Style on a Budget


© Jane Hollis

Would you like your garden to be an individual creation, that reflects your own personality and desires, and stands out from the crowd? Bored with the conventional format of a few evergreen shrubs and bedding plants around the lawn, plus a hanging basket?

The first step is work out what you really require from your garden and whether you need or want all the traditional garden components. You might not want a lawn at all, or you might choose to grow longer grass with wildflowers in it. You might choose not to have any flowers, just concentrating on foliage, or you could even choose not to have any plants at all (inconceivable as it may seem to plantaholics like myself!). You could decide to grow vegetables in your front garden, if it is sunnier and more fertile than at the back. I have even seen a garden decorated with hundreds of plastic dolls!

You can get many good ideas by scanning the pages of garden magazines and visiting garden shows like the Chelsea Flower Show. Many of the items exhibited there, however, will be very expensive - a life-size bronze sculpture or a mature tree fern may add an extra special touch to your garden, but how many of us can afford these? Yet down at the local garden centre the choice, because they have to cater for the middle-of-the-road market, you may be limited to a choice of very ordinary (yet undeniably useful) plants and concrete Venuses.

So is it a choice between affordability and individuality. Not necessarily so, but if you can't afford a lot of money to create your garden, you will need to invest some time instead.

Plants:

Growing from seed is a cheap way to propagate a wide range of plants - including some unusual ones. You can obtain seed from seed companies, such as DT Brown or Chiltern Seeds. (If you are a member of societies such as the Royal Horticultural Society or the Alpine Garden Society, you can participate in their seed distribution schemes.

Specialist nurseries will usually stock plants that you won't see in the garden centres. Many of these can be found in the Plantfinder guide. A lot of these nurseries offer mail order, if you can find nowhere locally. Also, keep an eye out on your travels for the handpainted signs indicating small nurseries run by enthusiastic amateurs - many treasures can be found in these places and at reasonable prices. You can also visit one of the many plant fairs which are organised around the country, where small nurseries sell their stock. And always be fulsome in your praise of any

     

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Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages

16.   Apr 21, 1999 11:52 PM
We have started taking Anna to the local swimming pool regularly - perhaps we should enrol her for swimming lessons now, then we can start creating ponds in the garden!

It will do us no harm, thoug ...


-- posted by JaneHollis


15.   Apr 20, 1999 7:51 PM
I didn't answer your question. I cannot remember how I came up with the idea! Kees used to go to the weekly auctions on Saturday when I was a marriage celebrant and I think he came home with the cop ...

-- posted by Gay_Klok


14.   Apr 20, 1999 7:43 PM
Jane, I waited so long for grandchildren taht I went ahead and wall to wall carpeted the house in oyster pink [here in the town] and the "Big Pond Cinderella" is very close to the house at "Kibbenjelo ...

-- posted by Gay_Klok


13.   Apr 20, 1999 1:04 PM
for the photo Gay. What gave you the inspiration for the idea in the first place?

I can't wait until my daughter is a little older and we can incorporate more water into the garden (although we ar ...


-- posted by JaneHollis


12.   Apr 20, 1999 6:46 AM
We have had them for a while so I am not sure - 2 were bought at auction together and one at an auction earlier - they were approx $30 each but were not wanted for jam, in too bad a condition ...

-- posted by Gay_Klok





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