A thrifty guide to growing plants & flowers for free

Good Morning autumnal lovelies, I just spent a lovely day in the garden, getting it ready for Autumn. I filled my brown bin to the brim and woke the neighbour's baby several times after walking face-first into spiders webs. But before the summer comes to a close I wanted to share some tips on filling your garden with beautiful flowers without spending a penny (literally that is). While some of you may relish an afternoon traipsing around Homebase, others may not (myself included) - and the following will not only save you money, it will also give you a far deeper sense of satisfaction and you'll love your garden all the more for it.

Sharing flowers with your neighbours

Now before you head out into the garden and start cutting back all your plants - (which I'm sure has therapeutic benefits and often reminds me of cutting Hubby's hair) stop, and take a look around. More often than not, ole Mrs Miggin's next door has let her plants go wild and they're clambering all over your side of the fence. But rather than hacking away at her prize Geraniums, why not entice them into your garden instead? For example - my shed was looking pretty bare and I really wanted a 'Santa's grotto' vibe so I enticed Mrs Miggin's straggly old bush onto my shed. I didn't even need to hold it in place (it had suckers!) and now it's almost completely covered and I didn't spend a penny. 

More tips for accumulating new plants for free

Collecting seeds .... 

At this time of year flower heads dry up and their seeds fall out or fly off in the wind. If you collect these carefully you can store them (in pretty little packets!) or sow them in Autumn  and you'll have have a flower-filled garden come spring! For more info check out this BBC Gardening article. 

Sharing seeds ...

Did you know there are seed swapping / sharing events? check out http://www.seedysunday.org

Or browse the Internet to find one near by.

Transplanting ...

Or as I like to call it - Pulling them up by the roots out of your mums / mates garden and plopping them in yours, Easy peasy! Autumn / winter is a good time to move plants as they're dormant, but not all plants can handle a move so have a google beforehand to make sure.

Dividing plants ...

Certain plants get so big it helps them enormously if you divide them into smaller plants (chives for example) and not only does it help them, you also multiply your plant! Again, autumn is a great time to do this. However you might not want four of the same plant so why not do a swap with friends to get some new shrubs into your garden?! I've swapped a few plants this way so it's a win win all round. But do check beforehand as dividing doesn't work with all plants and some plants will look at you aghast!

Further reading ...

With a little thought we can easily save pennies. I love making arrangements just from wild flowers and plants I find in the hedgerows all year round and will be posting on this later in the year. In the meantime if you feel you need a little help in the garden I suggest  'The Thrifty Gardener'  by Alys Fowler. I don't usually recommend a book if I haven't read it but this girl knows her stuff so we're in good hands. But for now, get out there and start luring in your neighbours plants!

JM x

Note: Please note, I cannot be held responsible should you get into trouble for luring your neighbours plant into your garden. I suggest you only work with plants that are already hanging over your fence (so now your property) and refrain from pulling them over at 4am in the morning : )