Gardening can be just as expensive as doing up any area of your home. If you don’t make your own compost then you will need to buy fresh soil. Plus certain plants like certain soil. So how do you creat a budget friendly garden?
You will know when you buy the house what direction the garden is facing, so what plants to plant but read this first before you make any drastic changes.
1.Use what you have
If you have a lovely well established garden then get to know it. Discover what has been planted and what thrives where. You don’t even need to buy a flower app! I just used Google search image and just allocate the single image I want to use. It’s great and so far has been more accurate than my friends plant app! Free is definitely better than paying for something that doesn’t work. Finding out what I have in my garden has been exciting!
So get in there and tidy up your borders. And leave it for at least a year! You will be surprised, some ugly looking shrubs flower beautifully.
2.Let the space live
When you first move into a house everyone always says learn how you use the space, what you like, what you don’t, and especially the light. if you leave your garden for a whole year you will learn what you have. What bulbs may be planted underneath.
Things to learn:
What soil you have?
Where are the shady bits?
What has full sun?
Have a bbq outside, see how the light changes during the day! we have an ugly conifer in our garden, we actually have 4 and I don’t like them however they create a nice sound barrier from the railway and the birds love them as cover. So I let it grow. Let it live and plant around it.
3.Plants can be expensive
Plants especially well established ones are or can be expensive so you can cut costs by growing from seed but be patient! They take much longer to establish but you do all the work. You can also propagate plants and divid clusters and bulbs. Take cuttings from plants you like and join plant swap groups!
People do post older plants that they want removed from the garden so you go and dig it up for free!
4.Plan your garden
A good plan means less mistakes and an easier way to buffer. If you want a fancy tree then you madly just have to save up for it. Create a wish list and when it comes to presents if people ask then say actually what I really want is a voucher or tell them exactly what plant.
If you don’t like to mow then create a garden with lots of flower beds!
Planning is my favourite part of life. Planning my garden just makes sense and I really have some big plans I will start sharing with you in the next month.
5. Be creative
Plants that look past their best can be saved with a bit of water and attention. So be creative, grow from seed and play the long game I promise you you won’t regret it. Chop into that lawn and create pathways that mean more flower beds and less boxes ( I will talk about this in another blog)
Make sure you you take into consideration height. I have a record of the height my plants grow to so there is interest at every level and my next garden venture will be a few trees. I want to grow a Sichuan pepper tree as the blossoms are pretty plus we will grow pepper in the uk!!! Amazing.
So that’s it!
5 ways, planning and knowledge are key. So sit down with a hot beverage or a cold glass of wine. The more research you do the less mistakes and the less time and money you waste.
Dysfunctional Planner 
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