Growing Without Buying Monday

I rescued this passionately purple plant from an eroded area down the beach

There is no end to the ways a person could spend money on gardening. Who wouldn't want to buy everything when looking at garden advertising? However, if one is patient and resourceful growing plants can be done without buying anything.

My patio is full of greenery, most of which I have acquired for nothing. Containers, soil, plants, some seeds, soil-enriching compost - all free. Gardens are, by nature, joyfully abundant places and gardeners are usually the type to share the bounty of their green spaces.

It took three years before this plant flowered for the first time this spring

 For me growing things is a form of moving meditation. When I attend to my plants I am completely absorbed by being with my green, growing relations. That I have been able to indulge in this health-promoting activity without buying anything makes it all the more challenging, and satisfying.

Strawberries were left by a previous tenant, and the fall crocus bulbs were a gift from a neighbour

Now I am in a position to pay it forward and I share my greenery with whomever wishes to profit from nature's abundance and do some growing without buying. And what can you expect?

Free, happy flowers, free, frugal food, and a healthier outlook on life.

"Gardening is a labour full of tranquility and satisfaction; natural and instructive, and as such contributes to the most serious contemplation, experience, health and longevity."  

- John Evelyn