To create a whole garden from seeds? Save money on a blank slate

[Sickofthisheat]

Has anyone done it rather than buying plants from a garden centre? I have inherited a medium sized garden , a few trees only 2 perennials. I am going for cottage feel, lots of natives and wanting a natural informal feel. Vegetables etc... Would love some recomendations/ advice and pictures would be wonderful

First of all, do you have a greenhouse? I think you would need one to fill a whole garden with perennials from seed.

Sounds a great idea, and also ask around friends and neighbours for cuttings and better still, clumps . Especially neighbours as they will have similar soil to you, so what works in their gardens will probably work in yours.
If you mention that you are doing up your garden, and growing from seed, I bet lots of gardeners will offer you things.
But not everything grows from seed, you will need bulbs for things like daffodils and bluebells.

Seeds tend to be for annuals. Or, if you are growing perennials, they take a long time to get to any size. I agree that cuttings or clumps will be a quicker way to fill the space - ask family, friends, freecycle, facebook, etc.
But do the seeds, too. Then you can offer something back for their kindness.

Cottage gardens are great in summer but don't forget about planning for the rest of the year, too.

It’s definitely worth asking around - maybe put a request out on Freecycle? Lots of gardeners are keen to share clumps and cuttings but maybe seeds too? It sounds like you already have a few key plants - the existing trees etc to give your garden a bit of structure.

If you are a member of the RHS then you can send off for free seeds from their collections which might give you a few more interesting plants.

For veg then I have found moreveg.co.uk to be really good. They do reasonably priced small packs of interesting varieties. If you only want half a dozen tomato plants for example it works out far cheaper than the garden centre packs of 000s.

It might also be worth exploring your local horticulture society for deals on plants and seeds.

good luck with your garden op. It might take a while to get going but will be worth it in the end!

I've recently got a greenhouse and am trying to grow more from seeds and cuttings. It is cheaper but it's generally very labour intensive and quite a bit dies if not carefully nurtured.

Super easy stuff to grow from seed which looks nice in a cottage garden: poppies, foxgloves (Although bi-annual so they won't flower the first year), nigella, oxeye daisies, yarrow (Although is quite stinky), cornflowers and honeywort.

If you're on Instagram take a look at Paris Alma and Zoe Woodward gardening who grow a lot from seed and have loads of tips (and tempting seed sales)

Agree getting clumps or cuttings from friends and neighbours is a great way to go, I'm often digging out or dividing and happy to share.

I am getting a greenhouse, I also have a conservatory and large sunny windows. I am open to plant bulbs and tubors too. I'm trying to get more for my money as it would cost far too much to buy established plants from a garden centre. Good idea about clumps from people. I have tried to take rosemary cuttings but no sign of anything yet after 2 weeks in water on the window sill. I do have hormone rooting powder but am a complete starter with propagation so have yet to try that

I have a lot of the seeds you mention in my basket at the moment so that is good to hear

Thank you for all your suggestions. I know what I'll be doing today. I love the idea of giving our my seedlings too. Hopefully I will find some like minded people locally

I don't know if you've got a Morrisons near you but mine is very good for plants. They generally have a plant of the week for £1.25 and at any given time a decent selection of things for £2 or 2 for £3. Yes they're small plants but they do grow, and if they die you haven't spent much on them! When I dug out a new bed a couple of years ago I chucked a selection of bulbs in first, slowly added cheap plants and had bits and pieces given to me. Three years on and it's really starting to look established.

I moved into my home around 18 months ago and had mainly conifers in the garden. I have grown a lot of things from seed such as grasses, foxgloves, echinacea, poppies then annuals such as cosmos, salvias, nigella, lobelia, nicotinia, petunias, snapdragons, sweet peas and sunflowers. I have planted dahlia tubers and have lots of spring bulbs on order. I have also gradually seeded the lawn (gradually getting rid of the artificial grass). I have no prior growing experience. I used sunny windowsills. I have really enjoyed the process and it looks so much better than when we moved in. Had lots of positive comments from neighbours too. I have bought some shrubs too to give some structure and used the neighbours gardens to see what was growing well for them. Good luck!

Have you grown from seed before? It's incredibly fun and rewarding but quite tricky sometimes, and time and space-intensive when you start needing to pot stuff on and plant out at the right times. I lose so much because I leave them in their cells or pots too long when I just don't have time to garden. I started in 2020 and am still getting the hang of things.

Hardy annuals can be sown soon but you need something to protect them over winter (and realistically if we get a very hard winter they might all die). Perennials will take a long time to get big enough to fill the garden from seed. Bulbs are brilliant, and look good even in an otherwise bare garden in early spring. They're quite expensive though, and bear in mind most tulips don't come back year after year.

There's a brilliant gardening community on Instagram, I highly recommend Zoe Woodward, therosepressgarden and lookinsidemygarden for tips and enthusiasm 😁Once you've followed them you'll start seeing others suggested.

