With the weather slowly warming up and the spring and summer seasons swiftly approaching, talk turns to gardening and how we’re going to revive the look of our outdoor spaces. Gardening can be a fun and enjoyable past time but it isn’t half expensive. Find out how you can make your garden beautiful no matter what your budget and trust me, we know it’s a tight one.
Upcycle your Household Waste
Nowadays, there’s so much emphasis on recycling your household waste with many a coloured refuse bin to prove it! But why not put old bottles, tin cans and newspaper to use in your garden and save yourself some money in the process?
Recycle old newspapers and create a new home for your seedlings this spring. Newspapers can be made into small pots and best of all it makes planting your new seedlings outside less of a messy job, you simply place these biodegradable paper pots straight into the ground.
Old tin cans also make sturdier pots for larger plants, simply wash the tins out and drill small holes in the bottom of each can to provide sufficient drainage for your blooming plants.
The Natural Alternative
The autumn and winter seasons do have their benefits when it comes to gardening during the cooler months trees lose their leaves and branches so take advantage of this to set you up for summer.
Collect the bare twigs littering your garden and use them as plant supports. You’ll save lots of money compared to buying plastic supports and better still, you can shred these twigs after use and make mulch out of them! It doesn’t stop there; old and laddered tights can be used with these twig supports.
These offer a soft, strong and cost-effective alternative to nylons and plant ties, which can be abrasive to delicate plant stems.
Making your own mulch is the obvious money saver when gardening so get busy collecting leaves. Simply rake them to one side throughout the winter months, then spread onto your flower beds to give new plants that extra boost.
Another alternative is to make your own compost. Whilst like mulch this can be done with the remnants of other planets it can also be done use human waste. For this you’ll need a composting toilet, which ideal for communal gardens and allotments.
Grow Your Own
Thinking of growing your own or already have your own vegetable patch? Plan ahead for the spring and summer months by considering which veggies and fruits to grow.
By planning your patch you can instantly cut your food shopping bill, so consider fruits and vegetables that give you the best value for money and are particularly expensive to buy. Also consider varieties that have a particularly high yield, giving you the resources to make food go further.
Your shopping bill is not the only thing that can benefit from gardening, this popular past time burns plenty of calories meaning no expensive gym membership. Save money on your water bill too by investing in a water butt and make use of the 85,000 litres of water that fall onto our roofs each year to reduce your water bill.
Deal with Pests Humanely
Slugs cause a huge problem for gardeners especially with the wet weather we’ve been having. You can deal with them humanely with just a slick of Vaseline. Add Vaseline to the rims of plant pots to keep pesky pests like slug at bay and away from your precious plants!
If you’re in need of a reputable gardener or a specialist in home improvements your best to find someone using LocalTraders.
