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You’ve probably got big ideas for your garden this year - but are already feeling the financial pinch, as spring can be an expensive time.

Fear not! Gardencentre.co.uk is offering MyGardenFinder readers five per cent off all purchases until April 31.

As well as plants and seeds, its range includes garden machinery and landscaping supplies, tools, books, horticultural supplies and even wild bird feed - so there’s something for everyone!

Just enter the discount code WGA5APR when prompted at the checkout!

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Here’s a couple of great offers from GardenCentre.co.uk: right now you can pick up four packs of vegetable seeds for just £2.99. It’s a lucky dip, so you’ll get a random selection. But, seeing as this would normally have cost around £7.50, it’s definitely worth a punt.

You can also get six-packs of Dawn Chorus wild bird fatballs for £1.99 - and the retailer is running a buy one, get one free offer to make them even better value.

Regular customers at GardenCentre.co.uk might also notice that it has reduced shipping rates on smaller orders.

Shipping now starts at just £1.29 for items such as a few packets of seeds or other small purchases weighing less than half a kilo.

More than 600 products fall into this category, so definitely worth having a good hunt through its catalogue…

Jersey-based garden centre and florist Blooming Direct has come up with an innovative way for you to save money this Easter.

It’s holding an egg hunt on its website - with 17 eggs hidden among its product images (just follow the link below to see an example). Each egg will give you 15 per cent off your next purchase. Find all 17 and you could win 50 per cent off your next purchase.

Get full instructions and clues here >>

So, what else is going on at Blooming Direct? For a start, there’s free water gel available with all plants as part of a special offer throughout March while stocks last.

We recommend taking a look at its offers on summer favourite Lobelia Blooming Fountain, available at £6.95 for 60 ready-to-plant plug plants - that works out at 12p per plant.

Or check out the four lavender mix at £17.95 - a pack of 20 young plants including five each of the English Hidcote, French Kew Red, Munstead and Rosea varieties. The retailer recommends planting together to make a stunning lavender display or spreading a beautiful scent around the garden.

Also well worth a look are the offers on 10 summer-flowering gladioli bulbs for £5.95, Surfinia Petunia mixed packs of five young plants for £7.95 (dispatched April to June) and five beautiful Pensham Penstemon Czar plants for £8.95.

That should give you plenty to be getting on with! But, just in case it’s not, you can view the full Blooming direct plant range here.

Easter at DIY retailer Wickes means a home improvement binge - the retailer has some great special offers available, mostly running until April 20, and including garden furniture.

Here’s a summary of what you can get your hands on:

• Get £50 off a popular aluminium frame greenhouse - supplied with base and horticultural glass, maintenance-free construction, a single sliding door, built-in gutters, roof vent as standard and an easy clip-in glazing system. Was £369, now £319.
• Get 25 per cent off an oil drum barbecue - featuring two adjustable chrome-plated cooking grills, a large lower storage shelf plus side handle and wheels for easy manoeuverability. Was £69.99, now £49.99.
• Get reductions on the Brighton Hammock - perfect for outdoor relaxation, this comfy swing seat includes cushions and an adjustable green polyester canopy. Was £129, now £99.
• Plus, up to 40 per cent off all kinds of garden products - including furniture, lighting, gazebos, barbecues and tools. Enjoy your garden that bit more this spring. Plus, spend more than £45 online and get free delivery to UK mainland addresses.

If you’re thinking about getting some new garden furniture, to make the most of any spring weather that may or may not be on the way, then it’s a good idea to take a look at the Woolworths website.