I have tried to take rosemary cuttings but no sign of anything yet after 2 weeks in water on the window sill.
If you go to the supermarket you can find "living herbs" - a cheap source of rosemary (especially if on a yellow sticker reduction!)

I know you're enquiring about seeds, but do you know about The Secret Gardening Club? They sell bargain perennials.

I think it’s an exciting idea. Perennials I have grown from seed (without a greenhouse) include gaura and globe artichokes, which are both fairly structural. Lady’s mantle seeds itself all over the place so might be worth getting.
Rosemary cuttings usually root well in pots but I’ve tended to do it in spring or summer.

Early summer

I've done my container garden on the cheap this year. Got £1 seeds from b&q at the end of last year. They were almost out of date, but have had successful germination. Poundland seed packets have had good results too. Try Poundland bulbs/corms/tubers as well.

For the past 3 years, i've successfully grown tomatoes from the seeds of ones from the supermarket. This year's are waitrose cherry and Aldi baby plums.

Good luck! I love growing from seed as I find the process quite therapeutic and have a large table in my conservatory for the seedlings. Not everyone does on either count, tho.

For perennials, definitely ask people you know for cuttings or clumps. Most gardeners love to share 😁

I grew honesty for the first time last year ( it’s a biennial I think ) fabulous flowers this year and seed pods are lovely too ( in pic )
apparently it self seeds , so will carry on next year
Every year I grow cosmos , sweet peas , nasturtium , poppies
sometimes I buy a mix of wildflower seeds , they look a bit wild ( like the name says !) but really good for bees and butterflies
I’ll also suggest marigolds , bought them as cheap plants from Tesco , and they just keep going

Have a look at plug plants for perennials- you get them really tiny so have to keep potting on, but I’m a bit of a neglectful gardener and have managed to keep most alive til they were big enough to go out. I bought a mystery pack from Primrose, I think, or Thompson & Morgan, like this

It's definitely possible 90% of my garden is from seed and cuttings. I think the only things I bought were my dwarf fruit trees.

Got £1 seeds from b&q at the end of last year. They were almost out of date, but have had successful germination. Poundland seed packets have had good results too. Try Poundland bulbs/corms/tubers as well.
Aldi do some very cheap seeds.
And don't forget good old Wilko.

Foxgloves and Hollyhocks are easy to grow from seed and l fill my garden with them, l know there can be some controversy re foxgloves as they are poisonous but l have been growing them in my garden for many many years , they selfseed, and l have cats and a dog, no problems, (obviously no good if you have young children) Also Dahlias are very easy to grow, you can buy one tuber and get a few cuttings from it as it grows, a quick and cheap way to increase your stock, videos on youtube as to how to do it. The single flowered dahlias are better for the bumble bees to access. Salvias are good value, and like Dahlias flower away for months if you deadhead, again easy enough to take cuttings. l am growing Salvia Amistad, in purple, this year in a border with soft apricot and peach cobblet salvias, it is covered in bees at the moment. Cosmos, marigolds and californian poppies also really easy to grow, l just sprinkle the seeds directly on the borders.
Sarah Raven and Claus Dalby have beautiful gardens and helpful ideas and advice on youtube.
Some of the seeds l sow summer in advance, l have trays of hollycocks, foxgloves and Verbena B, on the go at the moment, l plant them in the Autumn and they never fail to deliver.
I also grow lots of old fashioned roses such as David Austin variety, they aren' t cheap but l have a real soft spot for them, as well as the lovely small bell like clematis such as Queen Mother. Its all trial and error, l plan my borders, some ideas work better than others, l have other borders with trees, shrubs and evergreens that l barely have to touch, just the odd trim, but my flower borders are solely flowers because l prefer the overall effect of big natural drifts. l also have tiny warm white solar lights amongst my flowers that twinkle away in the evenings giving it a magical effect. Good luck and enjoy.

I bought a packet of rosemary from tesco, had some leftover put it in a glass of water and now have a plant. I took cuttings from the branch tips and rooted them too, to thicken it out. Did the same with some mint. When I bought potted herbs from the supermarket, they always seemed to come down with bugs. The roots grew out from the nodes where I'd removed the leaves.

I thought, traditionally, you were supposed to steal your honesty?

That said, there's a garden a few streets from me that's got one of those dark sambuca with the dissected leaves, Ravenswing?, I wish I could either overcome my shyness to knock on their door and ask for a cutting, or just steal one. It's huge they won't miss it, and right by the pavement.

I think it's a great idea op, I wish you the best with it.

Had an email about these today, might be of interest OP.

I grew lupins from seeds collected last year though they are a foot or so tall now and won't flower til next year.
Foxgloves are biennial btw. So flower in the second year.
Poppies are good -scatter the seed through the summer- then collect their seeds and you'll have hundreds the next year!
I like to avoid all those plastic pots you end up with when buying from the garden centre so grow mostly from seed.