6 Cheapest Plants for Lazy and Inexperienced Gardeners

Yes, it is possible – provided you choose the right plants.

Many beginners impulsively buy everything that catches the eye at the garden centre, only to find that a few weeks later nothing but brown stems remain. The wrong position, missed watering, poor soil: none of this has to mean the end of your gardening ambitions. By choosing a few exceptionally dependable, inexpensive varieties, you can create a bed that largely looks after itself while still flowering for many months.

Create a long-flowering bed with little effort

The key is to use hardy perennial plants that return each year, spread naturally and tolerate minor care mistakes. Rather than experimenting with ten demanding specimens from the garden centre, beginners can start with just a handful of tried-and-tested, long-lasting choices.

“A selection of just a few affordable perennials can keep a bed colourful for almost the entire year – without having to replant it every spring.”

The effect of a so-called flowering relay is particularly appealing: different plants take over the flowering period in succession. As one variety finishes blooming, the next is already beginning. This means there are barely any gaps in the bed, even if you are not constantly planting new flowers.

The 6 cheapest helpers for lazy and inexperienced gardeners

For a first low-maintenance, affordable bed, six plants stand out because they soon prove their value:

• Hardy geranium (Geranium, perennial)
• Crocus
• Hellebore (Christmas rose/Lenten rose)
• Coral bells (Heuchera)
• Bugleweed
• Common ivy

All six are available from DIY stores and garden centres as small pots or bulbs, and they usually cost far less than unusual rarities. Many can later be divided or propagated from offshoots at no cost.

1. Hardy geranium: a flowering carpet from May into autumn

Perennial Geranium varieties are among the most reliable perennials available. They form bushy clumps, cover the ground and, depending on the variety, produce fresh flowers from May until October.

• suitable for sun to light partial shade
• copes well with occasional dry days
• suppresses weeds thanks to its dense foliage

Cutting it back in summer after its first flush of flowers often encourages a second bloom. After a few years, dividing the clumps gives you free plants for other beds or the front garden.

2. Crocuses: splashes of colour while everything else is still grey

Crocuses are among the year’s earliest bursts of colour. From February, they push through the cold soil and bring yellow, white or purple to a garden that is still bare.

They grow from small corms planted in autumn, making them ideal for beginners who want a surprise in spring. Once established, they return year after year, often in greater numbers as the corms divide over time.

3. Hellebore: winter flowering with frost resistance

Christmas roses and Lenten roses, both types of hellebore, bring life to the bed in the middle of winter. Depending on the variety, they bloom from December to March – precisely when most gardens seem to be in hibernation.

They prefer partially shaded positions, such as beneath deciduous shrubs. Their great advantage is that, even when frost lingers above ground, they bravely keep their flowers open. Once settled, they remain in the same spot for many years.

4. Coral bells: leaf colour rather than a floral spectacle

Heuchera varieties are valued less for showy flowers than for their foliage. Available varieties include deep purple, lime green and almost copper-red. They therefore provide colour all year round, even when no flowers are on display.

Coral bells are especially well suited to partially shaded corners where other flowers soon give up. A few years after planting, the clumps can be divided and distributed across several areas of the garden.

5. Bugleweed: ground cover to keep weeds at bay

Bugleweed spreads across the ground by runners, filling bare spaces in the bed. Its blue-violet flower spikes attract bees in spring, while its dense foliage prevents unwanted weeds from gaining a foothold.

To keep it under control, simply lift out excess runners with a hand trowel. These rooted pieces can immediately be replanted elsewhere – giving you free plants as well.

6. Ivy: a green solution for difficult positions

Common ivy is extremely tough: it tolerates shade, dry corners and even troublesome areas beside walls or beneath old trees. Used as ground cover, it creates a permanently green appearance; as a climber, it can conceal unattractive walls.

A clear boundary prevents it from taking over everything: trimming it with shears once a year is generally enough. Cuttings with established roots can easily be replanted.

How these plants create a year-round flower bed

The real strength of this combination lies in its sequence through the seasons:

Plant	Main flowering period	Particular strength
Hellebore	December–March	Flowers in deep winter, frost hardy
Crocus	February–March	Early colour, inexpensive bulbs
Geranium (perennial)	May–October	Long flowering period, dense carpet
Coral bells	May–July (depending on variety)	Decorative foliage, colourful leaves
Bugleweed	April–June	Ground cover, good for insects
Ivy	inconspicuous, partly autumn	evergreen, for shady positions

This creates a chain of highlights: hellebores in winter, followed immediately by crocuses, then bugleweed and coral bells, with hardy geraniums taking over from May, accompanied by evergreen ivy.

“Anyone who combines these six plants cleverly will see fresh accents of colour from winter through to autumn – using only a minimal number of plants.”

More garden for less money: how to save when buying plants

To stop the budget getting out of hand, it is worth considering your buying strategy:

• Choose small pots rather than large containers: Young plants in 9 cm pots are considerably cheaper and soon catch up with larger ones.
• Prioritise perennial plants: Buy once and enjoy them for years – especially with geranium, Heuchera, hellebore and ivy.
• Buy bulbs in net bags: Crocuses are often sold in autumn as mixed packs at budget prices.
• Divide instead of buying more: Dig up established perennials after 3–4 years, divide them and replant the sections.

Dividing is particularly worthwhile with geraniums and coral bells. In time, one plant can become five or more, without another trip to the garden centre.

How to protect your budget flower bed from cats and birds

Few things are more frustrating than cats digging in a newly planted bed or blackbirds pulling young plants from the soil. Taking a few precautions can save you from having to buy replacements later.

Garden experts recommend, among other things, a simple kitchen trick: scatter a little cayenne pepper around vulnerable spots. Its pungent smell keeps many animals at a distance without harming the plants. The effect relies on deterrence rather than poison – a purely mechanical, natural method.

Other helpful measures include:

• placing small twigs around newly planted perennials
• laying a loose mesh cover over bulb plantings until the shoots emerge
• avoiding leaving freshly dug soil exposed and applying mulch straight away

Practical tips for beginners with little time

Anyone who spends very little time outdoors should plan their bed accordingly from the outset. A few straightforward principles make all the difference:

• Fewer varieties, more plants of each: It is better to plant several of each of the six recommended plants than ten different single specimens.
• Allow generous spacing: Ground covers such as bugleweed and ivy will fill in; gaps are normal at first.
• Water only while plants establish: Water regularly during the first few weeks, then mainly during heatwaves.
• Tidy up once a year: Cut away old growth in spring, and that is all.

The term “perennial” often confuses beginners: it refers to plants that do not disappear after one season but reshoot over several years. Nearly all the plants listed here are exactly this type of long-term resident – a clear advantage over short-lived seasonal flowers.

If you later want to add more, this robust foundation is easy to build on: a few ornamental grasses, some tulip bulbs among the crocuses, perhaps lavender in sunny corners – and, little by little, you will create an individual garden that impresses even on a modest budget and with limited free time.