Home Life: Creating a Beautiful Garden on a Budget.

Some of my happiest memories are those where I was helping my grandad in his rambling garden. The memory of it is so tangible - the stone path with the wild strawberries hanging down the steps, the loganberries dangling from nets, the stepped up garden that eventually led to the sunniest bit of the garden where all the produce grew including the best carrots I ever did taste. And I kid you not.. the rescued owls in his owl shed. It was magical my Grandad’s garden.

I’ve always longed to have a garden I could really go to town on and now I have one. I sometimes wish I’d done it before we lost Grandad back in 2019 because he would have so much advice for me. With a reputation for being a tight fisted thrifter (turns out he had it right all along), Grandad would flex his resources and reuse absolutely everything. He lived and breathed nature and the more I think about it the more I realise how much he taught me.

I’m no garden expert, I’ve tinkled over the years but can’t remember much of what Grandad taught me when I was a kid. But the passion is embedded and I’m keen to learn.

When I bought the house the vision that kept me going through the stressful buying process was me standing in the greenhouse with the sun going down behind me. And it came true. But sometimes the garden overwhelms me - it was wild with invasive plants having taken over. The grass is lumpy and bumpy and the steep steps in the middle of the slab path to the greenhouse bug me every time. All winter I’ve stared at the garden wondering what to do with it but finally, after much staring, some sketching and lots of research I have a bit of a plan. But what I don’t have is a budget. All of the money I had saved for renovations has gone and then I had to go on and borrow more to sort the electrics and the chimney out.

So.. it leaves me having to get creative with the garden. Since February I’ve been chipping away at gathering the resources I need with the little money I’ve budgeted each month for it (£100) and I’m getting ready to start making some good progress with the garden. And here’s how:

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Sowing seeds

Whether you have a small balcony, a mini yard, a small city garden or bigger plot, sowing seeds are a great way to get started with plenty of textures and interest open a budget. It also saves a lot of plastic from the pots plants come in from garden centres. Some seeds are easier to grow than others, check the back of packet to see what kind of care they need and make a judgement whether it’s right for you. Perennial plants are plants that die back towards the end of the season and come back the following year. Annuals are plants that only grow for one year and biennial plants come back every two years.

I love growing lupins, verbena, yarrow and globe thistle as all are very easy to grow and have maximum impact in the garden.

You can grow seeds on windowsills or in cold frames outside your door or if you have more substantial space you can source mini greenhouses, usually for free, on Facebook Marketplace. You can forage old doors on Facebook Marketplace which make excellent cold frames - use one with glass panels as a hinged lid.

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Buy out of season plants

My garden has been kitted out with plants I bought in the bargain bin towards the end of the season last year - most plants were under £3 and they’ve all come up beautifully this year. Grasses, palms, herbs, trees… as long as the root ball is ok you’ll see it come up in Spring. I bought 2 massive eucalyptus trees for a fiver each last year - they are worth £50 each in season. I mulched them (I covered the soil in dried grass) to trap in some heat to help them through winter and with some feeding this year they’re doing really well. It’s worth noting that if you buy plants at the end of season, it will be tempted to repot them but ideally wait until spring or only go up a little in size as the fresh compost can sit too wet over winter and rot the roots. In fact you should always try and avoid repotting in autumn.

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Get Creative

There’s so much you can do with very little budget. Sourcing things from local free groups and getting creative is the key to an abundant garden without spending a load of money. Old Belfast sinks make great plant pots and with a few replaced screws, tables, benches and seats can be given a new lease of life. Stagger heights with old potting benches, chairs and stools foraged from charity shops, car boots or Facebook Marketplace. If you see any shops closing down, ask them if they’ll be selling off fittings - you may well strike gold for wall hooks, potting tables, old stock…

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Create a water feature

To create a point of interest and give wildlife a helping hand consider introducing a pond to your garden, no matter how mini. In my last place (tiny garden) I found a large plastic pot in the recycling centre and I let it fill with rain water - I added some pond grass and a little lily plant and within a few weeks a frog had made it’s home. Frogs are incredibly beneficial for your garden - they gobble up slugs, snails and creepy crawlys.

In my current garden I found a pond liner for £10 in a pond centre that was closing down. I took it home, dug out a large hole and filled with water from the water butt. In a different garden centre out of season, I asked the owner about some sorry looking pond plants sitting in the corner of the garden. He said they’d come back later in Spring but if I wanted some foliage right away they would be getting a delivery in a few weeks. These sorry looking plants cost me £10 for around 8 plants - usually they would be well over £150. They are all coming up beautifully and I can’t wait to spot my first frog (not least because the mosquito larvae are emerging!).

Most areas will have someone selling half oak barrels for little money - these barrels make great plants but are also water tight so can be made into a little water feature easily. Look out for a dedicated post soon as I’ll be adding one to my outdoor dining area.

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Pallets

We’ve all seen pallet furniture but pallets can be so much more for the garden. I inherited a whole pallet seating area in my new house but I wanted to bring in a trestle table for that area and so I got busy repurposing the pallets. I used a circular saw to cut them up to use as planters - this weekend some bamboo with be going in and the rest will be fashioned up to use for a wild flower bed. You can also build a simple compost system, border off different areas or make a bench. Make sure you don’t use pallets for raised beds unless you can be absolutely sure as to how they’ve been treated - pallets are often treated with chemicals that you don’t want leeching into your lovingly grown produce.

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Local plant swap groups

I’ve found most places have a local plant swap group on Facebook - they are an excellent way of sharing resources within your community from seeds to much larger plants. If you don’t have one, maybe start one, your community will thank you!

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Do you have any tips for keeping down the spend in your garden? We would love to hear the, in the comments if so!

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