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10 money-saving tips for a lean but green spring

Alice Vincent makes the most of a tiny balcony - Andrew Crowley
Alice Vincent makes the most of a tiny balcony - Andrew Crowley

The other week I visited my parents and, for the first time, marvelled at their shed. I've seen rooms for rent that are smaller; it houses a chest of drawers full of gardening gloves and neatly stacked, artfully aged terracotta pots on shelves. It's not a far cry from the shabby chic garden design shops that are popping up all over Hackney.

So it was a surprise for me to learn that millennials (of which I, at 28, am one) have been found to spend more money on their gardens than the over-55s. According to hard landscaping specialists, Marshalls, we apparently spend an average £215.92 - the price of a festival ticket -each year, while our parents shell out a mere £193.27.

Being a millennial in London means that I feel enormously fortunate to have a balcony, let alone a garden. And as for spending £215.92 on it? I've always maintained that gardening can be done well, cheaply. Here are some of the best ways to save money this spring - no matter how old you are.

Hunt for bargains

Look for the deals. I'm a big fan of the impromptu plant purchase but it swiftly adds up. Instead, treat garden shopping as you would groceries or holiday planning - plan ahead, make a list and search for the best deals.

Easter weekend is traditionally a buying bonanza and retailers such as Tesco and Wyevale have deals on garden furniture at the moment, while plant suppliers usually list offers on their website. For example, Sarah Raven has 20 per cent off a large variety of container plants, while Mr Fothergills has offers on seeds, wildflowers and fruit.

Look out for free seeds

Packets of wild flowers seeds - Credit: Alamy
Be on the look out for free seeds! Credit: Alamy

Many environmentally friendly brands and initiatives will deliver free packets of seeds to further their conservation aims. Sometimes these partner up with food brands for giveaways: Just Bee Honey Water is giving away seeds in exchange for a few details.

Visit Latest Free Stuff and check under gardening for more ideas.

Use local compost

I don't have room for a compost bin but there are some good people on my housing estate who make compost out of the communal food waste, and rocket fuel fertiliser from the run-off. If you don't have the space or energy to make compost yourself, look online to find a local source.

Reuse (within reason)

Wellington boot - Credit: Dominic Jones/Alamy
Reboot: take up the reuse challenge Credit: Dominic Jones/Alamy

The internet is littered with half-baked crafting ideas for transforming various objects (wooden pallets, oil drums, shoes) into planters but there's something to be said for reusing things before you buy new.

For example, sandwich bags and elastic bands make very good propagators. I've long used a pencil as a dibber. A water bottle can double as a watering can and polystyrene plant trays can be broken up to make good crocks for drainage.

Six-pint milk bottles and two-litre bottles, sawn in half and skewered in the bottom, make excellent pots, especially for trailing plants which soon cover the sides.

Start a plant swap

Despite only having 4 sq m of outdoor space, I've wound up with 12 baby tomato plants: if you grow from seed, chances are you'll end up with more plants than you need.

But someone else might delight in one of my (expertly grown, of course) 'Alisa' or 'Marmande' tomato tiddlers and even trade something they've grown.

Chat with fellow growers, and if you don't know any, take to Twitter or Facebook - gardeners thrive online.

Save your pots

Plant pots - Credit: Diane Randell/Alamy
Keep your old plant pots! Credit: Diane Randell/Alamy

I may not have such a charming shelving system as my parents (nor a shed), but I haven't bought a seed tray in years because I keep plastic plant pots for raising seedlings. It's essential you give them a good scrub before you reuse them, to stop any disease.

Raid the charity shops

My passion for plants, vintage and books has created a lethal Venn diagram in the form of hunting for retro gardening tomes. I'm yet to meet one for more than £1.50 and they are teeming with both hilariously outdated interior design and solid knowledge.

Join a community garden

Community garden - Credit: Heathcliff O'Malley
Community gardens can be a great place to get free plants Credit: Heathcliff O'Malley

Stand around long enough and I'll extol the virtues of community gardens but it's a great place to earn free plants for your time. Last time I volunteered I came away with some leftover Hibiscus trionum seeds and a cutting of tea-approved mint.

Weekly shopping list

Nurseries and flower markets are worth supporting but a few trays of supermarket annuals can also be a real money saver. I've kept a £2 geranium from Sainsbury's alive for three years. Aldi and Lidl usually have bargains too.

Rescue a plant

A garden nursery in early spring - Credit: Trevor Chriss/Alamy
Visit a nursery Credit: Trevor Chriss/Alamy

At some point, you have to part ways with cash. But don't head straight for the best-looking plants. Most nurseries will have a few on sale, possibly annuals at the end of a season or sad-looking perennials.

I like to think of these as rescue plants - and they're worth a try. My muehlenbeckia obsession started with a 50p specimen on the brink of dormancy (it revived the year after) and two years ago I squeezed six weeks of bloom out of some half-price cornflowers, osteospermum and gypsophila.

Alice Vincent's book, How to Grow Stuff, is out now (Ebury Press, £12.99)

Find her on Instagram.com/noughticulture

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