Spring is finally here, and it’s time to breathe new life into your garden! The great news? You don’t need to break the bank to create a beautiful outdoor space.
With a little creativity and some clever tricks, you can make a big impact without spending a fortune. Here’s how to get started.
Small spaces, big potential
Not everyone has a sprawling lawn or flower-filled borders, but even the tiniest of gardens can bloom beautifully. If you’re working with a compact patio, balcony, or terrace, container gardening is your best friend.
Herbs like parsley, basil, and thyme thrive in pots, and they’re perfect for keeping near your kitchen door or on a sunny windowsill, ready for your next culinary masterpiece. If flowers are more your style, bulbs, and annuals such as petunias and geraniums will add vibrant colour in no time.
For an easy win, why not try growing microgreens? It’s as simple as growing cress like you might have done as a child. All you need is a shallow tray, some seeds, and a sunny windowsill — perfect for adding fresh, homegrown greens to your salads and sandwiches.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Garden makeovers don’t have to mean pricey new purchases. Repurposing materials can be fun, eco-friendly, and seriously effective.
Old wooden pallets are brilliant for creating wall-hanging planters, raised beds, or even insect hotels. Just be sure to avoid any marked with ‘MB’ or ‘SF’ (these chemicals aren’t garden-friendly) or blue pallets used in exports, which are not for public use. Once you’ve secured some pallets, give them a good clean and either leave them rustic or add a splash of colour with outdoor paint.
Other handy upcycling ideas include using corks to edge flower beds, old dishes and trays for growing fast-growing crops like rocket and salad leaves and turning plastic milk bottles into plant labels — just remember to use waterproof markers so that your labels don’t wash away!
Get clever with cuttings
Why pay for new plants when you can grow your own from cuttings? Spring through to summer (March to August) is the prime time to take cuttings. And if you fancy filling your home with flowers all summer long, now’s the time to start sowing cut flowers like sweet peas, cosmos, and zinnias. Your future self will thank you when you’ve got armfuls of blooms all season long!
Use a sharp garden knife or secateurs to take a 3-6 inch cutting from a healthy, pest-free, non-flowering shoot. Cutting at a 45-degree angle improves the chances of rooting.
Simply pop the cutting into a pot of moist compost and keep it somewhere warm and sheltered. Before long, you’ll have a new plant ready to thrive in your garden or in pots on your patio.
Be a savvy shopper
Whether you’re a gardening guru already or still a green thumb in training, a trip to your local garden centre is always time well-spent. And now that you’ve taken stock of what you can repurpose from home, you can head out to shop for – and only spend on – what you really need.
So, if you’re investing in plants consider these cost-saving tips:
- Plant summer bulbs now: get ahead by planting bulbs like lilies, gladioli, and dahlias now for a summer full of vibrant colour.
- Buy bare root plants: These are often cheaper than their potted counterparts and are best planted in early spring before they start actively growing.
- Try grafted trees: Grafted trees are specially grown to combine the strengths of two species — one for strong roots, and one for beautiful foliage. For example, a flamingo willow grafted onto a sturdy trunk will stay compact, hardy, and less prone to disease — a great investment for smaller gardens.
Perfecting your flower beds
Healthy plants start with healthy soil. And one of the easiest ways to improve your soil is with no-dig gardening. By skipping the digging, you’ll protect the delicate structure of the soil, maintaining the natural drainage channels created by worms and preserving vital fungal networks that help plants grow strong. It also keeps carbon locked in the ground — a win for the environment too!
Starting a no-dig bed is simple. For new beds over grass or weeds, lay down a double layer of cardboard, overlapping the sheets to keep persistent weeds at bay. Ditch any shiny printed cardboard and remove staples or tape first.
Next, cover the cardboard with a thick layer (10-15cm) of organic mulch like compost or well-rotted manure. If you’re keen to plant straight away, dampen the cardboard before adding the mulch to kickstart the process.
A blooming good idea!
With a bit of planning, some clever recycling, and a few savvy purchases, you can transform your garden into a springtime paradise without spending a fortune. And at Howden, we’ve got a blooming good giveaway to help brighten up your spring…
Each of our local high street branches is giving away 100 seed packets for free! These seeds are a small, yet powerful way to encourage people to reconnect with nature, help wildlife thrive, and promote growth and renewal for the season ahead. Pop into your local branch to collect yours!
Sources: RHS, Which? Gardeners World, National Trust
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This is a marketing blog by Howden Insurance.