It’s Thursday and it’s never too early (or late?) to throw in a B.I.G. reference. I keep trying to hum the main chorus and my girlfriend keeps asking me if I’m humming the Star Trek theme.
Alright, now that we’re on a roll with talking about the financial parts of landscape changes, let’s get into a tiny bit of detail about the plants. I’ve often thought, “oh, I just want a few plants to throw in the yard, nothing too crazy.” Fair enough, right? So, looking at this photo below, what’s your guess as to the total cost? (I know you can’t see it all, but it’s generally a mix of yuccas, agaves, barrels, desert spoon, and some perennial flowers).
Anyone?
Well, you’re looking at 2 Gs worth of wonderland plants. That’s right, $2,000.
Now, there is a slim fraction of people who say that sounds about right, or, oh, I would have thought more, when the topic of plant costs comes up. Most people (including me) go in to some kind of shock that feels like a baseball bat to the chest set to the sound of a slot machine jackpot, except each “cha-ching” of the money coming out is actually the money being sucked from your wallet. It’s nutso.
But, then I take a step back and I realize that they must have been growing most of this stuff for years – honestly, a very long time. Because I bought my own 1-gallon desert spoon (the one you can see in the back right, below, which sells for $100) for $6 from Home Depot 5 years ago, and I actually think it’s smaller today (about 6″ diameter) than when I bought it! No joke. It has not done a single tiny bit of growing. So you’re paying for someone’s patience and care and the ability to keep something alive in a pot for an unreasonable amount of time. After pondering that factoid 100 bucks a pop doesn’t sound all that bad.
Of course there are other plant options, and other ways of making your space look good over a stretch of time. A friend mentioned yesterday that you can get great, structural plants through the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society (you go on a ‘cactus rescue’ and get the chance to come home with really cheap ocotillo, fishhook barrels, saguaros, and other fun stuff). There are always ways you can pull things together.
Anyway, these plants pictured have now filled an entry garden to the house shown, maybe 400 square feet total, and they look stunning (if I do say so myself). More photos of the final arrangement coming soon.
Enjoy your day! See you tomorrow, everyone.
