It’s at this time of the year I start thinking about ways to save money in the garden next spring. I have a few more empty spaces in the back yard and know one way to fill the gaps is to divide some of the older more established plants rather than go to the garden center and buy new. I planted some hollyhocks a couple of years ago and they’ve self seeded and filled in some areas without me having to do a thing. Another plus, I started these plants from seed, so they’ve really stretched the gardening budget. I do love to see hanging baskets filled with annuals, but this year the prices shot up, plus a lot of the plants died because we had a hot summer without much rain. While I don’t like to spend too much on annuals, I’m thinking next spring I’ll start some from seed and hopefully will have enough to put in all my hanging baskets and planters without spending a penny at the garden center.

I keep mentioning how great the library is for saving me money on my ‘book habit’, but I found another great feature while I was on the library Web site. You can go to the Barnes and Noble Web site to look for books and then check if the library has a copy before you buy it. I always do this anyway, but it’s great to know I can do the whole thing in one click and on one site.

If you like eating out, but think prices are going up, try ethnic restaurants. We’ve become big fans of our local Indian restaurant. The selection is great, so is the food, and for the amount of food you get, you can’t beat the prices either. Yesterday we went to their Sunday brunch buffet...once again great selection of entrees and desserts, and just $10.95 a person. If I had to buy all the ingredients for everything we ate, plus, my time in the kitchen, I really don’t think I could have beaten that price. So sometimes eating out does pay, and it gives the cook, yes me, a break.

For money saving tips visit www.gardenandhearth.com/Bargain-Shopping.htm and www.gardenandhearth.com/EatingWellonaBudget.htm