Gardener's world host Monty Don shares savvy tip to save you money

BBC Gardeners' World presenter Monty Don has shared a top tip that will help you save money while adding a splash of colour to your garden

Monty Don has shared a savvy gardening hack that is not only good for your garden but also kind to your pocket, urging folks to "bulk up" their gardens. In the cosy Spring Garden setting of a recent BBC Gardeners' World episode, viewers watched as Monty Don, true to form, knelt beside a charming cluster of small purple heucheras.

Before this, keen gardeners were tuned in to his discussion about the benefits of splitting plants for propagation and growth. The expert initially demonstrated the technique with a larger plant, then revealed that even smaller plants could be used effectively for the same purpose.

Monty shared: "Now, if you can't find a large plant to divide, a really good way to bulk up and get the quantity as well as quality is to buy lots of small plants.", reports the Express. Delving into the cost-effectiveness, he remarked: "When you buy a plant that size, it's going to grow away quickly and it's going to be cheap. A lot of what you pay for in a plant is time. People have to water plants, pot them on, feed them."

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He pointed out: "So if you buy it small and you manage it, that's going to be a lot cheaper than buying a bigger one."

Monty detailed the long-term gains of his tip: "By planting these together, I may get an immediate impact from small plants, but also planning for the future because these will grow together to make a clump, which you can divide up and start to spread out."

Monty Don has issued a timely reminder to his green-fingered followers that its the perfect time to prune climbing roses as the UK prepares for winter.

In a recent online guide, he pointed out: now is the moment for garden lovers to get their climbing roses trimmed, as they bloom on new growth made in the same spring and can be "pruned hard now". He noted that, by contrast, rambling roses should not be pruned until "immediately after flowering" because they flower on growth from the previous year.

The gardening guru advised: "Start by removing any damaged or crossing growth or any very old wood which can be pruned right back to the ground." Additionally, he had tips on training roses, suggesting the main stems should be laid out as evenly and horizontally as possible, fixed onto wires or a framework.

Wrapping up his advice, Monty stated that side shoots off the central stems, which produced this years blooms, should be cut back to a "short stub of a couple of leaves".