6 minute read
GARDEN
Viburnum opulus ‘Compactum’
VALUE FOR MONEY GARDENING
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You can create a great garden without spending a fortune on it.
Gardening writer Julia Heaton tells how.
The soaring cost of living needn’t be a barrier to creating a gorgeous outdoor space. With a little forward planning, tips, tricks and gardening know-how you can get far more out of your garden than you would think. All without having to dig deep in your pockets for the pleasure and satisfaction it brings.
Plant choice
Amelanchier lamarckii
Go for plants that work hard for you in the garden like those that provide more than one season of interest. If you have a small space this makes even more sense. Why have a plant that blooms for a couple of weeks in summer, then that’s it for the rest of the year? For instance Viburnum opulus ‘Compactum’ has clusters of white flowers in spring and red berries in autumn. And while heucheras offer up tiny summer flowers they also have interesting year-round foliage (except in the worst winters). For a delightful small tree you can’t better Amelanchier lamarckii with coppery coloured leaves in spring followed by an abundance of white flowers. In autumn its leaves turn orange and red and it even has black fruits – what a winner.
Wherever possible choose perennial plants that will come back year after year. They may look small and cost a bit more to begin with but they’ll grow bigger and better, unlike bedding plants that give their all in one season and then are gone. Perennials also have another major point in their favour and that’s the fact that most can (and should) be divided after three or four years. Lifting and separating the root mass not only keeps the plant healthy but provides you with new ones – only this time it’s for free.
Create more plants
Division is just one way of propagating your plants. Depending on the plant type you could propagate by taking cuttings, sowing saved seeds or using a layering technique (encouraging a branch or shoot to root by bending it down to soil level). Whichever way it’s not difficult to stock a whole garden with plants for free. If that sounds like too much bother you could always invest in a few self-seeders to do the work for you. Left to their own devices plants like eryngium, verbascum and alliums will simply shoot up again from where their seed has fallen to the ground. Just don’t be surprised when they pop up elsewhere too when carried and dropped by the wind or birds.
Money well spent
If you’ve spent lots of money in the past on planting, only to have some die when you haven’t been able to provide the care and attention needed, then have no fear. There are tough types that actually thrive on neglect so you can be assured your money is being well spent. For foliage interest go for variegated zebra grass. Or for architectural form and spikes of scented yellow flowers there’s Mahonia Charity. How about daylilies? These produce robust clumps of leaves and a succession of trumpet-shaped flowers that are often scented.
Peonies are long-lived cottage garden favourites, one of which is Paeonia Officinalis ‘Rubra Plena’. Growing to a height of 30in (75cm) it’s one of the earliest to flower and survives on neglect. And, of course, a wildflower seed mix scattered over prepared soil can be left to do its own thing while also being great for wildlife. Low maintenance types will pretty much take care of themselves but you’ll still have to ensure they are properly established to begin with.
Supermarket savings
Growing fruit and veg makes sound financial sense too given rising supermarket prices. Choose edibles that you not only like to eat but will also give you a high yield in a small space. And there’s no smaller space than a hanging basket. Tomato ‘Tumbler’ will produce a steady cascade of cherry tomatoes. Just make sure they get enough water. And cut-and-come-again salad mixes in containers are so much better than the expensive bagged baby leaves in store. Simply sow your own every few weeks from late spring onwards, then snip, eat and wait for a new crop to grow.
Verbascum
Don’t forget to establish a patch for your favourite herbs and go for fruits like damsons that can be frozen for use all year round. Prunus Insititia ‘Farleigh Damson’ is a regular cropper and makes a good jam too as well as having attractive spring blossom.
Water wisely
Installing a water butt will allow you to store rainfall via guttering and save money on your water bills in the long term. Buy one now to capture any of those pre summer showers and to have it ready for winter rainfall. Think too about reusing bath water. Because of what it is likely to contain this ‘grey water’ is best applied direct to the soil, not foliage, using special syphon kits to empty straight into the garden or water butt. Try to use eco-friendly soaps and bubble bath as part of this process. Use water retaining granules when potting up plants so you don’t have to water as often. Similarly a 3in (7.5cm) layer of bark or compost, applied as a mulch around the base of plants, will help to conserve moisture in the soil.
Water your garden in the hours before and after sunset or in the morning before 10am. Any other time and it is likely that water will be lost through evaporation.
It all goes to prove that having a garden you can be proud of doesn’t need to involve spending lots of money. Choose the right plants, make the most of gardening techniques and you’ll not only save pounds but also gain a satisfaction that money just can’t buy.
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