I'm Digging This: Cheap as Chips

If you’ve got a proper shed load of dosh to chuck about on plants and such, you’re excused from this one………. Just mark yourself present in the register and then skip ahead to the next post.

If however you have an eye for a bargain there are plenty of ways to eek your pennies out to make them go that bit further among the foliage.

I know you know that clump forming plants such as irises and many herbaceous varieties can, in fact must, be dug up and divided periodically to keep them happy and make them more productive. You can use the new additions that you’ve created in different areas round the garden, depending on your space, or swap them around the neighbourhood thereby acquiring new additions for free.

All’s fair in love and gardening and any plants that you can beg borrow or steal are fair booty.

If you flatter friends and neighbours they’ll no doubt be more than likely to give you cuttings of anything you’ve praised and admired.

If all else fails you could always source your own cutting by snapping a crafty bit off from someone’s front garden as you able along.

Of course we’ll always deny advocating that but it’s not entirely anti-social as you could argue that you were only doing your bit to assist with their pruning in this time-poor social media dominated age.

A sharing ethic is also a failsafe option to extend your budget. The chances are if you buy a packet of seeds you don’t need anything like the entire amount in the pack so if you and a friend choose a packet each and split the contents then you end up with two varieties. Hey presto: instant BOGOF.

But the real magic is lurking on the High Street because the current glut of supermarket squabbling has affected more than just their BBQ packs, it’s also tipped over into attempting to entice you into the gardening isle.

Prices are rocketing in the garden centres but the supermarkets are keen to try and lure you in at this time of year by displaying ridiculously cheap deals all along their forecourts.

In fact the desperately tedious weekly shopping foray into town used to be all about groceries, toiletries and cleaning products. Not so now. Now, I feel like one of those intrepid Victorian plant hunters of yesteryear as I lurk around and compare quality and prices, stalk and pounce, snapping up bargains hither and thither.

OK hither and thither might be stretching it a bit but, @@ keep ‘em peeled because every time you spot an awesome deal, walk a few paces along to the next frontage and there it is again even cheaper with no compromise on size and quality. This is in stark contrast to what we're used to from the former premier league big hitters. Not forgetting of course to pick up some beans on toast or something for tea among all this frenzied horticultural excitement.

We cannot stress enough that this applies also to seeds, with leading brands going for anything up to £2.89, and round about £4.50 with celebrity endorsement, if you plan on buying multiple packs, at those prices, the cost soon spirals.

Although vegetables are almost always started off from seed there's still a likelihood, even among established gardeners, that they’ll opt for buying bedding in packs rather than starting off immature plants themselves, thereby significantly and unnecessarily increasing their spend. Yes, there is some initial fiddling about but it does pay dividends in the long run.

Check out Wilko’s own brand at 60-80p - or - Aldi at just 39p, not saying they have an enormous range at this tiny price but they do have a selection if you’re not too picky and keen to specialise.

So, you want to know what we’ve spotted out and about:

Poundstretcher ( www.poundstretcher.co.uk ) was up there with early stocks of fledgling shrubs and fruit bushes for £2.00 each, coming in even below Wilko's ( www.wilko.com ) but Aldi ( www.aldi.co.uk ) are consistently leading the charge in bringing us more for less. It kicked off with immature climbers including jasmine, honeysuckle and clematis at £1.79 – that can’t be beaten - but would stress 'immature' as when larger pot sizes arrived a few weeks later so the prices stepped up accordingly.

Wilko have really got their act together and are a front runner with quality and a good range and Sainsburys ( www.sainsburys.co.uk ) haven’t failed to quickly wise up and had early bedding, ie pansies and primulas showing promise at £2.00 a pack, so keep an eye on developments there as the season proper gets under way.