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Gardening on the cheap
You know how it is; you go to the nursery, throw a few plants in the trolley, get to the till and somehow you’ve spent £100. I can never work out how a few plants and a bag of soil always manage to deepen the credit card debt, but somehow they do. Instant gardening – that’s having your garden look beautiful for not a lot of work – is always going to be expensive. But, if you’re a ‘proper‘ gardener, there are a few ways to keep it cheap-ish.
Tools
If you’ve ever actually looked in your shed, you’ll probably discover there’s a few rusty tools laying in one corner. As your green fingers develop there’s a growing urge to rush out and buy every horticultural tool possible. But, here’s a little secret, you really don’t need them.
I don’t drive, and people often ask me how I carry all my tools about if I’m a jobbing gardener. Well, the answer’s easy; in my backpack. Unless you’re doing major work in the garden, such as lopping down trees, you can get by with the bare essentials. Obviously, a mowers pretty essential if you’ve got a lawn, but as for big tools that promise to make even the hardest jobs easy? Naa, not so essential. I sharp pair of secateurs, a strong pruning saw, a hand trowel, and a sturdy spade and fork are really all you need. Y0u can bolster your tools with nifty little gadgets, such as electric pruners or telescope handled tree loppers, but if you ain’t got the money, then a few tools will go a long way.
Seeds
I always find that if I buy a plant from a nursery, I shove it in somewhere and then it subsequently dies, I’m not too bothered. However, if something I’ve sown has a leaf which begins to discolour in the slightest, I’m all over it.
Nurturing plants from seeds is cool…you’re basically growing a new life, albeit it a green plant one. There’s something about seeing your seedlings grow and thrive which really humbles me and brings me back down to earth. Plus, being able to say to friends, ‘oh yes, that beautiful shrub that you’re just dying to have….I grew that myself from a teeny seed,’ give a swelling of pride. I grew these heucheras from seed and I LOVE them!
Avoid Bedding Plants
I’m a little biased here because I hate bedding plants, which means I’m always thinking up good reasons not to use them. One, is that they’re so expensive. Okay, the tray of begonia plugs is less than a fiver, but remember; they’ll only last a season and then you’ll have to buy more next year. Buying perennials is actually far cheaper in the long run because these plants mature and grow over the years, instead of dying at the sign of the first frost like so many bedding plants. In addition, once they’ve thriving, you can easily take cuttings or split plants = MORE plant and FREE plants.
Beg, Borrow and Steal
Well, not so much of the stealing, but you know….you don’t even have to buy plants if you have no money. The pretty amazing thing about plants is that you can propagate them. Cut off a human arm and it’s just a gory and bloody stump of flesh. Cut off a plant’s stem, leaf or root and it’ll grow a new plant! Awesome! Some plants are easier than others, but if you don’t try, you won’t know. If you’re at a friends house, just ask to take a little cutting or two and hey presto, you can populate your own garden for free!
Recycle
You don’t need those £5.99 plant markers just because they come with a free weather-proof pen. You really don’t. You can use lollipop sticks, painted stones or anything else found laying around the garden. The word here is; RECYCLE. There’s a lot you can do with old products. Carpet makes an ideal compost bin lid and can be used beneath mulch as a weed suppressant. An old tyre sunk into the earth and lined with plastic makes the ideal base shape for a little pond, and will be cheaper than buying a new mould. Old bricks are ideal for creating paths and all manner of various objects make interesting planting containers. Being unique and customise, and you’ll ensure that you have a garden like no one else!
One Response to Gardening on the cheap
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