Bloom on a budget
Gardening can be an expensive hobby – follow these tips and create your own Eden for a fraction of the cost
Our hard-earned money is being swallowed up at every opportunity and the cost of everyday living spiralling. Luckily those of us who are prepared to spend some time in the garden can not only reap the health benefits of being outdoors but also get some highvalue vegetables and cut flowers from our small plots. Over these pages I’m going to share my tips on cost-effective gardening. How to save money and still have a beautiful blooming garden for only a fraction of the price – gardening can be a very expensive hobby but with a few thrifty ideas and a small bit of luck you can have a very inexpensive and beautiful plot.
Get your steps in
Gardening can be hard physical work, but an hour pottering every day can have huge health benefits. It doesn’t have to be all back-breaking work. There are numerous studies showing the health benefits from being a moderately active gardener, with many comparing it to the gym.
A few hours of light work in the garden gets nearly all of your body parts moving, improves dexterity as well as giving your mental health a boost. It’s no wonder that gardeners tend to live to ripe old ages.
So maybe instead of forking out on more gym membership consider investing money in a new flower bed or veg garden; not only will your health and pocket benefit, but you’ll have flowers and vegetables as a side product too – surely that’s a good deal?
Two for the price of one
A walk through any garden centre is an inspiration for those who enjoy plants, but for the more frugal among us it’s hard not to notice the hefty price tags, that’s not to say the growers don’t deserve our support, especially when it comes to Irish grown plants, but we can support them and save too.
If you’re buying any summer flowering perennial look for one well rooted in the pot, this is a prime candidate for splitting as soon as you bring it home. So, from one plant you’ll instantly get two or three. Use a spade or sharp knife to spilt the clump and then plant the pieces as you would have the original plant.
Top tip
If you are splitting plants, be aware that some don’t enjoy being divided as much as others. Avoid spitting clumps of hellebores and peonies in particular as they prefer to grow into large clumps.
Instead, if you want to propagate them, save the seeds as they mature and sow them fresh – that way you’ll have lots of seedlings germinating fast and new plants to share the following year
Sow seeds
Seeds have to be the easiest and cheapest way to produce a large amount of plants cost effectively. A packet for a couple of can give you months of flowers and if you’re thrifty you can even save the seed in autumn for next year.
Annuals can be produced easily and in quantity if you have a glasshouse, but fear not, windowsills (though ideally not a south-facing one as it might get too hot) are perfect for staring off veg and perennials for the garden too. You also don’t have to splash out on fancy containers and pots either. Your recycling bin usually has all the containers you need to start off. A plastic fruit or veg tray makes a great seed sowing tray, and a coffee cup is perfect to move the plants into once they get bigger. When moving plants from their seed tray to larger pots always hold them by the leaves
and NOT the stem as a damaged leaf will recover but a damaged seedling stem often will not. When looking at what seeds to grow try pick the higher value plants to save even more money.
One place not to skimp out on are compost and seeds. I use a good quality peat-free compost and sieve it for seed sowing.
I like to use good-quality seed which I always find on thegardenshop.ie, seedaholic.com and, for organic seeds, fruithillfarm.com and irishseedsavers.ie – two great Irish suppliers.
Beg and borrow
As a new gardener you might find yourself peering over the neighbour’s fences in awe and sometimes jealousy at the many and varied plants they grow in their gardens.
Thankfully gardeners are generous folk and often the plants they grow were gifted to them so they are keen to share the plant further. Similarly, it’s worth asking family members if there’s a particular plant you like as they are usually happy to share – and the plants often benefit too. Please ask permission before you go digging up your childhood garden though! Remember, the best way to keep a plant is the give it away, as the more people that grow it the more likely it is to survive. If you have a plant to offer in exchange all the better!
Dig those bulbs
It is also happens to be the perfect time of year to dig up a plant and move it. Bulbs are particularly easy and respond beauti