My Rose Tally This Summer (and How Much Money I Saved)

This past summer I wrote Save Money on Roses (and Flowers of All Sorts for that Matter) detailing how I got started growing roses and how it saves me a bunch of money. I thought I'd give you a final update on just how well I did this growing season.

Before I get to that, let me say that yes, I am enough of a geek to count the number of flowers produced by each bush. I record these on a spreadsheet and compare them to what the bush produced in previous years. I know, I'm strange. It's just the competitor in me -- I want to beat last year's growth!

That said, here's my final tally:

I have 13 rose bushes in the front of my house (southern sun exposure -- great for growing) and this summer averaged 173 flowers per bush. Yep, over 14 dozen flowers PER BUSH. That's 187 dozen flowers that my bushes produced.

Now I have to admit, not all of these are high-quality, give-them-as-gifts flowers, but many were. I gave them to my wife (of course), neighbors, friends, co-workers and the like -- just to be able to make a person's day a bit better (everyone likes to receive flowers, don't they?)

So what would these have cost me, say, if I'd purchased all of them of $20 per dozen? That would be $3,740. Half of them at $20 per dozen? $1,870. Even just a quarter of them at $10 per dozen is still $468. Throw in all the fun, exercise, and sense of accomplishment, not to mention the value they add to our house (they make it look great), and growing roses (or any sort of flowers/vegetables) is a money-related tip I highly recommend.

Of course, we're now in winter and I put the roses to bed for the season. But I'll be back next year -- and shooting for 190 dozen flowers! ;-)

Comments

[J.D. @ Get Rich Slowly]

Heh. We have a lot of roses, too. When we bought this house, there were 120 rose plants in the yard. The former owner was a Portland Royal Rosarian. Some of the plants were worth a lot of money, apparently. The problem was that there was no detailed inventory. We had no idea which plants were valuable and which were common. And we didn't want 120 rose bushes. We held a work day and invited friends and family to come dig out whatever they wanted. We still have 60 rose bushes, which my wife tends, and that's plenty. Too much, actually.

Growing your own plants of any sort is a great low-cost hobby that can produce wonderful benefits.

[FMF]

You have 60 rose bushes????!!!!!

I'm so envious!!!!! ;-)