Give gardening a go with our helpful tips

In the winter months, it’s easy to find your own garden looking sad and bare. One of the ways to brighten up where you live is to try your hand at gardening.

Even if you don’t have a garden, all you need is a small sunny space or you could find out about nearby community gardens or allotment projects by contacting your local council.

Here’s a few gardening tips you could try out:

• Need some equipment to get you started? You can pick up second-hand gardening equipment (like pots and tools) quite cheaply or even FREE on online forums like Freecycle. If you don’t have access to the internet you could check out local charity shops and car boot sales.
• Think ‘outside the box’ to create your garden. For example, old dustbins and compost bags with holes are great for growing potatoes.
• Upcycle to make some unusual pots. From an old tyre to a wellington boot - you could brighten up your garden by getting creative.
• Save seeds from the food that you like and plant them. You can start with something simple like tomato or pepper seeds. You need to dry them out in a warm place for a few weeks before planting. (Or buy cheap seeds from pound shops).
• Buy some cheap bulbs (most shops discount these at this time of year) and plant them up for a bit of spring colour.
• If you have a garden, you can give it a new lease of life by removing any dead leaves or plants and taking any bulky rubbish to the local tip. Once it’s tidy you can start to plan what other improvements you might like to make.

Check out your local library for great books on gardening!