Reuse and RECYCLE

11 Upcycle your containers

Pretty pots tend to cost a pretty penny but if you decorate a plain one, you’ll have your own, unique, bespoke creative container. Priceless! Use masonry paint or coloured woodstain to add a splash of colour to terracotta pots and wooden planters, and add some fancy details with an artist’s brush.

12 Container alternatives

If you’ve been coveting some snazzy, stylish metal containers but have thought twice on seeing the price, try a zinc bucket instead. Drill some holes in the bottom or leave it as it is and grow bog plants such as astilbe or ligularia in it.

13 Make natural plant labels

Timber offcuts, skewers (with a cork inserted or piece of duct tape folded around the top to make a flag) and lolly sticks written using waterproof, UVresistant marker pens all make good labels to save you buying plastic ones. Or, for just-sown seeds, pierce the seed packet over the top of some long twigs. The picture should last long enough to be visible until germination, so you won’t forget what has been sown where.

14 Grow seeds in food trays

Plastic food trays used to package soft fruits make handy seed trays and might be sturdy enough to be washed and used several times. Any tray 8cm (3in) deep or more can be used, but add drainage holes if needed.

15 Re-use water

Water from washing up bowls and baths can be used on the garden within 24 hours of it being saved. Also try placing a bowl in your kitchen sink to save water when taps are running or in your shower tray while the shower’s warming up. Use the water on non-edible garden and container plants or on the lawn.

16 Capture rainwater

A water butt, especially one connected to a downpipe will save a lot of tap water but you can also line up trugs, buckets, watering cans and anything watertight in an unsheltered area to collect as much water as possible without having to buy anything especially for the purpose.

17 Make your own compost

Homemade compost from a heap is a good base ingredient for making your own potting compost. Create a heap of three-quarters brown material (cardboard, prunings, newspaper) and one quarter green (grass clippings, kitchen scraps, nonwoody plant material). Allow it to break down for six months. Mix it with equal parts sieved garden soil and sieved leaf mould (leaves put in a heap to break down for a year to 18 months) for a crumbly potting compost.

18 Take care of tools

Hands up who has left their secateurs outside and found a rusty remnant under the rhubarb a few months later? Keeping tools safe, well oiled and sharpened will help them last as long as possible, as well as improving their performance.

19 Revamp your secateurs step-by-step

● Disassemble your secateurs, keeping tabs on which part goes where by keeping them in a line, and spray each part with WD40.

● Wipe away dirt using a cloth dipped in hot soapy water and remove stubborn dirt with a wire brush.

● Use a tool sharpener, holding the angled side of the blade and apply even pressure on it with the tool, running it away from you.

20 Look after netting

Take time to carefully remove garden netting and fold it neatly so that it can easily be used again when needed.

21 Forage some unexpected edibles

Nasturtiums, pot marigolds, roses and sweet violets are all edible flowers and a free way to make salads look extra special if you’re having a party and putting on a spread. Only use flowers that haven’t been sprayed with chemicals.

22 Produce your own plant food

Comfrey is a commonly found wildflower that makes a potassium-rich liquid plant food. Chop up some leaves into the bottom of a plastic container that has a sealed lid, add some water to cover the leaves, then seal the container. It will be ready in six weeks but keep the lid on because it has a pungent smell!

23 Try a push mower

It’s possible to have a well-kept lawn without the need for petrol or electricity to make a mower work. If your lawn isn’t that big, a push mower is a good investment. It has a cylinder blade, which cuts grass very cleanly, it’s ready for use instantly and you’ll get a good workout too!

24 Grow expensive crops

If space is limited, grow crops that are pricey in the supermarket but capable of cropping heavily such as raspberries, strawberries, salad leaves and courgettes.

25 Use prunings supportsas plant

Save up all your woody prunings that are sturdy enough to be pushed into the ground and store them in a shed or garage until needed for supporting plants. Cut off branching sideshoots from big tree branches to use as pea sticks for low growers.

26 Dried flower wreaths

Kept out of full sun in a cool place indoors, these can literally last for years. Make one for someone special – it’s truly a gift that keeps on giving.

27 Homemade jams

A fun way to use a glut of plums, blackcurrants or gooseberries (or free foraged blackberries), homemade jams and jellies make great Christmas presents. Just add a fancy bow and label on the jar.

28 Cut flower bouquets

A hand-picked bunch of flowers makes an intriguing and seasonal alternative to a pricey shop-bought bouquet. A good supply of dahlias, gypsophila, crocosmia, verbena, rudbeckia and roses in the garden means an easy bouquet is a few snips away for much of summer.

29 Herbflavoured presents

Make the most of your herb patch to produce some lavender-flavoured sugar, rosemary and thyme-flavoured salt or mint and lemon balm soap. Perfect house-warming presents!

30 Press some flowers

A pressed stem or two displaying perfect flowers (perhaps of a delphinium or a viola) on a white background looks very classy in a frame – add the Latin and common name in fancy writing and it’s a present to be proud of.