Gardening is a wonderful hobby that can teach you a lot about how the world of nature works and operates. It can eat up a lot of your time, but the end results in terms of improved mood are well recognised. Gardens are also an excellent space for you and your loved ones to enjoy your time, and when this situation is improved through your own hard work, the positive feelings are only expanded. Depending on the type of gardening you do, it can be quite an expensive hobby though, and this article will help you to identify various ways in which you can make the process more affordable. Whether it be by reducing the cost in maintaining your garden, in terms of both time and money, or by ensuring that you can get all of the supplies you need and when you need them, this article will give you the information that you need.

Some individuals see their garden as a design project, and then use a professional landscaping service in order to meet their wishes. This can be an excellent way to reduce the amount of work a garden requires, as well as potentially end up with an even better end result than what a layman can achieve alone. Depending on how involved they are in the design process, as well as how much of the maintenance work you end up doing yourself, paying for the services of a landscaping or garden maintenance company can significantly increase the expenses of developing a garden.

An alternative to this issue is to design a garden that is lower maintenance from the get-go, which would make the process of maintaining your garden much more manageable for you by yourself, or even for a company, thereby reducing your expenses. How can this be done, you may ask? The simplest method would be to pre-select plant species used in your garden to ones that are known to be lower maintenance. The features you will be looking for regarding this will be hardier plants that have a slower growing cycle, requiring less frequent trimmings in order to shape. You can also look at plants that have fewer nutrient requirements, which, when coupled with a slower growing cycle, could massively reduce the amount of work that you have to put into your garden, along with a reduction in the amount of money you’ll spend on nutrient supplements.

Another area you can look at is how and where you purchase your garden supplies. Going to a garden centre is an excellent solution for those operating smaller gardens. where just a small jump in quality above a garden left to its own devices is desired, but when you’re taking the hobby more seriously, more serious solutions should be looked at. For example, purchasing plants such as daffodil bulbs from a garden centre can be an expensive proposition, whereas buying them online from a wholesaler in bulk can significantly reduce your expenses, sometimes by as much as 80%. You can also look at preordering services, that will ensure that you get all of your new plants at the beginning of the season, without worries.

Some people love the idea of having a rockery in an area of their garden and realise that it is a popular landscaping tool that will add an element of variety to any garden. A rockery can look great in the corner of a big garden, or as a centrepiece for a small garden or courtyard in fact most gardens can include a rockery if desired.

The first task is to choose the rocks or stones you would like to use. You may have some large rocks in the garden that you can use for the rockery otherwise you will need to buy some which can be costly. These rocks will sit in the middle of the rockery so choose ones that are suitable in terms of size and shape. Secure them by filling in around them with soil and smaller rocks, layering them to give a natural look.

The beauty of a rockery is that you can be creative and plant it however you choose maybe with alpine plants, cacti and succulents. Any small flowering ground cover plants can be used in your rockery and the more colourful the better. The look can be completed by putting some fine gravel in between the smaller rocks and around the base of the plants.

Having the responsibility for maintaining a garden for the first time is an exciting prospect but it can also be a quite costly if you are starting from scratch in terms of purchasing gardening tools and equipment. Buying the essentials need not be expensive however with a bit of savvy online shopping.

The first thing to identify is which tools are needed for your garden, for example if there is a lawn then a lawnmower will be needed. A pair of shears may be useful for cutting the edge of the lawn where it meets a fence or wall to keep the edge looking neat and tidy and a quality pair of secateurs are invaluable for pruning back shrubs.

A spade is probably going to be needed if there are any flower beds to dig over but when it comes to weeding a hoe can make weeding between plants easier. Smaller tools such as trowels and forks are good when planting out young plants and for planting in pots and planters on a patio area.

Before buying new tools a look on social media selling sites is a wise move as it could be that someone who previously had a garden no longer has one and so is selling their tools. This is a much cheaper way of obtaining the essential garden tools a new gardener will need.

Amaryllis flowers are rather iconic at Christmas time. They are a popular flower to grow in the winter and many people now associate their blooms with the Christmas season. In fact, one species of amaryllis is known as the Christmas amaryllis, and within this there are various different types of flower, including the Charisma, Picotee, Benfica, Apple Blossom, Terracotta Star and Minerva. All of these amaryllis bulbs can be grown to flower specifically for Christmas if this is when you would like your blooms to appear. You just need to make sure they are given the right conditions, and then you can enjoy your amaryllis and allow them to brighten up your home during the festive season.

How to grow amaryllis bulbs for Christmas 

If you are going to successfully grow amaryllis from bulb and make them flower when desired, here are some important steps to follow:

• Plant the bulb in early to mid November. This will give it around 6-8 weeks in which to grow and flower, which is generally the perfect amount of time for an amaryllis. The timing is critical if you want to enjoy Christmas flowering.
• Make sure the bulb has the right conditions to grow and flower. Whilst an amaryllis is not an especially hard flower to grow, it will need to be given the right conditions if you want it for a certain time of year. You will need to use a pot that is the right size – as a general rule, it should be around 2 inches bigger than the bulb if you are just planting the one. The pot should be a high quality one that will offer good drainage to your bulbs.
• It will need to be kept at the right temperature. The bulb will need to be at around 65° in order to start growing, and it will have to be kept at this temperature constantly. Make sure you place your bulbs somewhere warm, such as above a radiator, as this will help them to continue growth. Heat from the sun will also help.
• Treat the bulb before planting. You will need to soak the bulbs before you plant them, placing the roots and lower part of the bulb in slightly warm water. Leave it there for 24 hours before you plant it.
• Use the right soil. Amaryllis will need a loamy soil, preferably with leaf mould as well. You can also add sand to make sure it is porous enough.
• Plant the bulb in the right way. Make sure you spread the roots out, and leave the top part of the bulb coming out the top of the soil.
• Look after your bulbs once planted. Don’t water them too much, after a thorough initial watering to bed them in. Keep the soil slightly moist but make sure it isn’t damp, then once the amaryllis begins to grow, you can start to water it a little bit more.

If you look after your amaryllis well, they can continue to flower again in the future and you can always enjoy a Christmas amaryllis.

Tulips are beautiful spring flowers that add a touch of colour and class to any garden. Available in many different varieties, you will be able to find a tulip variety that you like regardless of your own personal tastes. Tulip flower bulbs need to be carefully selected in order to give them the best chance of thriving, so it is important you choose the right kind to plant and grow. There are many different variables with tulips, such as the height, flower shape and flowering time. You may want to plant them in borders in different formations, or you might prefer to plant them in containers, where they will grow just as well with the right kind of care. This means you can enjoy the beauty of tulips even if you only have a small outdoor space. (more…)