In our increasingly busy and chaotic world, more and more of us are turning to gardening as a way to create a pleasant space to be in.

However, as we continue to tighten our purse strings, the cost can make the pastime a source of further stress rather than one of pleasure. Alex Mitchell's Gardening on a Shoestring is full of inventive ways to achieve the garden you want on a budget, whether you are creating one from scratch or improving what you already have. Packed with money-saving tips, it combines classic gardening skills with simple, creative ideas.

Sometimes it's about going back to the old ways of doing things, techniques in danger of being forgotten; other times it's about adapting to the new, saving money on equipment by making your own from inexpensive materials or knowing how to get bargains from nurseries and garden centres.

So learn how to prune before you panic buy, grow food for peanuts, create pots for a pittance, propagate plants for nothing and make your own plant feed from weeds - all for next to nothing.