A lot of things in the garden can't be done cheaply, but theres a lot of things that can if your willing to look and do a bit of work.
Plant wise, some of my best bargains have come from two main sources, although there have been others. Shrubs have been gained for next to nothing from a local DIY superstore. There is a reduced section for plants that maybe looking a bit sad, are at the end of their flowering period or have maybe got a bit pot bound. From these sales we have got a few conifers for about £2 each, an Azalea for a couple of pounds, an Euomymus for £3 a hellebore which was just finishing flowering for £1 and a Rhododendron for £3. All these were good size but needed a bit of care, so I stood them in a bucket of water for a few days and gave them a good soaking, before planting them with some feed.
The other two real bargains I got were when I used a birthday voucher. I found a trimmed Bay tree and an Olive tree. Both trees were rot bound and looking sad. After asking the cashier for a discount we ended up getting £50 worth of trees for less than £20. These two trees are now planted, one in the garden and one in a nice, free, terracotta pot and are both looking really good.
The other good offers we have taken advantage of for plants is from the Gardeners World magazine offers. Once a month there is a good offer to get plants for free, just paying postage. All these need are potting up and growing from very small plug plants.
So far we have had, three clematis plants, forty eight geraniums, forty eight lavenders of different cultivars, forty eight Sweet Peas, which have grown well and provided endless flowers for the house as well as colour in the garden. We have also got forty eight plants of Salvia, Echinacea, Delephinium and Pestemon which are currently in the greenhouse growing strongly.
We also have a Camellia that was going spare from a friends garden. It looked like we were losing it at one point. I think it was because it was getting the early morning dew and then strong sunlight, it leaves looked as though they were almost burning. I ended up moving to the opposite side of the garden and cutting it right back to almost nothing. It is now growing again with healthy looking leaves.
The other obvious source of virtually free plants is to grow from seed. Seeds don't cost much to buy and if you collect them yourself from plants in your garden it can be more satisfying. Lots of our plants and vegetables have been grown from seed. I am now also trying to propagate plants by taking cuttings. So far I haven't had much success, but I have got some Forsythia cuttings looking quite promising. As mentioned in another post, I have also increased my strawberry plant supply, by planting runners from this years plants.
I would be interested to know if for cuttings, anyone has any thoughts on whether or not rooting powder/ gel is needed. So far I have used any, but I have recently purchased some organic gel to try.
Well that's my thrifty ways as far as plants are concerned.
Other things that have been free or cheap are the pallets for our compost bins, which cost nothing as many of those came from work when they were being thrown out. I also have some cut down conservatory roof panels waiting to be made into a cold frame. These came from a friend who had replaced their old conservatory.
Some of the wood in the garden has come from my Mum's house when she had work done and some of the paving stones where salvaged from my Mother and Father-In-Law's.
Many tools in my shed came from either my Dad or Grandad. Not many have been bought. The odd one is also borrowed from my often pestered Father-In-Law.
In our household we are very thrifty. In today's day and age, it pays to be. Wages are low and bills are high, and the garden is one place that prices can be kept low with good results.
Well that's all for today, Harvest 2013 is just about to start :-)
Ps, liking the part on Harvest about the organic farmer.
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