Save money with these tips

Gardening can be very expensive, and there are so many things that you “need” to buy to be a great gardener. We disagree with this, gardening doesn’t have to be a burden on your bank account. It can be an enjoyable hobby that is affordable and fun for everyone.

In this post, we are going to detail 10 tips for cost-effective gardening. So you and you can spend more time having fun and less time worrying about the cost.

The 10 Tips for cost-effective gardening

• Start by getting out into the garden to have a good look around.  Check which plants are in trouble and think about what you can do to bring what you have, back up to its best.  It might just be a case of good water and some feed, or perhaps moving some plants around to give them a change of scenery.

• In addition, if there are plants that aren’t doing well… get rid.  Life’s short and your garden is too important to support struggling plants.  Equally, you may have a small garden, in which case there won’t be space to accommodate shabby plants.  Your garden is a sanctuary, not a horticultural rehab centre.

• Don’t trust everything to your eye. Experts say it’s always helpful to photograph the garden as well.  Looking over the resulting images will help you plan your garden design and it will also help you see things you hadn’t noticed before.

• Think about what plants might thrive enough to be divided.  Geraniums and grasses, for instance, may well be doing great, so if you divide and replant, you will help the garden evolve at its own pace.

• Forget expensive garden centres and think about what you might be able to plant yourself.  Fresh seeds usually do better than ones out of packets so get back out into the garden and see what seeds are self-propagating… and then get them going.

• Make sure you label all your plants.  Unless you know your way around all your plants, make sure you have a system in place to keep everything in order.

• Once you have everything correctly labelled, consider swapping some of your plants with those of a fellow gardener.  A simple cutting from one of your plants exchanged for something that would look good in your garden, makes for a cost-free and fun way of developing your outside spaces.

• Compost. Perhaps the ultimate freebie.  Make sure you don’t throw away any of your food scraps, such as veg peelings and fruit skins.  Instead, start collecting them in a small container in the kitchen and then, once full, transfer that to your compost heap, built from old pallets or buy one to save time.  Turn it once in a while and then each summer this compost will help provide amazing nutrients to your plants. Helping them grow stronger and produce more.

• Have a look at the borders of your garden.  If there seem to be real gaps in your planting, move a pot over to fill the gap.  You will want to do something more permanent in the long run but short term, it’s a good way of balancing up a border.

• Finally, make sure the lawn is neat. Better still, if you never want to see a lawnmower again, and your lawn is proving as unruly and unmanageable, consider replacing it for good… with a gorgeous artificial lawn from Cheshire Artificial Grass.

Get in touch with our experts… it might just be the best decision you make this year! And why not check out some landscaping ideas for your garden.