You can have fabulous flowers for very little cash

I come from the last make-do-and-mend generation, spawn of post-war austerity where frugality was by necessity the only way of life, and it’s still very satisfying for elements of my life to follow that mantra.

One such is gardening where Freecyclers supplied the slabs for my veg patch paths for now’t and lots of other stuff has been either re-used or re-purposed.

On the frugality quest I set myself a spring challenge to create a little raised bed that most people with a patch of sunlit ground could replicate.

Left-over outdoor flooring tiles and slates held in place with old angle iron made a 12in deep, yard long and 2ft wide bed filled with pea gravel at its dug-over bottom, topsoil mixed with home composting and a goodly amount of blood, fish and bone which releases its nutrients slowly.

Two packets of bulbs and one of tubers, the three costing £3 (guess where they came from...) were popped-in a couple of inches below the surface.

The result, which could also be easily be achieved in containers or a couple of the old-type paper recycling tubs that I have hoarded – sorry, salvaged from landfill – is, at least in my opinion, something of a stunner.

The bulbs, and the tubers especially, diminutive and wizened, did not look too promising but they have flourished and put on a dazzling show in their little bed, chosen for their similar stature and blooming times, although colour choice was problematic.

You pays your money and takes your choice. If I went to a garden centre I could carefully choose favourites. If you go cheap, quite often you will get a mix of what was presumably ‘seconds’ left-overs.

Lovely Liatris.

I was aware that Liatris spicata Kobold, which has the common names Gayfeather and Button Snakewort, would have purple pyramid blooms, but the gladioli and dahlias were a mix of who knows what colours not detailed on the packets. A delightful mystery which delivered a colourful cacophony of wine red, violet and scarlet among other colours.

The gladdies, especially, would even bring a smile to miserable Morrisy’s fizzog.

Liatris spicata, is an exotic perennial bearing long-lasting spikes of deep magenta bottle-brush flowers contrasting with strappy green leaves. It’s perfect on the Island for adding summer colour, makes an excellent cut flower and is a bee and butterfly magnet.

Liatris can be grown from corms, from seed propagated in spring or by division also in spring.

Glorious gladioli.

Gladioli are the great tarts of the garden, available in a wide range of showy colours. Too much brashness for some gardeners in recent times, they are experiencing something of a revival now — and a good thing too.

Dazzling dahlia.

Dahlias, however, are enduring favourites in all their forms from the simple to the pom-pom to the massive mop heads.

Dahlias are tender but down here in our mild climes dormant tubers can be planted at the start of May and need not be lifted and stored over winter if they are in well-drained soil covered with a layer of protective mulch.

All bulbs prefer light, moderately fertile soil which is reliably moist but not wet over winter; full sun for most is essential.

If you want to replicate my gardening on the cheap why not pop out to a budget shop early next year?

Give yourself a budget of a fiver and I will be very interested to see your results.

OPEN GARDENS NEWS

I’m always happy to support garden openings which provide great joy and raise money for good causes at the same time.

Bonchurch Community Association, which I featured, had record visitors over their weekend and raised much-needed funds for community causes.

Arreton Open Gardens, also mentioned in my column, very nearly broke its record too raising £2,020 for the scouts and the domestic abuse hub WightDASH.

St Helens Secret Gardens was held on June 27 and raised £2,035.47 for the Hanmpshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance too.

RICHARD'S TOP TIPS:

Terracotta pots are prone to evaporation, so damp down clay containers to keep roots inside damp and cool. When re-filling with fresh compost it’s always worth lining them with an old compost bag perforated at the bottom.

Regularly dead-head bedding and perennial plants to extend blooming.

Give your hanging baskets and containers a weekly boost with tomato feed.

Wisteria can be pruned now. Remove the whippy side-shoots from the main branch framework to about nine inches from their base — about five leaves from the main stem.

If you are growing aubergines, pinch out the growing tip once they have six fruits. Pick fruits while they are young.

Nip out the growing points of squash and courgette plants to encourage bushing out.

Apply a high-potash fertiliser once fruits start to form on peppers, cucumber and tomatoes. You can use this on sunflowers too.

Are you an Isle of Wight gardener with a question for Richard, or news of an open gardens event? If so, you can email him on richryde@tiscali.co.uk