Creative solutions to a tight budget

A creative solution to the restricted budget was to learn more about propagation.  One of the first things I ever grew from cuttings was Hebe albicans.  I obtained cutting material from a local garden I was tidying up and it was a great choice as hebes are so easy to grow from cuttings.  I learnt about grafting apple trees at a  workshop run by the South Coast Environment Centre and the result was two heritage apple trees. These successes led to an Agri-business propagation course I attended in 2008, beginning a journey in growing plants from seed and cuttings which I find a real joy.  Finding my cuttings have developed roots or my graft has taken is simply magic.  A fair proportion of the garden has been established from donated and 'acquired' cuttings as well as by seed.  I have many plants that self seed now and while this can lead to messy and eclectic plantings I am fine with this.  Even the Tidy gardener, is happy to use self seeded Italian parsley from random parts of the garden when the recipe calls for it. I find it quite amazing sometimes where plants do seed and where they can survive in the most unlikely of places.  Even after 15 years here I still take cuttings to grow on for the garden.