A budget garden can look great if you know what you’re doing and these tips could be the most ideal way to achieve just that.
1. Get Free Advice
You don’t have to spend on expensive garden manuals to learn to maintain your garden on a budget. In fact, there are plenty of resources to get good advice for free. In this information age, the internet is the best place to get free advice. There are many online sites that will give you free gardening advice. Some of these resources include Gardenadvice.co.uk, the BBC, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), and Which.co.uk. If you want to grow your own fruits and vegetables, you can find a lot of information on the RHS. On the other hand, you may find a wealth of gardening books at your local library.
2. Grow From Seeds
The head of the RHS advisory board in Chelsea, Guy Barter, states that it is much cheaper to grow plants from seed. In fact, you will still have time to sow annuals for summer color. You should make sure to sow biennial seeds such as sweet williams, hollyhocks, and foxgloves since they will flower and give you good value next year. See what is on offer at retailers such as Wilkinson, Lidl, and Aldi for low-cost gardening supplies. Lidl is currently selling a wide variety of seeds at 28-47p per packet.
3. Take Cuttings
Tender plants like marguerites, fuschia, and pelargoniums could be grown easily from cuttings. Barter states that you should consider trading some of your annual and biennial seedlings for cuttings. You should layer shrubs and climbers in order to propagate them. This is Barter’s top tip to you. Bend a shoot down to the ground level and twist the stem to slightly wounding the plant. Now bury the stem in soil by holding it in place with two U-shaped pins from an old clothes hanger. The shoot should root by autumn where you will be able to detach the shoot and plant it out. The larger the shoot, the bigger the plant you will get.
4. Swap Seeds
You may need to sow only a few seeds from a packet. Reserve the rest for next year by sealing it in a foiled sachet and keeping in a dry place. On the other hand, you can swap the unwanted seeds with your gardening friends for some fancy seeds that you want. In fact, you can do it for the rate of a stamp at Seedy People (online community).
5. Plan For The Next Year
Rather than spending money on new bulbs for next year, you can get the spent bulbs from the garden to produce decent flowers over time by removing the seed heads and leaving the foliage undisturbed and watering/feeding them now.
6. Get Second-Hand Garden Equipment
You should be looking out for second-hand garden tools and equipment to save money in the process. There are dumped unwanted items that are offered for a few pounds at your local recycling center.
Keep an eye on what’s up for grabs free of charge from the local Freecycle group. You will find members posting emails with items that they want to give away or items wanted by them. Also, look for the freebies offered in your area on Gumtree. There were paving slabs and plant troughs going free recently, even outdoor water fountains. On the other hand, if you have a residents group or local tenants, see if they have any tools to hire or swap. These are important things that you need to consider when maintaining a budget garden on your property.
7. Go To Discount Stores
Look for garden accessories and tools on offer at your local supermarket. There are items offered at much cheaper prices here than at most garden centers. In case you are looking for a particular garden product or tool, make sure that you compare online prices and hold out for the end of season sales and reductions if possible.
Growing and maintaining a budget garden is not difficult if you know how to do it properly. The above read offers information on how to maintain a budget garden.
