You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get growing. There are plenty of ways you can grow your own fruit and vegetables, make your garden look fabulous, or enjoy a houseful of plants without spending more than a few pounds.  It’s a good idea to plan a budget beforehand. Here are a few ideas; put your creative hat on and get started:

Upcycling ideas:

Try upcycling items you have lying around in your garden or in your home. Try charity shops, builders, markets, social media selling pages, or even friends and family. There are often items on offer that people want to get rid of, you could do something magical with it.

• Upcycle old furniture to store your gardening equipment or use it as a place to plant your flowers/herbs/shrubs.
• Use an old wooden pallet to create a unique plant display on your fence. Or create a raised bed by adding a few pallets to create height.
• Upcycle disused objects as planters, for example, old watering cans, buckets, or even shoes.  Old terracotta pots can easily be painted. You could get your children involved and have them displayed in your garden, on your patio, or on a balcony.
• Have a broken water feature? Turn it into a rockery with alpines and succulents. They will grow mostly anywhere and this will be a fantastic display to wow your guests.

Photo by GAP Photography

Take cuttings:

If you can’t afford to buy lots of plants to fill your garden an easy way to get more is to propagate your own from cuttings. See our helpful ‘How to’ guide on taking cuttings at home. In plenty of time, you’ll have a garden filled with more of your favourite plants that started from only a few. Cuttings can also be taken from houseplants – share and swap with friends to grow your houseplant family!

Here are a few more ideas:

• Make your own compost – vegetable cuttings, coffee grounds, leaves, grass cuttings, fruit peels (aim for 25 – 50% soft green, the remainder should be woody brown)
• Collect rainwater – use buckets/a watering can/a large container – water butt
• Use recycled materials for containers – use toilet roll tubes/newspaper – See our ‘How to’ Make a Biodegradable Seed Pot guide
• Remove and store seeds from plants or vegetables
• Grow your own food – grow what you know you’ll eat
• There are Facebook gardening groups full of ideas – we have our own group called ‘Grow with Perrywood in 2021’  ask for advice, tips, and share photos.

Photo by GAP Photography

If you don’t have your own garden, you could volunteer for a local group. Get involved with a community project by tidying up a communal garden or volunteering for a charity. You could do wonders by helping others, you’re also gardening to keep yourself active and enjoy your passion. Do you have a neighbour or family that needs help with a garden that’s too big to do on their own? Maybe you could help them out and share your gardening tips!