got bamboo,hardy cactus,rare magnolias,pipevine,and much more.
Dan

Bluestone rocks! Tiny plants, but their customer service is fantastic when a mistake is made and they are good growers at great prices. When I was in CT, I got a lot from them....and I plan to again once I get this place going down here.

Welcome and good luck!

Just got the Bluestone catalog the other day. I think I'll try and order a few from them.

I'd love to have a plant swap. Just let me know when and where :) Or I can help organize if needed, just let me know what everyone has in mind. What time of year is best to do this?

Tameron,swaps are usually held in spring or fall,but if we wanted to be really different we could have one in winter.Of course it would have to be indoors and consist of houseplants and maybe dormant containerized stuff.
There's a swap in Deerfield that I have not been to yet,but maybe someone who has can tell us about it.

I guess we need a show of hands to see who might seriously consider attending a NE Ohio/Cleveland area swap.

Cecropia are you close to cleveland or what part of Ohio are you from?

I would participate in a swap... not sure what I would have to contribute, though, unless you wait until the fall. Or unless my own winter sowing projects go better than I dare to hope! :)

(I moved to a new house last year and am basically starting the gardens at this place from scratch--luckily, my ex-husband stayed in our old house and allowed me to come in and raid my old gardens this spring, so I got a good start.)

Dan, you grow bamboo? I would love to incorporate bamboo into the garden, but I've been leery of trying given its reputation. I'll have to pick your brain on that subject sometime, if you don't mind!

So far only three of us are interested in a swap??? I thought there would be alot more of us than that :(

We probably should start a new thread to see if others are interested in a swap...either here or on the get-togethers forum.

I live near Akron,so I'm not far from the Cleveland area.
Yep,I grow bamboo,and absolutely love it! Its bad reputation is not entirely deserved,especially if you plan ahead before planting it.Feel free to email me with any questions about bamboo or any other stuff I grow.