Replace instead of buying new
Moving plants to more suitable homes will save cash
One of the easiest and most obvious ways of saving money is making the most of what you’ve already got. I have already written about the joys of taking cuttings, as well as washing, sharpening and reusing equipment and tools as and when it is relevant and practical. But what about plants you already have, that may have wilfully self–seeded in the ‘wrong’ place around your garden?
Our chalky soil is perfect for growing foxgloves and every spring we find them sprouting up around the garden - this year we even have one growing between two patio bricks! That one is being left alone to see what it does, but I need to do something about the three large plants that are growing well in our raised beds. I am quite tempted to leave them where they are, but we need the space for this year’s crops, so they need to be rehoused elsewhere in the garden.
It is an easy task to do, and their tall spires of pink bells will create a wonderful early summer impact among the alliums and first flowering annuals. One plant I’m going to move to a bed in the veg patch, as foxgloves are a magnet for pollinators such as bees which will also help boost the cropping potential of our tomatoes, beans and other vegetables.
You can also move self-sown seedlings if they are crowding each other out. Scoop up some from a clump, with soil still attached around the roots, and move them to another spot. Carefully firm them back into the soil and water lightly with a watering can fitted with a fine rose (sprinkler).
Let early flowering plants ripen so you can collect their seeds for next year’s blooms. Foxgloves are biennials so take two years from sowing to blooming.