I'm with Hosta on this one...grow your own from seed . This is what I'm doing this year as I decided that I wanted to add a lot of different perennials to my garden, I've also gained quite a big ' cuttings' collection too!
I did get that mail order perennials website to work, it looked good.
Totally understand James about the cost of filling a new border. When I started I bought key plants from local GC and Crocus and was happy with those, now I'm getting more adventurous with 9cm plants and have trued a few bare root plants too.
I've just found a website called secret gardening, where they sell excess nursery stock, so that might be an option. You get weekly emails with 6-10 plants on offer, or if you pay £9.99 for a year's subscription, you get access to 80-100 plants, they seem to be small, and you buy them in 3's. there is free delivery. I'm looking to try them. Has anyone else heard of them or used them. Might just be a cheaper way for you to fill the border. Hope that helps.
It all depends on what you want in your garden. If you are looking for delphiniums, lupins, campanulas, hardy geraniums, aconitums etc. etc, then growing from seed is cheapest and easiest.
If you are looking for named varieties, something a bit different, then you need to try your local nurseries, many now growing rare and unusual cultivars as against the mass produced, bar-coded imports offered by some of the larger companies.
I would look at local garden centre and nursery's it should be cheaper, one near me sells 1000s of 9cm pots of perennials 99p each or 10 for £8.50. Or grow from seed but it might take a while to fill in. I do personally grow a lot from seed cause it is cheaper and can get a lot of plants out of one pack of seeds.
I go online for named variety's or plants I cant find at garden centre or I think the GC is to dear, I recently bought from Peter nyssen ( bulbs and plants ) - Anglia bulbs - Parkers for Dahlia tartan really nice , only place I could find that sells it.
Last year I bought from Dorset perennials and will be doing again this year, good health plants / reasonable prices / good range of plants and a big plus free postage after spending £35. I bought some plants from woottens last year the plants were great but the postage charges not so much.
I had a look at mailorderperennials and paddocks they both seem well priced but neither of them have the plants I want
I have bought plants form that sectret gardening site. marion recomended them, you don't have to pay the yearly subscriptions there are offers on there anyway.
but they were good sized plants, very well rooted though, but with a bit of teasing out should be fine.
the problem with growing perennials from seed is that you won't get big enough plants this year so you have to nurture them, protect them etc until next Spring then you will get flowers next summer.
some people like the the instant garden, if so you have to buy them in big pots about now.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Posts
Fair enough - what plants did you buy then Gardenlover?
If it saves me trip to my local nursery - maybe I'll try them .....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'm with fairygirl. Good advert lad.
Think I'll just stick to visiting my local nursery thanks. Nothing bigger than in 1litre pots is no use to me
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'm with Hosta on this one...grow your own from seed . This is what I'm doing this year as I decided that I wanted to add a lot of different perennials to my garden, I've also gained quite a big ' cuttings' collection too!
I did get that mail order perennials website to work, it looked good.
Totally understand James about the cost of filling a new border. When I started I bought key plants from local GC and Crocus and was happy with those, now I'm getting more adventurous with 9cm plants and have trued a few bare root plants too.
I've just found a website called secret gardening, where they sell excess nursery stock, so that might be an option. You get weekly emails with 6-10 plants on offer, or if you pay £9.99 for a year's subscription, you get access to 80-100 plants, they seem to be small, and you buy them in 3's. there is free delivery. I'm looking to try them. Has anyone else heard of them or used them. Might just be a cheaper way for you to fill the border. Hope that helps.
Chloe
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It all depends on what you want in your garden. If you are looking for delphiniums, lupins, campanulas, hardy geraniums, aconitums etc. etc, then growing from seed is cheapest and easiest.
If you are looking for named varieties, something a bit different, then you need to try your local nurseries, many now growing rare and unusual cultivars as against the mass produced, bar-coded imports offered by some of the larger companies.
I would look at local garden centre and nursery's it should be cheaper, one near me sells 1000s of 9cm pots of perennials 99p each or 10 for £8.50. Or grow from seed but it might take a while to fill in. I do personally grow a lot from seed cause it is cheaper and can get a lot of plants out of one pack of seeds.
I go online for named variety's or plants I cant find at garden centre or I think the GC is to dear, I recently bought from Peter nyssen ( bulbs and plants ) - Anglia bulbs - Parkers for Dahlia tartan really nice
, only place I could find that sells it.
Last year I bought from Dorset perennials and will be doing again this year, good health plants / reasonable prices / good range of plants and a big plus free postage after spending £35. I bought some plants from woottens last year the plants were great but the postage charges not so much.
I had a look at mailorderperennials and paddocks they both seem well priced but neither of them have the plants I want
I have bought plants form that sectret gardening site. marion recomended them, you don't have to pay the yearly subscriptions there are offers on there anyway.
but they were good sized plants, very well rooted though, but with a bit of teasing out should be fine.
the problem with growing perennials from seed is that you won't get big enough plants this year so you have to nurture them, protect them etc until next Spring then you will get flowers next summer.
some people like the the instant garden, if so you have to buy them in big pots about now.