Many gardeners kick-start their year this weekend. How can you get the most out of your plot without breaking the bank?
With frost on the ground and chill in the air it might not feel like time to get stuck into the garden. But if you haven’t already stocked up, Easter weekend is when to shop for the gardening year ahead. The economy is still struggling to kick into gear, so budgeting effectively is as crucial as ever. Here are ways to get more for less from your garden.
Pre-shopping tips
Do your homework Write down what gaps you want to fill, the size and how many plants, then check costs in local shops and online. At this time of year good local garden centres and nurseries have the edge over the internet. Follow your favourite suppliers on Twitter, to spot offers as soon as they are announced.
Eat at home
Catering generates a third of some garden centres’ profits. Spend that extra £10 to £12 on hardy plants instead.
Shopping for plants
Quality, not quantity
The extreme discounting (50 to 60 per cent online) will be on bedding, because it is highly perishable and over-supplied. Buying lots of cheap plants, however, can be a false economy. They may not perform, and you make more work for yourself keeping them potted on and frost-free until the end of May. If you do take advantage of an offer, pot up spare plants promptly to use as gap fillers or gifts later on.
Edible alternatives
Small-potted hardy herbs do well in containers, and need less frost protection than tender plants. Try variegated thymes, sages or lemon balm in mixed schemes. For beds, use parsley to bulk out your regular planting. Chilli and basil make colourful and edible patio plants (both are tender but do well from seed on windowsills). And you can eat them, of course, so you’ll save money on groceries too.
New borders
Research your options properly: you could save £50 to £200. Use crocus.co.uk/ready-made-borders to compare prices with your local shops. Alternatively, start with a discounted offer (Thompson & Morgan offer 72 mixed perennials for £18) and edit this “riot-of-colour” into a border. The small plugs need potting on and a bit of aftercare, but they are hardy and should last for years.
Shrubs
Expect to pay more for shrubs (including woody climbers and roses) than perennials, because they take longer to grow to a saleable plant. I prefer to buy in person so I can inspect the roots, but reputable garden centres offer one, two or five-year guarantees on hardy stock. Keep the receipt and label in an envelope indoors. If there’s a problem in future, a picture of the plant on your phone or emailed in will suffice and you will be sent a free replacement.
Herbaceous perennials
Most are vigorous, transplant well and last for years, so there’s plenty of scope for bargains. Buy young plants in small pots now – if they hang around in the shop until summer they will become stressed. Don’t pay full price for large pots of perennials in flower. Wait until they are discounted, then split up the roots.
For cheap and cheerful plants, try bare roots in packs (look for three-for-two offers in discount stores and supermarkets). Growing your own from seed is good value if you need lots of plants, but research the varieties and sowing time (mr-fothergills.co.uk).
Other hardy options
New stock of alpines, roses, climbers, fruit, trees and conifers can be bought up now.
Look ahead
When/if spring finally comes it will be over in a flash. Invest in summer and autumn colour instead. Buy dry bulbs (or tubers) that you can plant up now in pots for summer flowers. Dahlias are the classic example, £6-£7 as potted plants in flower, £2 a tuber now.
Non-plant items
New habits
The RHS Plant Finder is £14 and the annual Yellow Book (for garden visits) £10. All the information is now free and updated online, so support these charities in other ways, such as visiting their gardens or buying plants through their websites (rhs.org.uk, ngs.org.uk).
Compost costs
The “buy-two-bags-get-one-free” offer appears to be the same as ever but in fact bags that were 75-80 litres six years ago have now shrunk to 50 litres. Instead try B&Q’s Verve (peat-free and peat-reduced options) 125 litres for £6 (5p a litre). Sadly they don’t deliver, but you can reserve one at diy.com. Growing bags used to be a cheap source of compost but volumes vary so compare the cost per litre.
Supermarket sundries
Tesco, B&Q, Morrisons as well as Poundland now have £1 packs of garden string, labels, ties etc. Similar packs are still £3 from garden retailers (local, online and shows). Or pay nothing at all by using old tights for plant ties, old laces for string and lolly sticks for labels.
Water butts are heavily discounted, they were £35 now £20. Try getcomposting.com.
Containers
Yorkshire pots last well over winter, don’t date and are often on a two-for-one offer.
Lawnmowers
It is worth investing in a petrol model but see Which? (which.co.uk) for free general advice on choosing types, you need to subscribe for the Best Buys. (See page seven for Jean Vernon’s round-up of the best robotic lawnmowers.)
Show offers
At the Edible Garden Show, Vitax were offering 10 litre packs of Slug Gone (wool pellets) for £12 (the cheapest I could find online was £17). Vitax Q4 (a general fertiliser) was £5 for 2.5kg at the show (compared with £8 at tesco.com, £11 with p&p). Use smart phones to check if show offers are worthwhile. One-off large purchases such as greenhouses have show offers too, remember to haggle for extra discounts too as they do on television’s Secret Shoppers.
Avoiding online delivery charges
Look for “click and collect” opt
ions such as the John Lewis/Waitrose one and wilko.com (their contemporary pots in black and grey look good value).
Loyalty bonuses
The Garden Store offers members 10 per cent off on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Garden Centre Group offer reward points, double on a Tuesday for over sixties. A Dobbies card (£12) gives you 10 per cent off and a free tea or coffee every month.
Garden Organic membership includes 10 per cent off The Organic Catalogue. The National Allotment Society has an e-book of discounts and 40 per cent off Kings Seeds.
Learn the basics
Start small
The best way to start gardening is with young plants, bulbs and seeds rather than “easy” or “instant” kits. Build your confidence by learning the basics.
Speed swotting
Expert books are a quick cost-effective way to swot up. The Complete Garden Expert (£8 to £12) covers most areas.
Pick the right plant Use the RHS Plant Selector and its AGM lists.
When thrift goes too far
Don’t skimp on compost
Garden Organic compared home-made mixes for growing potatoes in bags. Best was 100 per cent sieved mature garden compost (1.3kg of good tubers) but mixing garden soil with compost yielded 800g of poor tubers.
Keep it clean
Only buy fruit plants and seed potatoes from reputable retailers who sell “certified” stock (the details are on the label, for seed potatoes look for the Safe Haven logo). Avoid unofficial sources and don’t accept free gifts or use table potatoes.
The king of tight gardening
Organic guru Bob Flowerdew even puts the snails he collects in a home-made snailery to make them work rather than squash them. Not for everyone, perhaps, but his books are a mine of wisdom.
Taken from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice
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