Show us your gardening purchases 2025

Thanks @Plantminded I was planning on getting some for the fencing (following a past recommendation by you) so I can try it on the gravel as well. I will still need to top dress a bit, especially towards the back, I think.

 

I don't bother doing anything to my gravel - moss etc is just a fact of life here, even in sunnier spots.
I like having moss around the stones and planting beside the pond. I top up the gravel when needed, but that's a big measure requiring a ton bag to do the bulk of the back garden, and therefore not done regularly. Anything seeding in that's not desirable gets pulled out, but that's not a very big job usually.
The other thing I meant to ask you @CostasK is - do you have a water butt? I know many people like to use rainwater for their Acers, so that may be something you want to do. If not, just some containers put out during wet spells can be kept for watering when it's dry. Some netting or chicken wire on the top, to prevent anything falling in, is a good idea.
I appreciate that it may be more difficult in summer to collect enough, but if you get hosepipe bans at all, you can always fill a couple of buckets/containers from your tap, and then leave them for a couple of days before using. Again, something covering the top is good.
We're very fortunate here that our tap water is soft, so we can use it for watering straight from the tap if we need to, but if you have harder water, that's a better solution if you don't have, or don't want a water butt.
In any case, tap water is better than no water when it comes to potted plants that really need it.

 

Thanks for the idea @fairygirl

I don't have a water butt. I know that they are very good, but my garden is fairly small so I am trying to put plants anywhere I can and to be honest I have yet to see one I like the look of. Using containers when it is raining though is definitely something I can do. My area actually has relatively soft water and is rarely affected by hosepipe bans, so I'm lucky in relation to that.

 

I've never had a water butt here as there's only two downpipes and no space as they are close to fences and access routes. I water all my plants in containers when necessary with tap water, including my two Acers, and they don't seem to object. We don't have hard tap water here and possibly all the rain we get dilutes and washes out any nasties . I like moss on stone walls, but not on gravel or paths where it can get slippery and looks unsightly, but that's just my opinion .

 

I couldn't resist these Heucheras at 4 for £10 at a small GC near Torquay or these,
Heucherella Sweet Tea, Begonia Gryphon and Agastache Navajo Sunset at £5 each from Coleton Fishacre Gardens.

 

I have plenty of downpipes @CostasK and @Plantminded, but I didn't fancy the 'cutting into them' malarkey! Instead, I set a small one up for the shed, with a little run of guttering, and that works quite well. I could have done with having it on the more easily accessed side, but I'd redone all the bed there, so it would have meant changing all that again. If I'd had it in a more visible site, I'd have done some trellis and a climber or something similar, to hide it. We don't really need them here, but I just feel I'm doing something useful if I can use water in a more responsible way. It's why I save the water when I'm having a shower, as it takes a while for it to heat up. I hate the fact that all that treated water is just going down the drain, when I can use it for my plants.

Nice collection there @strongylodon -the heucheras can be so useful for all sorts of sites. I had an orangey Agastache some years ago, but it only lasted a few years. I don't think it liked our climate here, but it was very nice while it lasted.
It's a great time to get bargains at GCs or nurseries, but I'm trying very hard to resist going back to the big nursery I use -25% off everything. Far too tempting!

 

I hate the fact I'm paying to have water taken away and treated when I'm actually using it on my plants.

 

A few years ago I invested in an external water meter for the hose pipe for the garden. So all clean water used for the garden goes through that meter and I only pay for the water supplied and not for the sewage charge on that water. As the sewage charge is twice the cost per cubic meter of the supply charge in summers like the past one this is a considerable saving.
I also have a number of water butts and in a wet summer these supply enough for the bulk of the garden needs.

 

I didn't like the idea of cutting into them either @fairygirl, particularly after I'd seen what the previous owner had done here. The last couple of feet of one of the downpipes had been removed and a large plastic dustbin placed underneath the cut pipe, with no arrangements for overflow. This bright idea must have been there for quite a while as the constant overflow onto the paving had undermined it, causing it to sink, and there was damp in the wall and floor in the garage behind it. (One of the reasons for my cheeky offer .)

 

That sounds very Heath Robinson @Plantminded

 

Excuse me for butting in, I thought someone might appreciate my pity purchase.

I bought this strawflower not long ago. It was sat outside Aldi on its own looking very sad, squashed and I assume, lonely.

Anyway, I felt sorry for it so I bought it for £1.99.
It's still doing ok and I thought I'd have a go at collecting the seeds.

 

The local Spar again had a couple of trays of unusual plants, succulents and Bromeliads and there was a Guzmania variegata Ice Cream so I couldn't leave t there!

 

What a great buy! I’ve been meaning to have a go at growing these, but never seen plants for sale. I wonder if they’re easy from seed. I have such strong memories of them from when I was a child.

 

I didn't know you could grow them in this country! I've only ever seen them as dried, cut flowers, and when having a quick read about them, I thought it said they only liked hotter climates? (Then again, I suppose if you can buy them as cut flowers, then they must be able to grow here too).

I will admit I don't know much about this plant and I'm not a very experienced gardener but hey, I'll give it a go.

 

Straw flowers are dead easy as annuals! Worth trying a packet to get a range of colours