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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

senua · 25/07/2023 13:17

Any chance of a precis? I don't like to give the Guardian clicks any more these days.

MereDintofPandiculation · 25/07/2023 20:40

senua · 25/07/2023 13:17

Any chance of a precis? I don't like to give the Guardian clicks any more these days.

Sorry, no. It was a reasonably densely written article, so a précis would be more than a couple of sentences.

OP posts:
HereForTheFreeLunch · 25/07/2023 22:58

I just skimmed it.. Grow from seed, grow self seeders, make your own compost, divide perennials, grow supermarket herbs, get free stuff online and maybe a few more headlines.
Sure, it's gardening on the cheap but not really ground breaking I would think.

Now the thread about 160 perennials for £40... that's filling your garden on the cheap.

senua · 25/07/2023 23:24

Thanks FreeLunch (apt name! Grin ).

HereForTheFreeLunch · 26/07/2023 00:25

😀

MissAdelaide · 26/07/2023 00:31

Yes, it was mostly a statement of the blindingly obvious, like reuse your plastic flowerpots. It should also have suggested going to all your local summer fêtes, because they invariably have a plant stall, and join your local gardening club.

Monty27 · 26/07/2023 02:07

Great posts. Sorry OP I didn't need to click to know it would be some patronising clap trap

MereDintofPandiculation · 26/07/2023 08:49

Ok, I thought it might be helpful to some of the complete beginners that post here. If you found it patronising it clearly wasn’t aimed at you.

OP posts:
MissAdelaide · 26/07/2023 09:51

I think what we’re discussing here is that the article seemed like a missed opportunity. Novice gardeners do want advice, I’m sure, but I doubt they want advice as basic and obvious as that.

Yamadori · 26/07/2023 16:56

It is a useful article, but there are several things they could have mentioned:

Swap plants, cuttings & seeds with family, friends and neighbours.
Check out the reduced corner at garden centres.
Make sure you learn about a plant's needs, so you don't inadvertently kill it.

Keykaty · 26/07/2023 17:01

It was about the rights of Trans Plants.

senua · 26/07/2023 17:08

Keykaty · 26/07/2023 17:01

It was about the rights of Trans Plants.

Lol.

HereForTheFreeLunch · 26/07/2023 22:47

Sorry OP. Didn't mean to ridicule you. I am a novice too but still thought it was all very obvious things, that's all.
It may be helpful to others.

Ciri · 26/07/2023 22:51

The OP is the most knowledgeable expert on the MN gardening boards. It is useful information for lots of those who post with no clue where to start.

MissAdelaide · 26/07/2023 23:45

That’s us told, then.

Marchintospring · 27/07/2023 00:03

I think a helpful thing for novice gardeners should be more about planning the garden over the year. The equivalent to batch cooking perhaps.
It’s likely to be a smaller garden if it’s your first one and I know from experience that it’s really easy to buy what’s available when you move in, stick it in the ground and then do the same two months later when the first lot go over. And repeat. You end up with lots of random stuff that looks messy if it even survives. So you buy more and so it goes on.

And useful rules like having more hard landscaping than you think, having trees, (even quite big trees can be put in pots) and neatly edged lawns makes pretty much all gardens look better.

Growing seeds is actually quite challenging unless you have space to do it properly. Certainly not cost effective in terms of results to buying or getting given plants from sales/ fetes or friends.

MereDintofPandiculation · 27/07/2023 09:26

Ciri · 26/07/2023 22:51

The OP is the most knowledgeable expert on the MN gardening boards. It is useful information for lots of those who post with no clue where to start.

That’s very kind of you, but I am by no means the most knowledgeable on here.

OP posts:
MereDintofPandiculation · 27/07/2023 09:29

MissAdelaide · 26/07/2023 09:51

I think what we’re discussing here is that the article seemed like a missed opportunity. Novice gardeners do want advice, I’m sure, but I doubt they want advice as basic and obvious as that.

For at least two posters, it was all about the source. I’ll try linking from the Daily Mail next time, it’ll be less controversial Grin

OP posts:
Zippedydodah · 27/07/2023 09:35

Join your local Facebook gardening group and ask for any free plants that need a good home, there’s usually something going for free.
Definitely plant stalls at fêtes and keep your eyes open for roadside plant stalls, supermarkets frequently have cheap plants too, Aldi and Lidl are brilliant for plants and bulbs.

Dombasle · 27/07/2023 15:47

Gardening on a budget is a great group on Facebook.

HelenTatters · 28/07/2023 10:40

Another interesting article on cheap gardening!

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jul/28/hardcore-landscaping-how-to-grow-a-garden-on-sand-gravel-and-concrete

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