Gardening – How to save money 8 Ways?

The home gardening concept has been popular since ancient times. There’s a lot of pressure on our pockets these days, with budgets becoming tighter and families having to become more frugal. We’re always looking for ways that we can save money in day-to-day life and around our home. Our garden is no exception, and luckily there are many easy ways to save those pennies – and even pounds – on your green space.

We’ve put together a list of tips and tricks about how to save money on gardening.

Buy Seeds Instead of Plants

Most people will go to their local garden centre and pick up plants without even thinking to check the seed section. Buying the seeds for the plants you want works out much cheaper, especially considering the number of plants you can grow from one seed packet. You can plant seeds all year round, with a wide range of seasonal flowers and plants to choose from.

Shop Elsewhere

What’s the first place you think of to buy plants? Probably a garden centre, right? When you’re looking to save money, you can buy plants and seeds from various discount stores and supermarkets. Think of places like Morrisons, Lidl, and even Poundland! Plants from these shops may not have been cared for in the same way they would have been at a garden centre, so make sure to check the condition of the plants before you buy.

Gardening Centre Loyalty Schemes

If you want to stick with a gardening centre for your purchases, choose one with a loyalty scheme. Most centres offer them, with varying benefits from money off, member-only deals or points to exchange for vouchers. Some even have weekly discount days! Making the most of them can add up regarding money saved.

Choose Easy Plants

Especially if you’re just starting with your gardening, plants that are easy to maintain are a great choice. If they’re low maintenance, they’ll be much easier to keep healthy, and you’ll be hard-pushed to kill them. Less dead plants mean less money spent repurchasing or buying other plants. A sure-fire way to save money!

Switch to Artificial Grass

Artificial grass is growing in popularity, and it’s easy to see why. Maintaining your lawn year-round is a time-consuming task; in the colder months it dies back, goes patchy and can even be lost to mud. This means you need to spend time and money on buying new seeds and sewing them, then watering them.

In the warmer months, it grows very quickly, and you spend more time mowing the lawn than you do enjoying it! Artificial grass completely cuts out these problems. No need to buy seeds or even fertilizer, as it stays green and healthy through all the seasons. You don’t even need a lawn mower because it will stay the same length forever. The long-term savings are obvious, as are the benefits.

DIY

DIY options are a good way to cut back on the cash you’re spending on your garden. They’re also fun to do gardening on your own or with the family!

Make Your Own Compost

Making your own compost from your household waste is easy, cheap, and good for the environment too! All you need is a compost bin to start, and soon you’ll be saving money on buying soil and fertilizer.

Keep a good mix of green and brown plant matter in your bin to keep the process low maintenance. Use kitchen waste and – if you haven’t switched to artificial grass – grass clippings for green waste. Avoid dairy, meat or fish if you have an outdoor bin as this may attract pests.  For brown waste, use dry leaves, shredded paper or wood chippings. In no time, you’ll be reaping the benefits of making your compost.

Get Creative

Gardening is an art. Gather twigs and branches that have fallen from trees. These can be used to support sprouting plants, peas, beans and even tomato vines. They look a lot better than plastic, and they’re cheaper too! Put a layer of Vaseline on the bottom of plant pots. This will help keep slugs from getting up to your plants, plus it’s a cheap and easy alternative to copper bands. 

Never know what to do with polystyrene packaging? Break it up and put it in the bottom of your plant pots instead of stones. You won’t need to fill it with as much soil, and the pots will be lighter too, meaning you can move them around your garden much easier.

Instead of buying clothes, you can easily make your own by using plastic bottles! Grab an old plastic bottle, cut the top off and pop it over the plant you want to protect. For larger plants, use larger water bottles or milk cartons. Save your money, and help save the environment. Saving money on your garden doesn’t have to be difficult, and using any one, or a mixture of these tips will help make sure your pockets aren’t feeling much lighter at the end of the day. Give them a try and see for yourself how easy it is to save money on gardening.