The garden was the first space we began renovating in this house just over two years ago. Originally it was one giant flower bed that had been unkept for some time and had become completely wild. It resembled something of a jungle with weeds taller than me. The dogs would get well and truly lost within it and I was desperate to turn it into a haven of peacefulness. I knew I wanted grass, a proper garden for the dogs, but still with plenty of plants and greenery. Within a couple of months the garden looked completely different, there was plenty of grass starting to grow, but many the flowers we had removed and relocated didn’t survive in their new homes.
It’s been two years since then and in that time, I’ve only bought a couple of plants. The garden has been very much still lacking colour and wildlife and this year I really wanted to bring a little bit of that life and colour back into the garden. Unlike last year’s two purchases, I’ve gone a little crazy this year and bought a ridiculous amount of plants and spent a small fortune.
I definitely think you can overspend on plants and I’m certainly on the borderline right now of having done so. BUT, I truly believe surrounding yourself with living plants on a daily basis can totally improve your mood, positivity and outlook on life. I love nothing better than sitting in the garden with a morning cup of coffee surrounded by beautiful plants rustling in the wind.
So, here’s this years ridiculous overspend and newest additions to the garden…
Bamboo
Let’s start with the most expensive purchase for the garden – £100 worth of Bamboo. Yes really, I spent £100 on Bamboo! A slightly ridiculous price perhaps, but I absolutely love the oriental look of bamboo and I did get four fully grown (they were taller than me!) pots of Bamboo for that price. They’re great for acting as screening which is why I picked them up in the first place and they also remind me of our trips to Asia. Bamboo can be really hard to control if planted directly in the ground (they’re known for popping up everywhere and becoming a bit of a weed) so I’ve created an ‘oriental style’ raised bed for two Golden Bamboo and bought some £10 pots for the Black Bamboo pair.
Salvia Hot Lips
One thing I love about our garden is the amount of butterflies it attracts. When we first moved in and it was a wild jungle, we also got a lot of dragonflies too, which sadly we no longer do. I really want to have more nature in the garden and this plant is great for bees. I remember being a kid an pulling up a fully grown lavender plant in the garden (with parental permission, of course) because it attracted ‘too many’ bees. But I’m a changed girl, bring me those bees!
Blue Veronica
This was a reduced-to-clear dying plant that I hope to revive. It has blue flowers which is a colour we have none of in the garden, so how could I possibly resist? It’s already looking considerably healthier, I look forward to seeing some blue in the garden next year!
Shrubs
In our old house we had a little corner of greenery in an otherwise gravel-yard garden and these two shrubs were my favourite plants. So naturally, I needed them in our new garden too right? Well I couldn’t resist when I was faced with them both in our local garden centre. The pink one is Hebe Wild Romance and other is a Pink Azalea, now no longer in bloom. I’m so pleased to have these back in the garden, they’re so easy to grow, evergreen and require such little maintenance.
Chaenomeles
Another asian inspired purchase that I specifically hunted down online. This was actually purchased through eBay and opened my eyes to a whole new world of cheap online plants! Of course it was still a baby when it arrived and hasn’t really flowered this year, but it’s grown loads and I can’t wait to see it in full bloom next year.
Fern & Grass
I was really after some wild grass plants for the raised bed I built a couple of years back. It was looking seriously sparse but I wasn’t sure flowers were right for it. I picked this pair up from a local market for just £5 for the pair and I think they’re the perfect addition. I’d have liked to have picked up more of the same variety but unfortunately too many other people seemed to have the same idea and these were the only ones left. I’ll be back for more though! The fern’s a Dryopteris Atrata and the grass is a Koeleria Glauca.
Salix Flamingo Tree
I’ve always wanted a tree in the garden, but something that wouldn’t grow too big. This was just £8 at our local Homebase and was a bit of a impulse buy. It’s in the raised bed planter, so I’m not too sure how well it’ll survive in essentially a planter and not the ground, but hopefully it’ll live and grow enough to be a very small tree. We shall see!
Magnolia
This was another eBay purchase I specifically hunted down. I love the colour and style of these plants but sadly ours has had a little rough start after we went away for a couple of weeks it had wilted badly and then continued to be eaten by a slug. It’s on the mend, but not the most attractive plant in the garden right now, with just one single leaf remaining. I have faith, but I shall spare you the embarrassing photo.
Pink Mandevilla
I love the look of having climbers grow up houses and I really wanted to incorporate a climber on the back of our house around our new french doors. I thought it’s pink flowers fitted right into our already very pink garden. Hopefully I can train it to go up and around our new french door to beautify the back of our house a little more!
2x Mini Trees
Another impulse buy, but I thought one of each of these would look great sat either side of our new french doors. Sadly the stem on the lavender broke during heavy winds and it appears to be completely dead with no signs of new life. I’ll have to search out another one next year! The rosemary tree has however grown beautifully.
Chocolate Vine
Yet another eBay buy – but one I’m not entirely sure was a good one. I have no clue where I’m putting this one really – I don’t want too many climbers taking over the garden so it’s currently in a pot whilst I decide where exactly it should go…. I definitely had a bit of buyers regret on this one. Oops! Maybe it’ll sway me next year with a bit more growth…
So that’s what’s been in this years garden shopping basket. I have absolutely no intention on buying any more plants for quite some time, but I’m hoping for some great growth and amazing blooms next year. Sadly we haven’t been able to finish a couple of this years ‘renovation goals‘ in the garden; namely the decking and the patio around the pallet seating, so these are definitely going to be our priorities in the garden next year. But I’m certainly glad I splashed out a little now, I have high hopes it’ll be totally worth it come next year when our garden’s an array of colour and life.
Are you guilty of major plant overspending?
Total Spend on Plants for 2016: £188
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