Best places to get plants on a budget?

As a new gardener and a nearly bare garden it would seem I could plant loads of good sizes plants etc but the cost would be huge with say £20 - £100 each for bigger plants/shrubs/trees available in garden centres/nursereys. Even littler ones at £6 each would soon add upto a lot if I need say 30 or 40 of them.

So what do people do?

I've heard Morrisons mentioned on here I can check my local one to see if they have anything cheap... (dont remember seeing plants there though)

And freetrader I can keep any eye on (joined it today) - do people regularly give plants away?

I've bought 6 propogators and lots of seeds in hope of growing many from seed but don't know about success or usefullness yet though and they seem to be mostly annuals etc - would it be worth trying to grow bigger shrubs etc from seeds?

I also got quite a few plants from my Mum - there are about the only things in my garden right now.

Are garden centres better/worse than nursereys?

 

Garden centres vary in terms of value for money but most of the ones that I know are still cheaper than nurseries. The more expensive garden centres tend to have a better range of plants, though.

The DIY sheds that have gardening departments are cheap but you need to know what you're looking at. Their plant stock goes tatty quickly but of course, this means you can haggle for bargains.

I find the cheapest plants in good condition are in markets. Near me, there are two markets (Salisbury and Romsey) where the plants are so good, so cheap, it would be criminal NOT to buy them! I've also had good success at car boot sales but you need to be choosy.

Good hunting.

 

Don't forget that some plants can be propagated very easily from cuttings, which is faster than seeds (and you are sure of getting the same plant, seedsdon't always cometrue). If you have one big hydranges you can get lots of hydrangeas next year by taking cuttings this summer. I say hydrangeas because they are really quite easy, but there are many others. Forsithias, if you like them. Even some trees can be grown from cttings. Poplars and willows may be the easiest of these, and they grow fast. Note that some poplars and willows are very attractive some are little more than oversized weeds.
Maples grow fast from seed, and ailanthus, and horse chestnuts.
It requires a bit of organization and patience, but it can be done.

 

Supermarkets do sell plants at reasonable prices, Tesco had a plant for a pound sale last week, and Lidl/Aldi are worth checking out too.

I tend to buy plants form car boot sales - haven't found anywhere cheaper. You can find some bargains at garden centres - and as Ivory says, you can take cuttings (of the plants you've bought - ot directly from the garden centre stock :D), and some can be divided too.

However, the smaller the price, the smaller the plant, so the supermarket and garden centre cheaper end tends to be for smaller plants that are younger and will take longer to establish/grow to full size.

The very best way I would suggest is to get talking to other local gardeners, as most are more than happy for their divisions etc. to go to a good home!

 

I second that..................Jarbax you took the words out of my mouth:thumb:

 

Id recommend being cheeky and if you see a plant in your neighbors garden or in anyone's garden just knock on the door and ask for a cutting or seed:p another good one is to swap cuttings or seeds on the forum, carboots and school fates or local WI sales we have one near us every Friday and you can buy plants at a fraction of there true value.

also sometimes florists have pot plants for sale and generally have a hard time getting rid of certain plants so if you notice that a particular plant has been in there a while just go in and ask if you could have it for cheap..especially if the flowers have died off (I've got free orchids this way)

 

I always have a good look around B&Q and homebase. I've had a few shrubs from homebase recently that had been reduced because they need a little tlc, usually they just need a bigger pot and some decent watering. An example is that I got two shrubs which should have been £10 each and were marked at 1/2 price, when I got to the till the lad noticed a sticker on them which said £10 each or 2 for £16 so he gave me half price on the £16 and charged me £8. At £4 each for two large shubs I'd call that a bargin!
Car boots are good and freecycle has done me well in the past too. You could try placing a wanted ad, people often have things that need thining out such as grasses and would rather give some to you than throw it away.

 

I've bought lots of stuff from www.mirrorgarden.co.uk , they often have bogof offers plus free plants if you spend over a certain amount, last week I got a free mimosa azalea and ten lillies. We have a local Saturday market where the plants are a fraction of the cost at garden centres and they make up hanging baskets for you from a fiver, plants included.

 

Hello men8ifr, now plenty of people won't agree with me, but when I either spot an old house/derilict etc, or if a property is being refurbished with skips etc. in the garden I go and knock on the door and ask if I could 'rescue' the plants that are about to be trampled... WONDERFUL! I've managed to get rather a lot of 'supplies' this way!!

Springy
x

 

Well i would agree with you! i got two Camellia japonica 'Bob's Tinsie' like that from a bungalow down the road from me, some new people bought the place at auction and i had heard from a "nosy" next door neighbor that they were concreting over the front garden to park there 4x4 on, so i offered to digg both the shrubs out if i could have them:D

 

Excellent!!! Let's all do this, eh? I doubt we'll push the Garden Centres out of business, and it's a whole lot better than seeing otherwise perfectly good plants being trashed!!

S
x

 

I use the garden centre for some, but also often freecycle and my local market.

 

I got 48 lobelia from B&Q's reduced shelves today for £4 - a few past it but the majority will come good.

And for £9 (inc shipping) I also got 12 plugs plants of Margeurites off Ebay which I am delighted with. Works out at 75p per plant.

If you ask around, members on here will happily send seeds and more. There is a forum called Exchanges you can check out offers.

 

I love a bargain no matter what it is I have managed to get my hands of quite a few bargain plants only last autumn B & Q had a huge sale on with it's winter bedding plants Bob and I kept going back for days on end until all that was left were poorly looking plants. The price I paid for my beauties were a mere £1 per tray 24 pansys to the tray and 12 primroses to an tray, the primroses have only just finsihed flowering and as for the pansys well there are still flowering like mad even now!

I hunt car boots for plants too most Sundays I get up at 5am just to get the best plants on offer and I find some real beauties there, it's also really nice to chat with the grower as most have an awful lot of information that they share quite freely with you and it's wonderful to met another gardening buff and share in their enthusiasm about the plants they are selling not to mention you get the plants blooming cheap compared to most garden centers! Hel.xxx.

 

Don't you have to pay to get into most car boots - say £6 or so? So only worth it if you come back with a lot of plants. I don't reember seeing plants at car boots before (though it is a long time since i've been) do thay all have them - where would I find my nearest? cheers