Any ideas for gettin cheap garden plants

kings981

I would like some cottage garden plants - french lavender, verbena bonarensis, echinacea, rudbeckia and more, but they all seem to cost £5 + in the garden centre.

Does anyone have any ideas where I can obtain them cheaply or ideally for free?

I know these can be grown from seed but I don't really have the room/green fingers!

Mortal

find your local horticultural society, and see when they next have a sale, or carboots/markets.
Or why not have a look around your friends and neighbours, if they have the plants you're after, you may well be able to take cuttings,or they might be willing to divide the odd clump or two.

Edit to add - Freecycle is a good place too

rhiwfield

If you've got room to plant them, you've got room to sow from seed

Wilko cottage garden annuals seeds, 60p, still can be sown this year direct.

foreign_correspondent

You could try your local country market - often keen gardeners sell their excess plants here, for fair prices - you can very often talk to the producer too, and get free tips and advice!
http://www.country-markets.co.uk/

dogstarheaven

hi

there are various ways of finding cheap plants, ones that you don't have the time or the money to spend on...

plant swap stalls - went to my local library where they advertised a Plant Swap where likeminded ppl could bring their spare plants to swap with plants that other ppl have brought in. i brought seedlings of different veg and herbs and in return picked up what i liked (any amount really as long as you're not too greedy, but there were about 150 potted plants in total to choose from) - japanese anemone, 2 strawberry plants and 1 unknown house plant.
i notice that in Nott'm where i live there is a Green Weeks campaign starting this w/e and local communities have come up with their own Open Days at allotments, parks etc and some are doing Plant Swaps. Look in your main town/city library and found out of a similar thing.

Summer Fairs - advertised by schools, churches, community centres etc, they have a couple of plants or a stall usually.

Ask friends/family if they could give you cuttings or Freecycle. You can find allsorts there really, if you don't ask, you don't get!

B & Q/Homebase stores usually have a clearance section where they have v cheap plants at knockdown prices. bought a pulsatilla (pasque flower) for 30p last week. lt looked a bit neglected but will soon perk up and spread out over the summer, and ready to flower by early spring next yr!

talking of verbena bonariensis; i have just sown some last week. bought a packet for £2 by Unwins. apparently could be erratic to germinate (between 21 -40days!). if you like i could share some seed if you like (pm me)

hope you all this useful:rotfl:

kings981

Thanks there are some really good ideas, if you think beyond the nurseries!!

I will try growing some from seed but I never seem to have much luck - the slugs, birds, cats etc all seem to have their way. I do have some in the ground on the way, but it seems like such a long time before there will be any colour. But I guess half the fun of gardening is the anticipation for how things will turn out!

olly300

kings981 wrote: »

I will try growing some from seed but I never seem to have much luck - the slugs, birds, cats etc all seem to have their way. I do have some in the ground on the way, but it seems like such a long time before there will be any colour. But I guess half the fun of gardening is the anticipation for how things will turn out!

Sow inside and then transfer out side when bigger gives them a fighting chance against most predators.

ixwood

http://www.jparkers.co.uk/Index.cfm?fuseaction=category.specialoffers

It's the best place I've found for nice cheap plants. They come as small plugs, but grow well. And they're all perennials, so you don't need to buy every year. Stay away from bedding plants!

debbie_dee

hi i brought a mixed lot of 50 perrianniuals from thompson morgan for 20.00 in 2 weeks they are mostly up and there was 63 roots not 50 of 10 varietys thought it was a good but worth a thought

HariboJunkie

ixwood wrote: »

Stay away from bedding plants!

Some of us like bedding plants. My window boxes and baskets wouldn't be the same without them. ;)I never pay full price for bedding plants though (reduced section at garden centre) and this year have grown many of them from seed. A small outlay for lots of summer long colour.

ixwood

You'll grow out of it...