With the arrival of spring, our attention turns to our gardens as we get ready to put our green thumb to the test. Gardening is a therapeutic hobby, however, the costs and expenses associated with gardening tools and supplies are far from therapeutic as those price tags can give anyone a shock! However, doing up your garden does not have to be as expensive as you might think.
Here are six ways to save money when buying gardening tools and supplies.
1. Buy Second Hand Equipment
Before heading to the garden centres and the DIY shops, check out what tools you can find online. You can often find good quality supplies second hand from websites such as Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, and Craig’s List. You can search for items and set a location radius so that you do not waste time searching in a place that is 100 miles away. While it can take some time trawling through the masses of items available, once you find that hidden gem you will be so chuffed. You can get items at half the price when they are still in decent and usable condition. It is well worth investing the time to look around online as you can save a lot of money compared to shopping in-store.
2. Share and Borrow From Friends/Family
Instead of buying an abundance of tools that you will only be used here and there, talk to your friends, family, and neighbors to see what they have. Often someone else will have what you are after, so if you ask nicely they may let you borrow their tools and in return, you can offer up some of your own tools too.
Additionally, if you have a good relationship with your neighbours you could propose buying some of the more expensive tools together. This way you split the cost and both get to use it. The only difficulty with this is if you find yourselves both wanting to use the tool at the same time then it can be complicated. However, to prevent this from being a problem, you can have an agreed-upon schedule with your neighbour as to who uses it and when.
3. Use Coupons And Cashback Schemes
There is an abundance of coupons, vouchers, and cashback schemes available on the internet. By using any one of these you can save yourself money without compromising on the quality of the product, find more information here to get you started. Websites such as Wowcher and Groupon also provide great discounts on garden furniture, tools, and all the supplies you can imagine. However, sometimes these discounts have a catch in the fine print, so be sure to read the product details and fine print to ensure you know exactly what you are paying for.
Additionally, if you are shopping around online consider installing Honey on your browser. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Honey or similar apps, it is a browser extension that automatically finds and applies coupon codes to the checkout of where you are shopping. This tool is so easy to install and even though the discounts tend to be small, these small discounts add up over time and can save you a lot of money. At the end of the day, every penny counts.
4. Shop The Sales
Be smart when you shop! Pay attention to when sales are starting and make sure you get in there quickly. Everyone else will be trying to do the same thing, especially at the first sight of spring as it gets everyone excited to spend some time in their garden. Often the best sales are the off-season ones, so when spring and summer come to an end, all the products that did not get sold get put on huge price reductions to try and shift the stock. While it may seem strange to get your gardening equipment when you can’t necessarily use it, you will be grateful when the next spring arrives and you are already kitted out without having to break the bank. Shopping at the start of a season is a big no-no as often the prices are hiked up to see if they can get away with selling it at a slightly higher price than its valued price.
5. Rent Equipment
There will be some garden tools that you only need to use once or twice, and so instead of buying this tool just for it to collect dust in your basement, you should rent out the tool you need. Lots of big shops such as Home Depot rent out all kinds of gardening tools at very affordable rates. This is great for bigger and more expensive equipment as you do not have to commit to spending loads of money on something that won’t get used. A lot of people rent equipment as a default, however, for some tools doing that is not cost-effective and ends up costing you more money than if you were to buy it in the first place. So take caution and work out early in the season exactly what you need and how frequently you think you will need it. From there you can make an informed decision whether to buy or rent.
On a separate note, another bonus of the renting method is that you don’t have to worry about where you are going to store all these gardening tools come wintertime.
6. Buy Seeds
Instead of relentlessly buying plants, flowers, and vegetable patches, again and again, buy seeds and grow them yourself. A packet of flower or vegetable seeds cost next to nothing and there are endless options of seeds to choose from. So you get a greater variety than if you were just buying the plant as it is. Another perk to buying your own seeds is that growing and nurturing your own plants is a rewarding process and is a highly therapeutic experience.
So, with these 6 tips, you will be able to nurture your garden and watch it blossom, all without having to burn a hole in your pocket.