CHEAP TRICKS
When it comes to tightening the belt, take some advice from Winnie the Pooh, says Leigh Bramwell
ISAW A WINNIE THE POOH illustration on Facebook the other day which gave me pause for thought. Pooh and Piglet were walking through the wood and Piglet asked Pooh: “Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?” “Supposing it didn’t,” said Pooh.
After careful thought, Piglet was comforted by this.
To stop myself from thinking the worst, I transposed the text in my head to read: “Supposing there was a major recession and we couldn’t afford decent wine,” and the answer, of course, was: “Supposing there wasn’t.”
Thanks, Pooh.
It is possible, of course, that times will get tough. Everybody’s saying so. Lindauer Brut may once again have to be my tipple of choice, as it has been in other tough times, and chances are I will find it perfectly acceptable. And happily, the garden will not suffer, because I really enjoy the challenge of turning sows’ ears into silk purses. The garden is one place where you can scrimp and, if you’re creative, nobody will be any the wiser.
If you’re short of ideas, you’ll find them in magazines, on websites, in cityscapes, public gardens and private gardens in upmarket suburbs. The trick is not to look for budget ideas, but to look for ideas which, with a bit of adaptation, can fit into a diminished budget. If you like something that’s obviously expensive, analyse its different elements, and then replace them with what will work for you on an aesthetic and financial level.
SIMPLE HACKS
■ Propagate plants. After all, why would you pay for something if you can make your own for free? A tip from a reader recently was to make the cut ends rough rather than smooth before you pot them up.
■ Divide and conquer. If you have mounds of Mondo or renga renga lilies, you can dig some up, divide them and replant elsewhere. ■ If you’re building a timber screen or fence, place the slats horizontally rather than vertically — for some reason it looks classier. Use pine, and stain it to look like kwila.
■ When paving an outdoor area, use concrete pavers rather than tiles. First, they’re likely to be cheaper. Put them only where you need them and fill in any other areas with stone chip or shells. Rectangular pavers look smarter than square.
■ A few pavers cut on angles and set into lawn or stone chip add a dash of style.
■ Don’t be afraid to use black or charcoal colours. A low-sheen black will camouflage all kinds of defects, and it looks smart. Be
aware, though, that your resident spiders will want to add their touch.
■ Dress up an ordinary area with a gorgeous feature pot. Square pots look more stylish than round, and glazed or metallic pots tend to look good even without plants.
■ Cheap outdoor furniture might not last as long as you’d like and will probably look, well, cheap. Instead, keep an eye on the auction sites for better quality items. Our local auction house often sells up bulk lots of furniture from hotels and the like and they’re usually well-made and in pretty good condition.
■ Make use of materials you already have.
If there are rocks on your land, drag them into spaces where you need a focal point. One good looking rock and a lomandra grass will sort out that bald spot in your garden.
■ Put together a collection. Search the second hand shops for objects you like. Old clay urns and jugs with chips and cracks can be enhanced by sanding them off to soften broken edges, and maybe given a paint wash finish. Clumped together, they create an interesting and original focal point. Old garden tools, tin boxes and watering cans can do the same job. The bonus is, they look like objects you love, not objects that were cheap.