When budgets are tight, it’s easy to feel like ambitious plans for our gardens are held back by a lack of funds. A trip to the garden centre can quickly add up, but luckily, there is so much we can do without splashing cash around.
Growing from seed
Firstly, wherever you can, grow from seed. A bag of compost and some packs of seeds will be so much cheaper than buying fully grown plants, and can feel so much more rewarding as well, when the plants you’ve nurtured from seedling flower and fruit.
To save even more, you can harvest seeds in the autumn ready for next year, and set up seed-swaps with neighbours, friends and family. Not only is this a cost-saving exercise, but it’s also a great way to expand the variety of new plants in your garden.
While a greenhouse of course makes all the difference, remember you can grow seeds on sunny windowsills too. As long as you keep up regular watering, and pot on when they’re ready, your seedlings can thrive and be bountiful when planted into your garden.
Take cuttings or split roots
So many plants can be grown from cuttings or split roots. As well as seeds, why not set up cutting-sharing arrangements with green-fingered friends. The plants you grow from them will have added sentimental value, as they’ll always remind you of them. If you’re not sure if something can grow from a cutting, search engines will easily tell you, or ask an experienced gardener if there’s something they recommend.
Grow reliable perennials
It may be that you’re trying to spruce up your garden for this summer on a budget. But if you’re looking further ahead, make choices that will bring joy for years to come, by investing in perennial plants instead of annuals. They usually cost a little more when you first buy them, but perennials will flower for several years, and are often easier to propagate, than annuals. So, this may not work if it’s a short-term squeeze on cash you’re dealing with, but for longer term financial shrewdness, annuals will make a big difference.
Pick some gorgeous space fillers
Some plants will stay relatively contained when you plant them, while others with spread a little each year until they offer a glorious glut of gorgeousness that can bring splashes of colour and joy to your garden. Think of ox-eye daisies, bright geraniums, achillea and perennial wallflowers.
Reuse and Recycle
There will be some things you need fresh every year. But if you’re working on a budget, looking after the purchases you’ve already made can make a big difference for next year’s purse strings. Whether that’s cleaning and storing your tools thoughtfully each Autumn, or making sure not to waste the remnants of compost bags and fertilisers.
Not everything needs to be grown in a plant pot or dedicated container – get creative with what you plant in. As long as it has adequate drainage, you should be fine.
The same goes for creating raised beds and borders. Before spending money on purpose-built solutions at the garden centre, have a look at what’s already in your garden, or available for free (or very cheap) from your local recycling centre. Pallets can be used in so many ways, and a little creativity can save you a lot of money.
Keep an eye out for wilted bargains
Especially when it comes to bedding plants, such as lobelia and impatients, supermarkets and shops often stock them at particular times of year. If they have an offer on, and it’s a plant you have already planned for, why not take advantage? But even more than that, vendors will sometimes sell off slightly wilted plants for half price, or even less, especially at the end of very hot weekends. Make sure they’re wilted, but not actually past-it, before buying – some of these little trays will just need some tender loving care, regular watering in a sunny spot, maybe a little bit of sugar water or diluted fertiliser, and they’ll bounce back ready to bloom in no time.
Plan ahead
So many of any experienced gardener’s top tips will come down to planning. Knowing what you’re planning to plant, means you can get in early with seeds, or find the best time to buy plugs from a garden centre, supermarket or online.
Also, planning puts you more in charge of the aesthetic you’re aiming for, and the means of achieving it. As the growing season gets underway, it’s easy to feel like you need to fill every spot in the flower bed, but spacing out plants in an intentional way can give a great visual effect.
Give some thought to what you want to plant, where it will grow best, and what is needed to support it. That way, you’re less likely to be caught by a random impulse-buy when you pop to the garden centre.
Choosing the right plants for the right places
While we always encourage trialling new types of plants, keep an eye on the conditions in different areas of your garden, and choose where to grow what, based on where they’re most likely to thrive. Sun lovers will struggle in the shade, while thirsty plants will soon wilt in dry borders. Avoid having to replace experiments that haven’t quite worked out, by taking the time to research the needs of the plants you’re trying out.
We’re not recommending spying over any hedges, but it can help to see what’s working well in your neighbours’ gardens. If they have roses that are thriving along their west-facing fence, that might be a great choice for yours as well.
Befriend other gardeners
Sometimes the expensive part of gardening is when you need to buy a whole pack of something that you really only need one of – or even when you need to buy something that’s important, but only rarely needed. We’ve already mentioned sharing seeds and exchanging cuttings, but you can also share garden tools and gardening equipment, or club together to buy packs of items such as support rods. Whether it’s a neighbour, a relative or a friend who shares your passion, finding someone you can share items with can make a significant difference to the cost of gardening. Just make sure to hand them back clean and in great working order, and be ready to share your own items with them too, of course.
Above all, don’t let being on a budget deter you from enjoying your garden. We hope these tips help you think of ideas that work for you.