Garden Progress: The Lowes Down

I think one of the biggest hurdles of having a beautifully landscaped lawn is the cost.  Plants are expensive!  However, with a little TLC and a good bit of water you can get the expensive look for an inexpensive price.  The secret is the clearance "aisle" at your neighborhood Lowe's; sometimes its multiple aisles and sometimes just one or two plants.  I'm sure Home Depot has a clearance spot too, but Lowe's happens to be right around the corner from me so that is what I know about.  For example take a look at this:

This is Camelot Rose Foxglove and see that price tag - $14.98, are you kidding me $15?  But notice the brown crunchy leaves on the side?  Because of those this sucker was marked down to $2!  That's right, about 14% of the original price - 86% off sign me up!  Whenever I go to Lowe's I walk over to the clearance department and check it out.  I look for plants that still have a little bit of green on them; if the plant is all brown and crunchy there isn't much hope.  I also look for $3 or under, there is no real reason for that, it's just my breaking point.  Once I get home I trim off the brown parts, leaving only the green and set the container down in a bucket with about 2 inches of water for at least 3 hours; I prefer to have it soak over night but in a pinch 3 hours is my minimum.  After that I plant the little guy in a hole twice as big as the pot (obviously take the plant out of the pot, just use it as a guide) and back fill it with miracle grow garden soil or something like that, soak the ground around the plant and make sure to water once a day for at least the next 5 days.  Usually by then the plant has bounced back and you will start to see it perk up and look a little "greener" at that point you can reduce watering to 2 or 3 times a week, depending on the plant.  Check the tag that comes with the plant, the backside of it says how much sun, water, etc that specific species needs. 

Don't get me wrong, some will grow and some will die, but that is true whether you spend $2 or $14.95.  But, when you rescue you plant I think it is all the more worth it.  See here's what that Foxglove looks like just 2 weeks later, all the leaves are perky and green and there is even a pink bloom - success!

Sincerely Loving the Garden,
Lainey