Pots of ideas for gardeners on a budget
Worried that doing up your garden will cost a small fortune? This doesn’t have to be the case, says garden designer Mark Gregory, one of the judges on Channel 5’s the Great Gardening Challenge. Armchair gardeners tuning in to the six-part series this month will see horticultural professionals competing against each other, as they perk up neglected open spaces and transform them into gorgeous gardens in just 48 hours on a budget.
The show, presented by Diarmuid Gavin and Nicki Chapman, will surely provide inspiration for amateur gardeners, whose own budgets may be more restrictive than those of the TV pros.
And with a creative approach and some insider secrets, it’s certainly possible to perk up
your plot without having to break the bank. “Digging up and dividing plants is a way of getting plants for free,” says Mark. “Plants can often be lifted and separated to double up the numbers. And if you have close family and friends, you can get plants from other sources as well.”
Plants which will grow relatively quickly and are easy to divide include alchemilla, astrantia, achillea and
sedum. Cranesbill geraniums will spread quickly “If you are buying herbaceous plants, buy them in small pots,” he suggests. “Buying herbaceous plants in big pots is a complete waste of money. Buy plants like (cranesbill) geraniums and alchemillas - standard garden plants - in p9s (9cm) or 1 litre pots.
“Shrubs and choice plants should be as big as you can afford, to make an impact, but your smaller infill plants don’t have to be.” “Either plant late summer or spring, after the bad weather, when the plants have more chance of becoming established. You have more chance of losing plants to bad weather if you plant in November or December, when you get more frosts. If you are going to buy small, herbaceous plants, you will save money like that.” “There’s nothing wrong with sale plants,” Mark notes.
Many perennials in garden centres will have gone over and may look a little bedraggled, which is why they are in the sale, but they will come back next year. “Avoid being seduced at the point of sale in garden centres, because garden centres get plants in which look great. The result is that gardens become diluted by impulse buys which may not match the style of the garden or the plants they already have.
“Consider the look that you want and consider the plan. Make a list before you go and stick to it.
“Don’t put odd bits and pieces here and there because all you get is a blancmange of a garden.” “A lot of people will plant one of this and one of that, which will create a weak, watereddown effect. Planting works best in multiples. I’d be planting in threes, fives, sevens, nines, 12s, to get something going.
“Get into the mindset that it’s better to plant smaller, but more of them,” Mark explains. “Always think about repeat planting. If you have a border on the right hand side, repeat it on the left, but maybe in a smaller quantity, so the planting flows from one border to another.
“You can do that with plants which you’ve divided.” It’s no use buying a beautiful plant which requires full sun and light soil, if you are intending on planting it in clay soil in shade. “A lot of wasted money is used in impulse buying - don’t read the plant label and then put it where it doesn’t want to be,” says Mark. Mark suggests people scour landscape yards, or fish through old skips for second hand furniture and paving