Don't go to garden centres.

Amarillo

I struggle to spend money at garden centres, everything costs so much. Seeds I buy on line and most of my plants at plant sales/car boot sales. We use our local garden centre as a cafe mostly. Went with a friend recently, I spent £1.50 on some half price shallots to fill some gaps, she spent £28. I did manage to stop her buying Cosmos for £2.50 each and got her to buy some seeds and modules so felt that was a shift in turning her into a thrifty gardener.

Wilkinsons have packs of summer bulbs that are pretty good value and touch wood are growing. They include a couple of Dahlia tubers that I'm taking cuttings from which makes it more cost effective. Last year I got done half price Sungold plants, 64p for what was supposed to be 4 but was 5. Needed TLC but did well.

valk_scot

grizzly1911 wrote: »

I was at a well known garden independent centre yesterday - £35 for a a Robin Red evergreen.

I brought one last year for £3.99 at a small farm shop that has now grown (probably 3x original size) to the same size...

I have heard of added value, supply and demand etc. but it has just sat in ground and I have done nothing to it

Just as a point of reference I went to see if this particular shrub could be propagated from cuttings. Yes, apparently it's very easy to do. So you could have saved yourself £3.99 if you'd done that using a pruning from a neighbour's hedge, no?

But agreed, it makes the £35 for one plant seem even more ridiculous. I think the proliferation of "instant gardening" programs on telly has a lot to do with it...people want a nigh on mature garden now and you can only do that by buying mature plants and dropping them into holes, really. Is that gardening I ask myself, or a sort of outdoor decorating? I have a friend that redecorates her house every single year, top to bottom, and re-does her garden every three years. She's not interested in the actual plants, just the general effect. You wouldn't catch her taking a cutting or sowing a seed, belive me. On the plus side though she never has any problem with me prowling round her garden with a trowel the week before the landscape gardener turns up!

lostinrates

cubegame wrote: »

The main bonus about garden centres is they also tend to slash the price of perennial plants after they have finished flowering as their clientèle don't generally want them anymore.
.

I bought roses like this last year.


There is also the point that when you visit you see things flowering in the flesh. It grates that tings bought from pictures in catalgues is fine, but not the colour is was depicted as being. I'm not into very many ''odd'' colours but if you are you pay a premium for the oddities and new varieties....things like that keep me visiting the garden centre and using it as a bit of a shop window.


I always think its very telling when coaches or minibuses arrive for lunch: the people have no room to take home other than a house plant, and some come from retirement homes where they aren't allowed to garden. They arrive, buy their lunch and a houseplant and soe nicknacks and look at plants. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, and I guess its a good day out for this market....and they fund it for me, so I can look at plants and buy them online/catalogue feeling more comfortable with what I'm buying.

Orange_King

I rarely buy plants from Garden Centres unless it is something that I haven't seen elsewhere before. To gain a place in my garden these days the goods have to be something that pay their way. Either plants that can be split llike arum/day lillies, self seeders that I can lift and sell on for 50p a pot or freebie bulbs that have come with online orders. Thats the front garden just - in the back it is just fruit and veg all the wayapart from stuff in the greenhouse or on shelves or garage windowsills.

I am tempted to offer some of my plants to the local garden centres and they can give them their 100% mark up - never hae the nerve to ask though!

newsgroup_monkey

I'll flip this into reverse.

Last week, I bought a Peach Tree and an Apricot Tree from Homebase. The Peach tree was 50p (it's about 4ft tall) and the Apricot was £1.50 (same size). Both originally £13.
They looked dead, but if you looked carefully near the base, there were new shoots. So we trimmed it back (where the dead leaves were) so that they could concentrate on giving energy to the new growth. They're now looking great.

In another Garden centre, we picked up some Pink Fir Potatoes at the weekend (50p for 10) and some Red Shallots (50p for a big bag).

In addition, we've got more herbs than I know what to do with.

Seems to me that if stuff isn't in perfect condition, they just sell it off!

Farway

Amarillo wrote: »

Wilkinsons have packs of summer bulbs that are pretty good value and touch wood are growing. They include a couple of Dahlia tubers that I'm taking cuttings from which makes it more cost effective. Last year I got done half price Sungold plants, 64p for what was supposed to be 4 but was 5. Needed TLC but did well.

FWIW Wilko have reduced the summer tubers / bulbs by 50%, bought some begonia tubers on Saturday at half price

Errata

There's an independent garden centre near me, I've been buying perennials there for 25 years (coughs!), and they're good stock and good value. Although I won't be tempted by their 80cm lollipop shape olive trees at £40 a go, becuase Lidl have the identical plant in next Thursday at £14.99.

Dave101t

im suprised at the quality of the plants flowers and veg in morrisons, all looking lovely and also cheap.
i notice homebase treat plants like stock, if its damaged, price to get rid. no TLC in that place.
good tho if you can afford it.

candygirl

I got a mahoosive red robin bush from the car boot for £6, and got a load of bedding plants for £1 a tray from same one.Would never buy from large garden centres:D:D

Sally_A

Thanks Errata, am tempted with the olive standard, does anyone know if Olea europaea, ie the variety they are selling in Lidls are frost hardy in the UK?