Last week I put dinner in the oven, and then I went outside to see if my husband needed any help with the yard work. I found him creating a “burn” pile that consisted of about a quarter of a large forsythia bush that was in our backyard. He just wanted the thing gone. It was pretty overgrown, and he wanted a clear slate to work with for some future new landscaping.
I grabbed my gloves and the clippers and got to work decimating the remaining foliage, thinking how it was such as waste. But one of the nice things about forsythia is that it like to propagate. You can start an entire bush from a few clippings. In fact, I went back to the pile today in order to clean it up. Do you know that many of the clippings were stuck in the ground? They had reached into the earth and were already forming roots.
So I mentioned my task on Facebook in the hopes that someone would come and take some of these clipping and turn them into free landscaping. And I know that I am not alone. My local Freecyle.org usually has all sorts of posts for free bulbs, trees, plants and of course, bushes.
If you already have a landscaping plan, or if you are a flexible gardener with a good eye, you can probably get a nice portion of your landscaping materials for free. I have also seen section of fences and leftover pavers on Freecyle.org as well.
Ask around whenever you see someone doing some landscaping, whether they are a homeowner or a company. You never know what they might be pulling up that can then be put to good use. If you establish a relationship with a landscaper, you may even be able to get first pick.
You can read more blog posts by Mary Ann Romans here!
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