Greengirls » Blog Archive » A little economic stimulus for the garden?

A little economic stimulus for the garden?

Posted on April 30th, 2008 – 8:32 AM
By Jaime Chismar

I won’t get my rebate check until mid May, but that hasn’t stopped me from fantasizing about a new (sharp) shovel or researching soil knives. Heirloom daffodils, prairie dropseed grass, maybe a ‘Sutherland Gold’ elderberry bush — I know I’m not the only gardener dreaming up ways to green up her yard with a few of these greenbacks.

bsimon writes:
(I) wonder if anyone is planning on spending their economic stimulus check on the garden? Ours is going towards a deck, but the deck will surely require new landscaping as well…

Have you dreamed up big garden plans for your rebate? If you could spend your entire economic stimulus check on the garden, what would you buy?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 8:32 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

12 Responses to "A little economic stimulus for the garden?"

Sandra says:

April 30th, 2008 at 10:06 am

Yep, I am spending my entire stimulus check plus part of my tax return all on supplies, perennials, hostas and shrubs. I need one of those moon-shaped tools that makes it easy to install landscape edging. I also have a little ‘crush’ on mugho pines, I think they’re adorable and look really unexpected and sweet mixed in amongst flowers, so I’m going to experiment with putting mughos in strange places.

Chris says:

April 30th, 2008 at 11:39 am

Just remember to buy as local as you can to stimulate our own economy right here. Made in USA, or MN, Not China or some other far away place that required lots of energy consumption to get it here. Support your locally owned garden shops!

Jaime Chismar says:

April 30th, 2008 at 2:14 pm

Well said Chris — Local farmers markets will start selling garden plants soon, too!

Connie Nelson says:

April 30th, 2008 at 2:15 pm

Along with the local garden centers (not big box stores), check out the local plant sales and swaps. Most of them are sponsored by non-profits and the proceeds go to worthy causes. For a list of sales and swaps, go to http://www.startribune.com/homegarden and scroll down to the Home+Garden calendar.

laura says:

April 30th, 2008 at 4:56 pm

thanks for the link connie! otherwise i would have picked up my petunias at one of the big box stores. found a sale nice and close to me for this weekend that i’ll hit up instead.

Connie Nelson says:

April 30th, 2008 at 5:18 pm

Laura,
The sales are really fun, though they do vary from a few pots of plants in a parking lot to the biggies (the Friends sale at the State Fair and the auxilary sale at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.) You get to meet other gardeners and swap stories. It’s lots more fun than shopping at a big box store if you ask me . . .

Amber says:

April 30th, 2008 at 5:55 pm

Jaime-
There’s no need to buy a new shovel. You easily get it sharpened at your local hardware store. Or you could use your rebate to buy a metal file so you can keep your shovel sharp for years to come!
http://www.ehow.com/how_13267_sharpen-shovel.html

Jaime Chismar says:

April 30th, 2008 at 7:18 pm

What a great suggestion, Amber! We have two independent hardware stores near our house. I bet one sharpens tools. I’m kinda attached to my ol’ wooden shovel and like to keep it around. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

deb w says:

April 30th, 2008 at 8:41 pm

Jamie, have them show YOU how to sharpen your tools. All most tools require is a metal file and the right angle. It is easy to do and if you have dull clippers, shears, and loppers you crush the stems instead of cutting cleanly inviting some nasty fungus to move in to those frayed edges. Shovels that are dull just make you work harder, take that file to the leading edge every time before you start to dig in and the job only takes a couple of passes with the file to make your tools work to their full potential.

Chris says:

May 1st, 2008 at 9:24 am

This is all great advice…i think I’ll spend my weekend sharpening my tools instead of spening my stimulus money and agonizing over the weather! I can’t wait for the local plant sales!

Sandra says:

May 1st, 2008 at 10:06 am

The Farmer’s Market opened on Nicollet Mall today!! I see lots of plants!!!

Jaime Chismar says:

May 1st, 2008 at 10:31 am

Thanks for the tip Sandra… Let’s see… I could go for a river run on my lunch break or I could buy a few plants from Nicollet Mall… Hmmm…