Gardening is an ideal pastime for those who are both time-rich and financially strapped. Even while it’s easy to go beyond at the garden center this time of year, most gardeners contend that using care and discipline will make your financial decisions more sensible and result in a better garden. It’s a cliché, but like most cliches, it has a lot of truth: the more work you put into your gardening, the more benefits you get.
While gardening may be done on a budget, Alice Vincent, the author of Rootbound and enthusiastic amateur gardener known on Instagram as Noughticulture, is quick to note: “What you save in cash you spend in time.” But still! I do believe that taking your time results in better gardens, since smaller, less costly plants often establish better than bigger, more expensive ones.
Additionally, keep in mind that soft landscaping—plants—generally costs less per square meter than hard landscaping when doing a larger garden makeover. Here are some ideas to help you save expenses and make the money you do spend go much further, whether you’re constructing a new place or just want to make improvements to what you currently have.
Take your time, particularly if you just relocated.
Take it slow, see which plants thrive, and absorb knowledge about your garden’s particular circumstances. If you just moved into a new home, wait and see how you use the garden for the first year, keeping an eye on where the light falls and planning the location of your eating area (I usually recommend placing it away from the house so that you are enticed out into the garden).
You will also be able to see which plants bloom when, which is particularly helpful if the previous owner maintained the garden; you can be sure that there will be some pleasant surprises all year long.
Don’t shop at the garden center in excess.
You probably will come home with a ton of gorgeous, blooming plants if you take a Saturday excursion to the garden center on a bright June day. These plants will look fantastic for a week or two before they fade.
I don’t blame anybody for wanting a garden that is instantly vibrant, colorful, and textural. However, if you do decide to spend all of your money at once on your garden, you probably won’t get the best value for your money and will wind up paying more than you had anticipated.
Rather, find out what flowers bloom when by doing some study, then make plans appropriately. You may choose more and frequently get better deals when you buy online rather than in person. Planting plans with a succession of plants that blossom at various times tend to be the finest ones; you may do this with the aid of some excellent internet tools, more on which follows.
And Alice advises you to “raid the sales” if you do feel like treating yourself. “These days, I don’t buy plants very often, but if you want to get your bulbs in October or November and your plugs and plants later in the season, there are some incredible deals to be found.” Perennials are great for this since they will return the following year, but annuals may be a little worn out by the time they leave the warehouse.
Plant from seed, dividing and lifting perennials
“Preserve your seeds. Alice says, “You know that they’re varieties that work in your particular garden, so calendula, nasturtium, and poppies all save really well.”
It takes some getting used to growing from seed and some sunny window sills. However, when your seedlings do eventually emerge, it will be well worth the effort and a really serene, straightforward, and essentially cost-free joy.
Again, this requires some expertise and patience, but with the abundance of YouTube tutorials, you should be able to find one that will assist you with your particular plant. (various varieties of plant need different procedures and treatment).
Lift and split perennials as well, Alice continues. “Basically, this is my current approach: lifting and splitting every fall. It also has the bonus of making your area more cohesive. Heucheras, ferns, and hardy geraniums are very forgiving.
Online tools that assist you in creating a landscape that looks professional
These days, you may create a better organized and cohesive planting plan for your garden without having to pay for the services of a designer thanks to a number of really useful internet tools.
Recently, Dig Gardening introduced a new program in which they provide pre-made border designs for various garden kinds. They help you plant a new area of your garden by doing everything from bringing plants to your door to giving you simple, step-by-step directions on how to plant them. Better still, they assist you with garden care as well, giving you pointers and recommendations.
Putting money into something well-thought-out and planned can help you gradually get into gardening by providing you some firm foundations and an eye for what goes well together. Online nurseries with a variety of color combinations, styles, and condition compatibility, like Sarah Raven and Crocus, also provide pre-made plant combinations for borders and pots.
creating a garden on your own
Invest in a brief garden design course if you want to take things a step further. There are several available that are targeted at enthusiastic amateur gardeners, and you’ll leave with a whole new perspective on gardening and design. Most of these courses are also accessible to novices, so you don’t really need to know much to participate in them. Everybody has to start somewhere!
The London College of Garden Design offers four-day courses in garden design, taught by some of the most renowned and awarded garden designers in the business. Morning hikes in Wisley, where one may find ideas for planting, are another enjoyable activity. Visit their website to discover a plethora of more events that you may attend.
In addition, Sarah Raven teaches classes, often in collaboration with Arthur Parkinson. I can attest from personal experience that they are really educational and entertaining, particularly for novice gardeners. In addition to asking other experts to speak at her events, Sarah educates herself on subjects like pruning gardens and maintaining color throughout the year.
Opt for used furniture and plants.
It’s almost tough to locate beautiful, reasonably priced plant pots, as anybody who has looked can attest. Affordable and cheery items are rare unless they are second-hand, and it goes without saying that traditional terracotta and similar materials are superior than plastic and less expensive options. This also often holds true with garden furniture: you seldom find anything really inexpensive that is both gorgeous and long-lasting enough to be put outdoors all year.
According to Alice, if you really want a large number of containers in your garden—for example, if you rent an apartment—visit Gumtree and the Facebook marketplace. If you’re willing to scour the suburbs, [they] are veritable goldmines. Most objects can actually be made to appear brand new with a coat of paint.
Consider upkeep.
I always ask prospective customers about upkeep and how much they’re willing to spend on it right away. Particularly freshly planted gardens need a lot of care, so if you’re going to overhaul your outside area, you should make sure you have the time or the money to hire someone to assist you in the future.
Make spaces that you can expand into by purchasing smaller plants and allowing them room to flourish. You should also avoid planting so many different plants in one place that, after two years, you’ll feel overwhelmed and need assistance with maintenance!
A lawn is sometimes thought of as an easy garden choice, but when you consider the amount of time, gas, and watering that go into maintaining one, you may find that a lawn is not as appealing as it once seemed. If placed appropriately, ornamental grasses and wildflower meadows provide a low-maintenance, environmentally beneficial substitute.
Make sure you have a friendly neighbor or think about irrigation systems before spending too much time and money on your garden if you often travel for job or simply like taking lengthy vacations! Particularly in their early years, newly planted gardens need a lot of assistance to grow, and irrigation is crucial to that process.
