Get creative... and avoid forking out
IHAVE only been to the Chelsea Flower Show once. My mum, sister and I went four years ago and we loved every moment of it. Around 160,000 visitors descend on the 11-acre site in the heart of London every year – it is five days of aweinspiring, horticultural magic.
Apart from bustling crowds and visitors in fine floral attire, my prevailing memories are the glorious smell of David Austin’s rose display in the floral hall, lupins (in every colour) and my favourite show garden – the L’Occitane perfumers’ garden, which of course looked like it had been established for decades, rather than a matter of days.
Chelsea is a gardener’s paradise. It is fun and fabulous, creative and colourful and wonderful and wacky – all at the same time. If you have never been I would urge you to go – even just once. It is an event that should be on everyone’s bucket list.
But marvellous as Chelsea is, it is temporary and all for show. Everything is highly choreographed and almost beyond perfect, which is not representative of our gardens.
Chelsea is less about gardening and more an exercise in making the most artificial of plots look ‘natural’ and effortless. This comes with a huge price tag, with show gardens costing anywhere from £300,000 to more than £1million for a space as small as about 20ft by 20ft. To me, the idea of forking out huge sums of cash on an instant garden transformation has no appeal. Today, in the fourth of my series, I share a few of my top tips for gardening on a budget. I am sure lots of gardeners would agree that the joy of gardening is about investing time and patience in a space – waiting years to plant out a precious rose cutting, watching as a tiny seed grows into a healthy young plant or seeing the first flower on a new Peony. Good things come to those who wait… which explains why gardening is a life-long hobby. Money can certainly buy you a garden full of plants but will that bring you happiness? Gardening does not have to be expensive and it is possible to make your outdoor space beautiful on a budget. That being said, I do think it is important to spend a little money on your garden to keep it evolving and shining throughout the year.
I love going to the garden centre and some budget supermarkets to buy plants. I think you would struggle to find a gardener who does not. One friend says it is vital to go at least once a month to see what plants are in season – her garden is beautiful and has an incredible amount of colour and interest throughout the year, so surely she is right.
If on a tight budget, the key is to have a plan and to stick to it as much as possible – leaving yourself a little room for creativity, of course.
Joy is in investing time and patience