We may be just about escaping the worst ravages of the global recession but every magazine column you read these days - whether it's cooking, decorating or holidaying - seems to have a money-saving twist.
Gardening doesn't seem exempt from the austerity chic that is gripping the planet, but it is a little ironic because out of all life's little pleasures gardening has, and always will be, one of the least expensive but most healthy pastimes you can pursue.
As with the move towards “slow food”, where we are being encouraged to grow and make our own, the secret lies in getting back to the basics of gardening - taking pleasure from the process of growing and forming your own magical outside haven inexpensively rather than wanting an instant product bought off the peg.
A lot of money-saving tips, however, seem to have been invented by people with limitless time on their hands. I read recently someone's advice to save money on buying bonemeal fertilisers was to cook up and grind your own chicken skeletons.
So here are my best thrifty tips. Many gardeners will be doing these already as a matter of course but beginners might be happy to discover that most of the biggest money-savers are good for the planet, can save you time, and in adopting them you might just catch the gardening bug that bit quicker.
Plants
Most shrubs and trees will establish more quickly and grow away faster if you buy smaller specimens rather than splashing out on instant-effect monsters.
Perennials and bulbs rather than bedding plants are much better value because they last from one year to the next and can, in most cases be propagated by digging them up and chopping into pieces. If you do like the show of bedding plants it's much more satisfying to grow them yourself from seed.
The same is true of vegetables. Herbs like parsley, dill and coriander grow much better sown direct rather than being transplanted from pots. Tomatoes, beans, leeks and courgettes are child's play from seed too and it's criminal to buy carrots in a punnet when a packet sown yourself will produce 10 times the crop.
Slopes
Budding designers have a tendency to get overexcited about terracing and formalise slopes using expensive retaining walls and gabions. In nature you will notice that plants enjoy the natural drainage of a slope and have no preference to grow on the level.
Tools
Good handtools are worth their weight in gold and often achieve better results than machinery. A quality pruning saw will chew through arm-sized branches much quicker and more safely than a chainsaw.
Leaf-blowing machines, except for removing debris from gravel paths, are just a white elephant for the gardener - the equivalent of the sandwich toaster which gathers dust at the back of the kitchen cupboard.
Resist the urge for yet another bright red gadget that makes the noise of a small aircraft. Instead, buy a good metal rake and a sheet. The quiet swish of a rake - so effective at shifting wet leaves and exercising wonderfully the back - has an addictive quality all of its own.
Water
Water butts attached to your drainpipes will reduce your consumption if you are not already on a tank. Get familiar with the exciting palette of drought-tolerant plants and put up with a brown lawn in summer rather than spending money on fancy irrigation systems. Throw washing-up water on terrace pots and mulch the entire garden - preferably with grass clippings laid on newspaper. Such a covering is the most effective water-saving ploy around.
By reducing the number of plants you house in containers you will not only save on watering bills but save time on maintaining these demanding corners of the garden.
Compost
Each year most of us spend a good deal on bought composts to redo containers but a mixture of half garden soil mixed with well-rotted home-made compost will do the trick almost as well. Your own good-size compost heap not only saves space in the refuse bin, but when dug or spread over beds it provide a mulch and a kick-start tonic for better soil structure.
Sprays and fertilisers
Money-saving websites tend to be full of complicated recipes for do-it-yourself plant fertilisers and pesticides.
If you cannot get your hands on local free manure perhaps the easiest plant food you can make yourself is from the comfrey plant. Giant comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum) is a tenacious thug so give it a corner where you don't want to grow anything else. The leaves - either dug into the ground or steeped in water for a few weeks - will cause you to grimace with the smell but your plants will smile at their nutrient-rich properties when applied.
Used coffee grounds also make great fertiliser.
Most home-made pesticides are based on garlic, or pepper mixed with spreaders such as oil or soap and need to be reapplied frequently. They, too, work by their powerful aroma but if you object to your plot ponging you will be better off converting to plants that do not attract disease or putting up with a few aphids which will in turn bring in the birds.
Sharing
One of the best things about gardening is the chance to share a glut harvest and spare plants, swap ideas and make friends with other enthusiasts.
Most of us buy more vegetable seed than we need so why not go halves and share an order with a friend.
Walk the neighbourhood with a few gems you have grown yourself. If you see a plant you fancy in a neighbour's section, bowl up and suggest a swap - it may not work every time but it's a great way to meet the neighbourhood. - Herald on Sunday