How to Buy Plants on a Budget and Build a Whimsical Garden

Jim Handtmann's approach to a plant budget is simple: buy on sale, spend almost nothing at once, and let found materials do the expensive work. According to the HGTV feature reprinted on JimHandtmann.com, the most he has ever spent on his Minneapolis garden in a single trip is $15. He built a pond, stream, deck, walk, and fountain focal point largely from salvaged materials, and he plants wisteria, clematis, and climbing rose together on one trellis and lets them sort out which will flourish. This guide covers how to apply that method if you have a small yard, a tight budget, and a willingness to experiment.

Buy plants the way Handtmann does

The core move is timing and restraint, not a specific store or coupon.

• Shop the sale and clearance racks. The page states directly that Handtmann used "plants that were bought on sale" for his circular focal point. Discounted plants are often past bloom or slightly stressed, which is exactly why they are cheap.
• Cap each trip. His self-imposed ceiling was $15 at one time. A low cap forces you to take chances on unfamiliar plants instead of committing to one expensive specimen.
• Treat cheap plants as experiments. The page frames low spending as the thing that "allows Handtmann to experiment with various plantings and garden elements." If a plant fails, you have lost a few dollars, not a landscape budget.
• Skip plans and themes. Handtmann "shuns plans and themes in favor of spontaneity." Buying on sale supports that: you plant what was available and affordable, then see what works.

What to expect: You will not get a designed, coordinated border this way. You will get a jam-packed garden that changes as plants succeed or fail, which is the stated goal.

Build the hardscape from salvaged materials

The structures in Handtmann's garden cost little because the materials were already being thrown away.

How to apply it: Watch for roof replacements and fence removals in your area, and ask before materials are hauled away. For rocks, construction sites are the stated source, but ask permission rather than removing anything uninvited. Tires filled with sand form the base for a raised, natural-looking landform.

Verification: The test is whether the result looks natural rather than man-made. Handtmann's own instruction is to "picture what nature has done with rocks and twigs" and try to make the garden look natural instead of like a man-made thing.

Plant a trellis and let the plants compete

On his trellis, Handtmann plants wisteria, clematis, and climbing rose together. His description: "They kind of decide themselves which one is going to flourish there."

• Choose climbers suited to your light and climate, then plant more than one on the same structure.
• Expect one to dominate over time. That is the intended outcome, not a failure.
• This works best where you are willing to let the planting evolve instead of maintaining a fixed design.

Turn a small yard into several places to unwind

Handtmann's yard is described as small and ordinary, yet he "transformed every inch" into "a series of distinct, magical places to unwind." The garden started in the back and then moved to the sides and front of the house, and finally across the sidewalk into the curbside strip.

Steps to copy the layout logic:

1. Start with the area you already use most, as Handtmann did with the back yard.
2. Expand to the sides and front once the first area works.
3. Claim the neglected curbside strip if local rules allow. Handtmann's boulevard garden "caused a turnaround in his neighborhood," shifting it from "a declining, impersonal atmosphere to one of activity and caring."
4. Add found or made objects. The page notes his "whimsical side" led him to incorporate unique objects he found, made, or was given by friends.

Why the curbside matters: In Handtmann's words, boulevard gardening "gets people out of their houses and into the front of their yards where they can talk with their neighbors and keep track of the neighborhood." The payoff is social as much as visual.

Common snags

• Sale plants look bad at first. They are discounted because they are past peak. Give them a season before judging.
• Salvaged wood and plastic need inspection. Fence wood and roofing plastic are free but vary in condition; check before building anything load-bearing.
• Competing climbers can crowd each other. One may shade out the others. That is acceptable here, but decide in advance whether you want a single dominant vine or a mixed screen.
• Curbside planting may be regulated. The page describes Handtmann's boulevard garden but does not address permits. Check your local rules before planting the strip between sidewalk and street.

The through-line is that a distinctive garden does not require a large plant budget. It requires buying cheap, building from discards, planting more than one thing and letting it compete, and expanding into every inch you can claim.