Free Plants!
Gardeners are notorious for giving away plants, called passalong plants in the South. Nice tradition, huh? And they're not just free - they're usually full-grown plants that look good right away. Here's how you can get it on the action.
Plant Exchanges
Everybody seems to love plant exchanges - for good reason. What's not to like about getting free plants you know do well in your area? My local garden club has been sponsoring two exchanges (or "swaps") every year for ages, and here's how it works.
Members are invited to bring as many or as few plants as they choose to bring and if they have no plants, tools or gardening books are fine, or just a nice snack for the event. After all, some folks have full gardens and are looking for good homes for their surplus plants and some folks have lots of empty space to fill. So it's not a one-for-one "exchange" at all.
Plants are arrayed on tables or just anywhere, roughly according to sun or shade preference. The event begins with everyone showing the group what they've brought (briefly) and answers questions about them. See how lots of information is conveyed? Then when a signal is finally given everyone races to grab their favorite plant. After everyone's grabbed their favorite they wait til the second signal, at which all the plants are grabbed by their new owner/gardener.
Now alternative methods abound, depending on group preference. For example, some groups prefer to be much more orderly and call people one by one to choose their plant, based on a number they've chosen from a hat or the order in which they arrived at the event. (This is fine for a small group but for a larger one, it's really slow.)
So here's my pitch. Why aren't these wonderful events going 
on in every community, one or more each season? They help people create gardens, educate gardeners of all levels, and create community while they're doing it. And though their money-saving virtues are obvious, most of these plants are something money can't buy - fully grown.
And isn't it possible that even without a garden club of some sort, any neighborhood association or town could put on an event like this? Of course for all I know, they're going on in communities everywhere and I'm just not aware of them. I hope so.
Neighbor to Neighbor
Less formal plant giveaways go on all the time among neighbors. Admire a plant; get an extra or a division the next time one's available. But you don't have to wait for such a lucky event; you can make it happen:
- Gotta neighborhood or community email group? (If not, start one; they're easy as pie on Yahoo Groups.) Use it to ask for extra common plants, like "Anybody have any extra pachysandra to give away?" or "If your ornamental grass is huge and needs dividing, I'll help you do it for the price of a section of it." Believe me, if you've ever divided a large miscanthus you know this is a good deal.
- Advertise your extras in exchange for their extras. Using the same neighborhood email group, announce what you have to give away and say you're looking for a good exchange, so what do you have? I'm telling you - this works.
- Know a serious gardener near you? Chances are their garden is old enough to produce extra plants galore on a regular basis. Stop when the gardener's working in the garden to ask about what might be available and when. Offer to dig them up yourself.
Not Your Favorites?
If your garden is bare and your budget is slim, take whatever plants are offered whether you like them or not. You can replace them over time with plants you like better, but at least you'll have a GARDEN in the meantime. Similarly, I try to talk neighbors and clients out of ripping out all the plants they don't love in their newly purchased yards. Why not wait til they have plants to replace them? And who knows - if they're not in such a hurry to get rid of those "boring evergreens," they might just come to appreciate them.)