Gardening newbie - cheap plants?

firebird082

Just be aware that those are bare roots, super plugs and bulbs - i.e. pretty small to start with - they'll probably look reasonable by the end of the summer, but not early on. Also, it includes 2 buddleias, which are notoriously difficult to keep under control. However, they do grow quickly, so if you want colour this year, not a bad choice (though you might want to pull them out in a couple of years time when everything else is more established!).

Unfortunately it does cost money to start with bigger plants - it's a trade-off against time.

My favourite online sources of plants are Crocus, Crowders and Gardening Express (mentioned above) - have had decent, well packaged plants from all of them. Thompson and Morgan are forever offering money off as well, so can be useful (although much patience and spare pots required for growing plug plants on!).

I'm 2 years in, and my shrubs and trees are looking more solid, but a lot of the garden is still relatively bare! Good luck, and keep us updated

greensalad

I'm now on the quest for cheap pots, along with cheap plants. I never realised terracotta pots were so expensive! And I'm concerned about using wooden or plastic ones if I want to dig them slightly into the bank...

greensalad

Thanks for your advice.

I'm going to ask my Nanny to bring some cuttings over for me and see if I can get any of them to grow indoors too

Mee

Hi greensalad,

I appreciated you raising the question(s)... and the time others took to reply. I have clicked Thanks on some, but couldn't help but notice you have not done likewise on any. There is no compulsion to do so, but couldn't help but raise it...

MrsShazbat

I went around the reduced plants yesterday in Homebase -

pot of 9 daffodils £2.25, still flowering
pack of about 8 tulips £1.99, haven't flowered yet, look about ready to
1litre pot ground covering bedding plant £2.99, still flowering

My mum also bought a tall fuschia reduced from £10 to £3.99 and pot of daffodils as well

chesky

Join your local horticultural society if there is one. Gardeners are usually very generous with cuttings and seeds which they may have gathered from their own plants. My local Waitrose 'red tickets' their plants on their sell but dates, just like food, so keep an eye out. They may look a bit ropey but generally are OK with a little TLC. Hellebores are really quite expensive, by the way.

Read seed packets and find out how and where to plant them - for instance you can plant aquilegia and digitalis seeds directly into the ground.

Mrs_B

Hi greensalad. I wonder if you have seen this on the thread by spasguidedog

http://www.playpennies.com/home/bedding-plant-offer-135-for-gbp-299-270-for-gbp-599-using-code-dobies-of-devon-162604

My garden underwent some serious hard landscaping work by DH last year, and I needed to fill spaces fast and cheap. I am always on the look out for offers in the newspapers and magazines, and am a convert to plug plants and bulbs as a short term measure. If you sign up for the e-mails from places such as Thompson & Morgan, Van Meuwen and the like, they are always sending out offers - to get rid of excesses I would think. My latest successes were getting 450 summer flowering bulbs for just under £10 (including P&P) and 72 summer bedding plug plants for just under £5. It is worth going on their websites too, but I sometimes find their better offers are by e-mail or in the papers.

Talk to your neighbours. One of my elderly neighbours was happy to point out some perennials she was happy for me to take clumps from for free. And if you have a keen gardening neighbour who grows from seed, now is the time to see if you can help them with excesses. If anyone came to me at the moment, the least they would go away with is a courgette plant!

greensalad

Thanks that offer looks great!

I have been peeking over the neighbours fences but one is entirely paved and the other they're clearly not gardeners! I don't have any gardening buddies and most of my friends live in flats

I did buy mint seeds and courgette seeds yesterday and I'm warming them up indoors now to try and get them growing. If I can, then that would be so much cheaper than spending £5-£10 on a plant (and I'll hopefully get 10 courgette plants!

Linda32

greensalad wrote: »

I did buy mint seeds and courgette seeds yesterday and I'm warming them up indoors now to try and get them growing. If I can, then that would be so much cheaper than spending £5-£10 on a plant (and I'll hopefully get 10 courgette plants!

Well you live and learn and you say you are a newbie! I've had an allotment for the past 10 years, and can usually be found reading something garden related or watching something on TV and I have never heard of mint grown from seed. I get that it must come from somewhere I just never expected it to be ordinary growers.

I know where to come for help in the future

As for the courgettes, 10 will be more than enough

greensalad

Linda32 wrote: »

Well you live and learn and you say you are a newbie! I've had an allotment for the past 10 years, and can usually be found reading something garden related or watching something on TV and I have never heard of mint grown from seed. I get that it must come from somewhere I just never expected it to be ordinary growers.

I know where to come for help in the future

As for the courgettes, 10 will be more than enough

Ha yes they're tiny little seeds that are almost invisible! I'm planning to put them in a hanging basket near my kitchen window. I've put them on top of the soil (it said not to cover them with earth) and then put a dome on top of them (old plastic bottle cut up) to get them warm as recommended. Nothing yet.

Courgettes I've been recommended to cover them in plastic and place them somewhere warm to get started so I've done that. Nothing yet.