dd wants a pretty garden - not much cash !!

[trinni]

Hi all

We have a tidy, small but boring back garden. Mostly lawn with a couple of flower beds and some yellow chipping.

Dd wants to transform it into a pretty place to sit in the evening.

Anyone have any cheap and cheerful ideas, without splashing too much cash?

Try your local gardening club/society - often members give away spare seeds at very low cost/free as well as surplus plants.

Thanks for that idea MrsSnaplegs, don't know whether we have one in my area but will definitely check.

give me a rough idea where you live and I can find you something.

Other option is gardening mag with free seeds on front - only get it if something you want grow obviously

also plant offers in some of weekend papers ok but need to know what you want to grow - go to library now it is school hols - borrow some gardening books and set DD a holiday project to "plan" the garden, then work out from there what you need

look on freecycle and in freeads of local paper for tools and plants - place a freecycle ad for spare plants

Ask on freecycle for garden furniture and tubs etc too if you want them - bet lots of people will be upgrading theirs and getting rid of old ones during the summer.

MrsSN, I live in Wellington Somerset.

I will give freecycle a go too. Will look online now!

OK, have joined the Taunton freecycle group. Membership pending, so will wait excitedly!
Thanks

Fairy Lights are cheap and cheerful for a garden of an evening...

www.wellingtonsomerset.com/clubs.htm#wgc

Wellington Gardening Club listed here - good first point of call.

www.nccpg.com/In-your-area/Local-Groups/Somerset/Group-Events.aspx

Plant Heritage group - has plant sales an hour before the meeting for members

I also seem to remember years ago my mum going to the "last day" of shows like Bath and West and waiting until the very end when stallholders were dismantling stands - often had stuff given to her then - times have changed a bit in 30 years so probably wouldn't happen now

Thanks MrsSnaplegs for your help. I know where the gardening club is held and it isn't far from me either.

Have also joined freecycle, lots of interesting things there.

Solar powered lights. Good in the borders, or to have as a table top light.
I bought a solar garden light recently from B&Q similar to this. Very good, especially against a wall as it casts an intricate pattern.

People on freecycle give away seeds and cuttings too.
The pound shops/99p stores have aisles with loasds of garden stuff on.

Am pregnant and hormonal... How sweet that you want to make a lovely garden for your DD - she will never forget this. Hope it works out beautifully!

If your freecycle allows requests, you could ask for any plant divisions/cuttings etc of pretty flowers & herbs. Most gardeners I know are only too happy to give away spare bits of things

I'm a veg gardener not a flower person, so don't know the proper names, but we have what I know as an African daisy which is perennial, you just pull off bits of root/plant to divide it, and it makes big (saucer sized) daisy type flowers all summer - my ultimate easy flower that you can stick at the edges of sheds etc to pretty them up a bit.