I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the garden which have cost me. I want to share with you three of the mistakes I made so that you can save your time and money.
- Not reading/not taking notice of plant labels
This is probably one of the biggest mistakes that I have made, and it seems like such a simple one. But, when you’re wandering around the garden centre or browsing all the beautiful plants online, it’s so easy to get carried away. Those fabulously flamboyant flora that just jump in your basket and before you know it they’re on their way to your garden! You know exactly what I’m talking about, we’ve all done it. Well, if you don’t read the label and find out what conditions those plants need to thrive you’re making a big mistake. I’m not going to tell you how much money I have spent on plants that weren’t suited to our growing conditions, because I don’t precisely know the answer, but it was a lot. They looked stunning for about a week or two before they ran out of fight and withered away. So, always take notice of the conditions and hey if you’re dream plant won’t like your garden, don’t break your own heart trying to force it.
2. Being impatient
This mistake can come in so many different forms, but it’s all basically bringing the same message, give things time. This could be anything from giving your seeds time to germinate and grow before giving up, to giving your garden time to show you what it can do. I’ll go into a little more detail. With the seeds, remember that they need so many different kinds of conditions to even germinate in the first place (again, read the packet) and they need time to develop as seedlings. Don’t rush them, and give them enough time to get strong before you try and plant them on. Yes, I am very guilty of being impatient with seeds, and it has cost me money. Granted, seeds aren’t that expensive, but think of the time that you invest in them. Now, when I talk about giving your garden time to show you what it can do I mean give perennials a chance to come back. Don’t give up on them dig them out to replace with something more erm, visible. If you do, you’ll probably find that you’re digging up pretty healthy growth. The return of perennials can also be very dependant on the weather too. In the UK our weather is so unreliable these days that it definitely has a big impact on our plants. I’ve had Dahlias flower in June before, but this year my first flower appeared at the very end of August. Thankfully I didn’t dig them up, but I will admit that I have before. So, have patience with your plants.
3. Protect your Plants
My final costly mistake that I want to share with you today is this. Whatever you do, protect your plants! The irony of me writing this today, as the wind is blowing very strongly outside is not wasted on me. If your plants need to be staked, do this well before they need to be staked. Build the cages, webs or forts (sometimes) that your plants need before they put on a lot of growth. I’m going to mention Dahlias here as a prime example. Personally, I think they need a really good system of support around them, however you decided to do it. I thought I had done a pretty good job of it this year using tall bamboo canes and string. Turns out, that wasn’t enough. The wind has been too strong and the rain too heavy over the last few days and all of the tall plants have fallen or snapped. It’s too wet out there to really assess the damage right now, so don’t make the mistake I have. Give them the forts they need before they need it. I’m going to also mention here briefly about protecting your plants from pests. I’ll keep it short as I’m going to write a separate article on this. Pests are needed in our garden, in fact they’re only really pests to our plants. They’re such an important part of the eco system so I am completely against eradicating them with chemicals. They should be encouraged and naturally their predators will arrive. However as this article is about mistakes that can cost you money, there are a few things you can do to protect your young plants from pests. I do use Slug Rings https://www.slugrings.co.uk/ (Copper rings that you place around the base of young plants) and I have also used Nematodes https://www.nematodesdirect.co.uk/ (microscopic creatures that act as parasites on other creatures). These methods both work really well to prevent slug damage. I have no solution to Lupin Aphids though, sorry. Other than spraying them off with water and hoping for the best.
I hope by sharing my top three mistakes that you don’t have to make them. Are there any mistakes you’ve made that could help others?