Alex Mitchell - Gardening on a Shoestring

Before you even think about spending anything, make friends with your yardsunny bits, ugly bits, and all. Itll not only show you what plants you already have, but ensure that, when you do buy, you dont waste your money. After all, if you want a glamorous bougainvillea clambering up your house but live in a cool climate, it will die during the first winter. If you yearn for a spread of lush hostas but have no shade, they wont flourish.

Phrases such as "right plant, right place" sound naggingly bossy, and we all try to bend the rules now and then, but to start with, play it safe with your plant choices, selecting those that prefer the conditions your yard can provide. If a plant label says "full sun," it means it; only position these where they can get sun all day long. If a label says "partial shade" it will be ok in an area that gets a few hours of direct sun and some dappled shadefrom a tree, for example. The shade cast by a building is not partial, its deep, so in these spots, only go for plants that say "partial or full shade" on their labels.

Garden knowledge: the checklist

Using a compass (your smartphone probably has one), work out which way your yard faces. Stand at the back door, hold up the compass in front of you and see where the arrow is pointing. In the northern hemisphere, west- and south-facing areas tend to be the sunniest and north-and east-facing sites less sunny (in the southern hemisphere this is reversed).

Now look around for tall buildings or trees that could overhang your yard and cause shady areas within it. Remember that the sun rises roughly in the east and sets in the west; think about how this might create shifting areas of sun and shade throughout your garden over the course of the day. Remember, too, that the sun is higher in the sky in the summer so some areas may be more shady in the winter than in summer.

Next think about wind. Is your outdoor space sheltered? Is there a fence or wall that protects it from wind, or do shrubs in your yard tend to blow around when it gets windy? Is the area closer to the house more sheltered than the bottom of the yard, for example?

Where is your garden, geographically? Do you get many frosts during winter? Coastal areas often avoid frosts but instead tend to be windy. Urban yards can be several degrees warmer than those in the countryside.

ls your yard flat or sloping? The area at the bottom of a slope can be a lot colder than that at the top because cold air travels downhillespecially if there is nowhere for it to escape to (which is why old, sloped, walled gardens always had a door in the lower wall).

Now get to know your soil. Pick up a handful of earth and squeeze it. If it feels gritty and crumbles easily when you try to shape it into a ball, it most likely has a high sand content. If it can be made into a ball or even a rope, it has a higher clay content. If it has a whitish look to it, it is probably chalky. Sandy soils are termed light soils, clay soils are known as heavy soils. Bear this in mind when choosing plants because they all prefer different types of soil. A good plant label should tell you what sort of soil a plant likes.

Look at the plants that are already in your garden and are thriving. Take your cue from these and also your neighbors yards and what is growing in the local area. If their plants are established and happy, you know the conditions are right for them here. Some soils are naturally acidic, some more alkaline; if you see blue hydrangeas everywhere, for example, you know you have a naturally acidic soil.