25 Easy Gardening Projects Costing Less Than £10
One of the biggest misconceptions about gardening is that it has to be expensive. In reality, some of the most enjoyable and rewarding gardening projects can be completed for less than £10 and provide months, or even years, of enjoyment.
Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing a series of 25 easy gardening projects, each designed to help you learn more about your garden, improve your gardening skills, and create more colour, scent, and wildlife interest around your home.
Most of these projects require only a packet of seeds, a few bulbs, or some basic compost, making them ideal for beginners and experienced gardeners alike.
The aim is simple: small projects, low cost, maximum enjoyment.
Project 1: Night Scented Stock (Matthiola bicornis)
If you’ve never grown Night Scented Stock before, this is one of the best-value plants you can grow from seed.
The flowers are fairly modest during the day, but on warm summer evenings they release a powerful sweet fragrance that can fill an entire garden. A single packet of seed can provide months of flowers and scent for just a few pounds.
Night Scented Stock can be grown:
- In pots filled with John Innes compost
- In window boxes
- Directly in flower borders
- Around patios and seating areas
The secret is to place the plants where you’ll spend time outdoors in the evening, allowing you to enjoy the wonderful perfume as the sun goes down.
Typical cost: £2–£4
Project 2: Calendula (Pot Marigolds)
Calendula is one of the easiest annual flowers to grow and produces a continuous display of orange and yellow flowers throughout summer.
The seeds germinate quickly and can be sown directly into pots or flower borders.
Calendula is particularly useful around patios and outdoor seating areas. Many gardeners find that the aromatic flowers and foliage help make outdoor spaces more pleasant during the summer months, while the flowers attract beneficial insects including hoverflies, lacewings, bees, and ladybirds.
Calendula also supports ladybird larvae, which are among the garden’s most effective natural predators of aphids.
The flowers can even be cut and used indoors or added to summer salads as an edible garnish.
Typical cost: £2–£4
Project 3: Planting Iris reticulata for Early Spring Colour
One of the simplest autumn gardening projects is planting Iris reticulata bulbs in pots.
These miniature irises produce stunning blue, purple, and violet flowers during late winter and early spring, often appearing when very little else is flowering.
Planting is straightforward:
- Use a pot with good drainage.
- Fill with John Innes No.2 compost.
- Plant the bulbs approximately 8-10cm deep.
- Water after planting.
- Leave the pots outdoors over winter.
By February and March, the pots will be producing masses of colourful flowers, providing a welcome reminder that spring is on its way.
Iris reticulata are particularly effective when planted near doorways, patios, or pathways where the flowers can be appreciated up close.
Once flowering has finished, the bulbs can be planted into borders or left in the pots to flower again the following year.
Typical cost: £5–£8
Why Small Projects Work
Many gardeners believe they need to redesign an entire garden to make progress, but in reality gardening knowledge is built through small experiments.
Growing a packet of seeds, planting a few bulbs, or trying a new plant variety teaches valuable lessons about:
- Soil conditions
- Watering
- Feeding
- Seasonal timing
- Wildlife
- Plant growth
By completing one small project every few weeks, you’ll steadily build both confidence and gardening knowledge.
Over the coming months we’ll continue adding more easy gardening projects to this series, each costing less than £10 and designed to help you get more enjoyment from your garden.
After all, some of the best gardens are created not through large budgets, but through a collection of simple ideas put into practice one project at a time.
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