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By Bonnie Ferrero

Gardening can be a rewarding hobby, offering the chance to cultivate a beautiful outdoor space that brings joy and vibrancy. Whether you're a seasoned green thumb or a novice gardener, there are numerous budget-friendly plant options available to create a colourful and lush garden without breaking the bank.

However, it's essential to be mindful of the plants we choose for our gardens. Certain species can become invasive, posing a threat to local ecosystems and displacing native plants. To help you maintain a balanced and sustainable garden, here are some popular budget-friendly plants to consider, along with a list of common invasive species to avoid.

Budget-Friendly Garden Picks

1. Shasta daisies multiply each year, offering a long-term investment for gardens. While they can spread quickly if not divided periodically, they are a lovely addition to any garden.
2. Black-eyed Susans self-seed their way back into gardens year after year, providing a splash of yellow throughout the summer months.
3. Lilies multiply over time, offering more blooms each season without additional cost.
4. Marigolds grow easily from seeds and offer abundant blooms with very little investment.
5. Chrysanthemum is an inexpensive and easy-to-find plant that blooms in various colours in fall.
6. Zinnias attract bees and butterflies and provide vibrant, long-lasting blooms throughout the growing season at an inexpensive cost.
7. Caladium tubers are inexpensive and reusable, overwintering them indoors for reuse year after year.
8. Sunflowers thrive in even the poorest soil conditions and are a budget-friendly favourite.
9. Helenium is an affordable late-summer bloomer that grows easily and adapts to various soil types.
10. Jerusalem Artichoke is an affordable perennial sunflower that produces edible tubers.
11. Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum) is an affordable and low-maintenance option for adding colour to a garden.
12. Lamium spreads easily and requires little maintenance.
13. Celosia is an affordable self-seeding annual plant that offers vibrant blooms.
14. Cleome, also known as spiderflower, is an affordable plant that reseeds itself, ensuring new plants each season without extra cost.

Invasive Species to Avoid

Avoiding these invasive plants can help prevent displacement of native species, protect local ecosystems, and reduce garden maintenance challenges. Here are some common invasive species to steer clear of:

1. Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) - A fast-growing, twining vine with fragrant yellow blossoms that can climb up to 30 feet, outcompeting native plants and dominating ground cover and shrubs.
2. Creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides) - With heart-shaped leaves and blue-purple bell-shaped flowers, it produces thousands of seeds annually, making it highly invasive and hard to control.
3. Garden lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) - Despite its attractive pea-like flower clusters, it is invasive outside the U.S. West Coast, crowding out native plants and negatively affecting native pollinators.
4. Multiflora rose - Introduced for wildlife cover and fences, it rapidly forms dense thickets displacing native species. It produces prolific seeds spread by birds.
5. Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) - A beautiful yet aggressive ground cover that spreads persistently, becoming invasive especially in mild, wet, and shady environments. Difficult to remove once established.
6. Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) - A medium-sized tree that seeds prolifically and resprouts quickly, making it invasive along roadsides and streams in certain regions.
7. Garlic mustard - A shade-tolerant ground layer plant that can dominate forest understories within a decade, threatening native plants.

Other invasive popular garden plants to consider avoiding include Daylily, Rhododendron, Lantana, Nandina, and the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), all known for spreading aggressively outside their native ranges.

Always check your local extension or conservation agency for region-specific invasive species advice before making planting decisions. By making conscious choices, we can create beautiful gardens while preserving our natural world.

1. Shasta daisies, while spreading quickly if not divided periodically, are a lovely addition to any budget-friendly garden and multiply each year, offering a long-term investment.
2. Black-eyed Susans self-seed their way back into gardens year after year, providing a splash of yellow throughout the summer months at a low cost.
3. Lilies, over time, multiply and offer more blooms each season without additional cost, making them an affordable garden pick.
4. Marigolds, which grow easily from seeds, offer abundant blooms with very little investment.
5. Chrysanthemum, an inexpensive and easy-to-find plant, blooms in various colours in fall.
6. Zinnias, with vibrant, long-lasting blooms throughout the growing season, are affordable and attract bees and butterflies.
7. Caladium tubers, inexpensive and reusable, overwinter indoors for reuse year after year in gardens.
8. Sunflowers, thriving even in the poorest soil conditions, are a budget-friendly favourite.
9. Helenium is an affordable late-summer bloomer that grows easily and adapts to various soil types.
10. Jerusalem Artichoke, a perennial sunflower producing edible tubers, is also an affordable addition to the garden.
11. Purple Fountain Grass is an affordable and low-maintenance option for adding colour to a garden.
12. Lamium, which spreads easily and requires little maintenance, is an affordable choice for a sustainable garden.
13. Celosia is an affordable self-seeding annual plant that offers vibrant blooms in a budget-friendly garden.
14. Cleome, or spiderflower, is an affordable plant that reseeds itself, providing new plants each season without extra cost.

It's important to avoid invasive species like Japanese honeysuckle, Creeping bellflower, Garden lupine, Multiflora rose, Lily of the valley, Mimosa, and garlic mustard when gardening to protect local ecosystems and native plants. By checking with local extension or conservation agencies for region-specific invasive species advice, we can create beautiful, budget-friendly gardens while preserving our natural world. This conscious approach to gardening contributes to a sustainable lifestyle, enriching our lives, and blending fashion-and-beauty, food-and-drink, and home-and-garden experiences with responsible travel.

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