Garden more affordably with these 4 pointers

Gardening doesn't have to break the bank to be an enjoyable activity that yields beautiful scenery or delicious produce. We'll give you 4 easy ways to save money without compromising your garden.

Try this homemade secret recipe that wards off rose pests and disease:

• In an empty 3.7 litre (1 gallon) milk jug, mix 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon liquid dish soap, and 1/2 cup of white vinegar.
• Fill the jug the rest of the way with water and add the mixture to a sprayer. Spray all of the leaves and stems of your roses at least once a week during growing season.

For watering flower beds and other plantings, drip irrigation is the best method. It's extremely water-efficient, and the slow, deep watering is great for plant health. However, landscape contractors can charge an arm and a leg for big drip-irrigation jobs. To save money, use this technique to give your plants a deep soaking:

• Save up plastic two litre soda bottles and 3.7 litre (1 gallon) milk bottles. Punch a small hole in the bottom of each, then fill each container with water.
• Stand each bottle next to a plant and it will slowly release the water.
• For trees, use 19 litre (5 gallon) collapsible water carriers designed for camping and set their valves to the slowest drip.
• With this method, you'll leave the contractors high and dry. And even if you do have a centralized drip-irrigation system, these portable irrigators are extremely useful for watering isolated shrubs, trees, and flowers.

You may have heard that it's a good idea to fill the bottom portion of indoor plant containers with pebbles. In reality though, this is a waste of money and it's not good for the plants.

• Although the conventional wisdom used to be that pebbles improved drainage, plant experts now say such stones occupy important space for the plant roots and may encourage the growth of fungus.
• Instead, you want a solid column of soil right down to the bottom of the container. If you're worried about soil washing out of a pot's drain hole, cover the hole with a scrap of window screen or a single pot shard before filling the pot with soil.

• You probably throw away scores of items every year that are perfect for container gardening.
• Popcorn tins and plastic ice cream buckets make particularly good outdoor flowerpots. All you have to do is drill holes in the bottom of them for drainage.
• If the exterior of the container is not to your liking, a can of spray paint will change that quickly.

Not only will these tips save you money, but you'll feel an even greater sense of pride in your garden knowing that you're doing more yourself rather than relying on outside products or services. So use these tips and show off your gorgeous and affordable garden.