Here’s how to get your plot in the pink without falling into the red!
Perhaps there’s no better time to get stuck into your garden and give it a revamp. A Bank Holiday weekend is coming up; the nights are longer; temperatures are creeping up, and there’s still time to sow and plant so many things! As well as tackling a few tasks that will give the garden an instant improvement if you’ve got friends and family visiting, here are some ideas to start now as projects to keep you busy for the rest of spring, without breaking the bank!
FILL GAPS WITH EASY PLANTINGS
A packet of flower seeds (even posh ones) is likely to cost you less than a cup of coffee in a café, and unlike the former, they can add joy to your garden for months, rather than a burst of energy, followed by a burst to the bathroom! Nasturtiums, pot marigolds and Californian poppies will fill any gaps in the border if sown direct now, and nasturtiums have the added bonus of providing useful ground cover and adding quirky foliage to a shady spot. Their flowers liven up summer salads, too. Cosmos are excellent filler plants and will germinate quickly on a sunny windowsill, or you could sow direct if the soil is warm to touch.
RUMMAGE INDOORS FOR FREE OUTDOOR FEATURES
Do you have some furniture that’s cluttering up the house and proving a bit of a headache? Maybe it’s a wonky chest of drawers that nobody’s wanted on Facebook Marketplace, or an old chair that’s no longer safe to sit on. Why not make them into features in the garden? Add a lick of paint to liven them up and – hey presto! – you have a quirky planter to fill with gorgeous blooms.
TURN ONE BUY INTO THREE!
If you’re out plant shopping and looking for bargains, seek out some large clumps of perennials. The price might look high, but if you can split them into three sizeable chunks when you get home, then you’ll have three times the impact. Repeat-plant them along a border edge, or along the garden from front to back, for a stylish display that will look like it cost a lot more.
PEP-UP SOME PALLETS
Old pallets can quickly be transformed from litter to luxury. Just two pallets screwed together can make a fun garden table. Hammer a board over the top and cover with a tablecloth, and you have a garden table that could literally save you hundreds of pounds, compared to buying it in a shop or online. You could also make benches by attaching sawn-off pallets to act as the back rest.
ENJOY ANNUAL CLIMBERS
Find a large empty pot; fill it with multi-purpose compost, and in 8cm pots, sow some fast-growing climbers from seed. Keep them on the windowsill, then plant into the large pot at the end of May. This will give you an exciting and colourful patio f
