Many people say that gardening costs a lot of money. I agree that plants at a garden centre can be really pricey. And I’ve certainly made some expensive mistakes – especially when starting out. But over the years, I’ve discovered a few garden secrets which I think will help you save money.
Garden Secrets – Plant Buying
1.Flower Power
When buying plants at a garden centre, people are typically drawn to the things that are in bloom. It’s human nature – but it’s a mistake! Indeed my friend Kay only yesterday ran a plant stall outside her garden as a charity fundraiser and commented “everyone’s only interested if the plants have a flower on them.”
While this is understandable, it can be very short-sighted and result in you wasting money. At garden centres the plants in flower may only have another week or two more of flowering in them! So instead of that, do a bit of research and go for plants with a long flowering period. They may not be in flower when you buy them but it will mean you need fewer plants to have colour in your garden all year round.
Some long-lasting flowerers include:
- Violas
- Astrantia
- Geraniums
- Catmint (Nepeta)
- Geums
- Penstemmon
- Achillea
2. Visit the Sale Table
At garden centres don’t turn your nose up at the sale table. Not everything on it is dying or diseased. There can be some superb plants on that table which are only there because their best flowering period is behind them and yes, you guessed it, as mentioned in point 1, no-one wants to buy them. But they’re still superb plants, with nice foliage for now, and which next year will look brilliant for you. So the second of my garden secrets is have a good look at the sale area.
One of my best ever sale table buys was an acer. It was small and scrawny and very cheap when I bought it, but now (admittedly a number of years later) it’s stunning.
3. Divide Plants
If you buy a perennial plant (one which comes back year after year) and it’s the sort which grows in colonies divide the plant after you’ve bought it. This will instantly increase your stock of the plant! Trust me, unless you’ve bought a teeny-tiny specimen, the sections of plant will quickly grow bigger than the original plant you bought – and you’ll have 3 or 4 of them. Kerching!
You can’t divide all perennials. For instance, don’t go chopping a clematis in half – neither you or the clematis will be happy if you do. To be on the safe side do a quick online search. To check that you can divide the plant you are buying. That said, loads can be… such as:
- Aster
- Achillea
- Hemerocallis
- Primula
- Japanese anemone
- Heuchera
- Phlox
- Nepeta
- Aquilegia
- Echinacea
- Hostas
- Lungwort
- Oriental Poppies
- Geum
I could go on and on!
Of course, if you’ve a perennial plant in your garden, regularly dividing the clumps (every few years) may often rejuvinate the plants, keeping them healthy. And it will increase your stock of your favourites, so do that too!
4. Have a Plan
It may sound boring to have a plan when you visit a garden centre. After all there are few things nicer then wandering around it, browsing all the lovely plants. But if browsing turns to buying, expensive mistakes can be made. For instance, as in the first of my garden secrets, you end up buying something which looks smashing but will soon lose that flower! You could equally buy a plant which doesn’t like your soil or conditions.
So ideally go to a garden centre with a bit of a plan. Know the sort of plants you are looking for (colour, height, and your growing conditions). That way even if you go a bit ‘off piste’ you still won’t come home with something which frankly has no place in your garden.
5. A Favourite of my Garden Secrets…Have a Tea or Coffee
I know I know, you are scratching your head here. How can having a drink at the garden centre save you money? And my husband isn’t convined either. Well let me explain! Having found the plants I’m looking for (as I have a plan) I then go for a drink (and a slice of cake or a scone obvs!) and get on my phone. I quickly check that I can’t buy the same plant (variety and size) elsewhere more cheaply. Often I find I’m getting a good deal. But sometimes I find I can get exactly the same set of plants more much cheaply elsewhere.
6. Buy Bare-Root
If you are buying a more expensive plant such as a tree or shrub, buy them bare-root. This means you buy them with no soil around their roots. Bare-root plants are available in the dormant season only (when the plant is having a well earned rest!). This is typically November through to March.
They are usually bought online or by mail order. The plants are dug out of the ground and sent to you. They are typically much cheaper to buy than plants which have been grown in a pot. Sometimes the saving is as much as 60 per cent! What’s more, there’s often a much greater variety of plants to be had. So if you want to be a bit different, it’s definitely the way to go.
When they arrive, bare-root plants may not look very promising, but that’s because they are in the dormant phase. Plant them promptly, making sure the roots don’t dry out and carefully, giving them a bit of TLC to help them establish. But be assured, even while they continue to look a bit brown, the roots will be busy growing, getting into tip-top shape to reward you with a stunning plant.
You can buy lots of plants as bare-roots
- Trees
- Hedges
- Shrubs
- Roses
- Fruit bushes, trees and canes
- Some perennials
Garden Secrets – Beyond Plant Buying
Beyond the garden centre itself, there are lots of other garden secrets which help minimise the cost of gardening.
7. Take Cuttings
One of the cheapest ways to increase your stock of plants is to take cuttings. It’s so much easier than you think, and a lot of fun. I wrote a little while ago about how to take salvia cuttings and the principle is the same for a lot of plants, so do give it a go.
At the moment I’ve a table full of plants I’ve gained from dividing up or taking cuttings from some of my favourite plants in my garden.
These are actually destined for a village plant stall, but they could just as easily be put back in my garden. So take a look at your current stock of plants and identify some you can divide or take cuttings from – and go for it!
8. Sow Seeds
I’m not very good at this – mainly as I haven’t the patience with all that pricking out etc. However there’s no denying that growing plants from seed is an incredibly cost effective way to populate your garden. So it has to be one of my garden secrets. You’ll often see seeds at very low prices in the supermarkets – making the whole process even more low-cost!
Sowing seeds can result in you having masses of a single plant when you only want a few, so why not either swap some of the seeds (or seedlings) with friends who are in the same boat. You could swap divided up plants and cuttings too! Meet up for a coffee at each other’s houses when you do this and you’ve the beginnings of a gardening club!
9. Make Your Own Leaf Mould & Compost
Rather than spend a fortune on bags of compost make your own compost and soil improvers such as leaf mould. Making leaf mould is incredibly easy. You just need leaves and a little patience!
Compost is also pretty straightforward. The perfect recipe is a 50/50 mix of “greens” (grass cuttings, vegetable and fruit peelings, old flowers, nettles, young annual weeds) and “browns” (cardboard, egg boxes, scrunched up paper, fallen leaves,twigs, bark and shredded branches), added at regular intervals.
10. Reuse Things
There’s massive of scope to reuse things in the garden. Old tin cans and plastic bottles make great toppers for canes. Simply place them on top of the cane and you will be much better protected when you stoop over in the garden.
Plastic bottles with the bottom cut off make brilliant cloches if you are growing vegetables. They create a lovely warm micro-climate around young plants and of course protect them from pesky slugs and snails who seem to like nothing better than chomping those precious young shoots! Simply cut the ends off the bottles, unscrew the tops and stick them into the ground around the plant.
Old plastic containers can also be turned into really lovely, colourful planters – as can so many other things. Here are load of ideas for making plant pots from recycled items.
Loo rolls are great as plant pots. They’re particularly good for growing sweet pea seeds – which like to produce a long root.
Forget expensive horticultural fleece, I use old, soft t-shirts and jumpers to protect tender plants from frosts. I’ve also seen a clever idea to cut up opaque plastic milk containers into strips and use them as plant labels – such a simple effective idea which I’m going to try.
Garden Secrets – Your Turn
So these are my key secrets for saving money when gardening. But I know there are loads more. What have I missed? What are your top ideas? Do share in the comments below as I’d love to create another blog with your suggestions. Happy gardening – x