Plant Now, Save Next Spring — Five Garden Jobs That Will Cost You Less Later

The cheapest way to improve next year’s garden is to start before this year has finished.

On a grey November afternoon, it’s easy to look at the garden and think that everything can wait until spring. Then March arrives. There’s a gap in the border, last year’s pelargonium has turned to mush and the vegetable bed is already growing something you certainly didn’t sow.

I like to approach the garden as I would a practical in the lab. Start by looking at what you’ve got, decide what you want to achieve and try one small job you can check later. A plant you divide now, a seed envelope you label properly or a pot you get under cover before a frost can all make a difference. The saving only counts if it replaces something you’d otherwise buy. Sometimes the real gain is having one less job to do on the first fine weekend in March.

1. Split a healthy clump and fill a gap for free

Walk round the borders and look for a hardy, clump-forming perennial that has outgrown its space. An established daylily is a good candidate. If the ground is workable, lift the clump with a fork and tease it into a few sturdy pieces. Each piece needs healthy roots and at least one growing point. Replant at the original depth and water in. Two good divisions are a better use of the plant than a dozen scraps with barely any root.

Picture a daylily crowding the path and a sunny gap further along the border. Put one division back by the path and move the other to the gap. You’ve solved two problems with one plant. If you would otherwise have bought a £6 replacement, that’s £6 avoided once the division establishes. The price is illustrative, so compare it with what you would actually spend.

In early November, the soil gets the final say. If it smears and sticks to your boots, or it’s frozen, mark the clump and come back in spring. Leave slightly tender perennials until spring too. RHS guide to dividing perennials

2. Save a seed packet from the plants you already grow

On a dry day, look for ripe, dry seedheads from healthy garden plants. If your pot marigolds still have some, tip the seeds onto a sheet of paper indoors, remove the bits of stalk and let the seed dry thoroughly. Store it in a labelled paper envelope somewhere cool and dry. Write the plant’s name, the date and anything worth remembering, such as ‘orange flowers by the back step’.

I’d save a small envelope of seeds I know I’ll sow. It’s easy to end up with a drawer full of seed and no idea what’s in it. Seed from an F1 hybrid or a plant that has cross-pollinated can produce offspring that differ from the parent. That’s fine if you fancy a surprise in the border. If a particular colour or trait matters, plan accordingly. Some species need different storage or prompt sowing, so check before filing an unfamiliar seed away until spring.

Leave some seedheads standing. You only need a small share for next year, and the rest can provide food or shelter for wildlife over winter. RHS guide to collecting and storing seed

3. Plant a small patch of early flowers where you’ll see them

A handful of spring-flowering crocuses in a pot by the door or in a sunny patch of well-drained border can give early insects somewhere to feed. I’d put them where I pass every day. On a sunny morning, you might notice the first visitor while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil.

The RHS prefers spring-flowering crocuses planted by the end of September, so November is later than ideal. If you already have firm, healthy corms sitting in a paper bag, plant them promptly in workable soil or a pot with drainage holes. Follow the packet for depth and spacing, and allow for a less reliable display after late planting. November suits tulip planting, but for the early pollinator job, choose a crocus that flowers in late winter or early spring. If you have none to hand, you can pick one of the other jobs for the no-spend challenge.

The saving here may be as simple as using bulbs you’ve already paid for and reusing a sound pot. If you plant crocuses in grass, let the foliage die back naturally before mowing so the corms can build reserves for the next display. RHS bulb planting guide · RHS plants for pollinators

4. Give the tender plants you value a place to spend winter

Start with the plants you’d be sorry to lose. A favourite pelargonium in a pot can come into a bright, frost-free place before the next frost. Check the undersides of leaves for pests, remove dead material and water sparingly over winter, letting the compost dry somewhat between waterings. A bright porch that stays frost-free may do the job without running a greenhouse heater for one plant.

A dahlia needs a different decision. On mild, free-draining ground, a thick mulch may be enough to protect the crown. On a cold site or in heavy, wet soil, lifting and storing sound tubers somewhere frost-free is the safer choice. Label them when you lift them. In spring, several unmarked clumps of tubers can look remarkably alike.

There’s a simple budget question here. What would I pay to replace this plant, and what will it cost me to keep it? For a favourite plant in space I already have, the answer is usually obvious. RHS November flower garden jobs · RHS dahlia growing guide

5. Prepare the vegetable bed a wheelbarrow at a time

Pick a cleared section of an existing bed. Pull persistent weeds, put healthy spent crops on the compost heap and deal with diseased material separately. If you have mature, crumbly garden compost, spread it over the surface. Work from the path if the soil is wet so you avoid compacting the bed. Leave winter crops in place and keep the mulch clear of their stems.

A 1 m by 1 m patch with a 5 cm layer takes 50 litres of compost. That gives you a sense of how far your supply will stretch. If you only have enough for half the bed, start with the patch you plan to plant first. Autumn leaves can go into a separate pile to rot into leafmould for a later season.

I find a small, finished patch far more inviting in spring than a long bed I still have to tackle. Home-made compost can replace some bought-in soil improver and spread the work over two seasons. RHS guide to no-dig gardening

Your one-job challenge this weekend

Choose one job you can do with something you already have. Divide a suitable clump if the ground is workable, collect one envelope of dry seed, plant the corms you’ve already bought, move a tender pot before frost or mulch one patch with your own compost. Take a quick photo or make a note of what you did. Check in spring to see what survived, what grew and what you can cross off the shopping list.

The job may take less time than a trip to the garden centre. And on that first bright morning next spring, when you find a crocus open by the door or a plant you saved putting out new leaves, you’ll know exactly what that November afternoon bought you.