This retailer has got a host of special offers in time for the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend. Here’s a few that caught our eye:

• Walton Sussex Summerhouse - 8ft x 8ft - was £629.99, now £589.99 until April 7. Attractive, traditional style that works well in any garden, with large glazed windows, double door and veranda.
• Rimini Cappuccino Patio Set - was £169.99, now £98.99 until April 7. Stylish and elegant, perfect for outdoor dining and featuring four folding armchairs, a round tempered glass table and a matching parasol.
• Auckland Wooden Bench - now half-price at £39.99. Featuring an ergonomically-designed seat and backrest to offer maximum comfort and made from treated, MTCC-certified hardwood.
• Pop-Up Gazebo - now half-price at £39.99. Forget the hassle of assembly with this clever design. A showerproof covering makes it great for parties and picnics. It can be erected in seconds and folds away neatly.
• Spear and Jackson Electric Patio Heater - now half-price at £49.99. Complete with three heat settings, ideal for all weathers and equipped with an easy-tilt head for fully directional heat.

Interested in learning more about attracting wildlife to your garden? Then you’ll love a new project launched by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Following its Big Garden Birdwatch event in January it has set up a Homes for Wildlife campaign.

It says that if you own a garden, or even just a window box, you can take simple, practical steps that will benefit many of our most important birds, mammals and insects. The UK’s largest nature reserve is in your hands…

Sign up to the project (for which you don’t need to be a member) and you’ll get a personalised garden audit that tells you about the most important improvements you can make.

There are straightforward factsheets that you can print out and keep and an advice list that will remind you of simple steps you can take to make your garden more wildlife-friendly.

To learn more about Homes for Wildlife, just click here. Or follow this link to learn more about RSPB membership.

Here’s something to make your gardening life a little more interesting - a mystery plant offer from Jersey Plants Direct.

Spend more than £25 with this retailer and, for an additional £2, you will get additional plants worth at least £9.99.

The plants will be all one variety and will come in either plug, garden ready or jumbo plant form, delivered late March to end of May.

So, what might you spend £25 on to qualify for this offer? Take a look at the following:

• Spring plug plants - ideal for the keen gardener who has a greenhouse or conservatory in which to plant and grow them on until they are ready to plant in the garden.
• Spring garden-ready plants - can be grown or planted directly into the garden.
• Patio vegetables - choose between two different mixes to bring colour, flavour and variety to your patio or window boxes this summer.
• Fruit - choose from a soft fruit mix or special fruits including blueberries, olives and figs.
• Herbs - choose from a collection containing oregano, rosemary, lemon thyme and mint.

The next big thing on the RSPB calendar is The Big Garden Birdwatch on January 26-27 2008.

Now’s your chance to be part of one of the most popular RSPB promotions of the year. The Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s biggest bird survey and the organisation’s single biggest event.

Last year more than 400,000 people took part by counting the birds in their garden for an hour. It is really simple to do so you don’t have to be an expert and it gives the RSPB a vital snapshot of the UK’s birds each winter.

Over a period of an hour, participants are asked to record the highest number of each bird species seen in their garden (not flying over) at any one time. Then all you do is note them on the counting sheet provided and send it in.

The RSPB’s scientists can then use the information and patterns in bird numbers to help prioritise its conservation work.

Spending just one enjoyable hour watching birds in the garden, getting the kids involved and re-engaging with nature is a fantastic way to participate in a bit of practical conservation.

To take part, simply click here to find all the help and advice you need. Or, if you’d like to join the RSPB, click here.

Next time you come in from the garden feeling windblown, chafed and aching all over, treat yourself to a little bit of luxury from The Body Shop.

This retailer is offering MyGardenFinder readers a discount code for January. So we decided to have a hunt for some pampering products that would help all you foul-weather gardeners recover your sense of wellbeing.

Here’s what we found:

• Hemp face protector and hand protector - from £5. Moisturising hemp backed by soothing allantoin and panthenol which improves nail flexibility. Extreme moisturisation for hard working hands and flaky, dry skin
• Spa Wisdom Plunge & Purify bath soak - £12. Let the wonderfully heady scent of this soak transport you. Deeply cleanses and detoxifies, leaving skin feeling refreshed and purified.
• Relaxing lavender body wash - £6. Relax while you cleanse with this infusion of pure lavender essential oil.
• Peppermint soothing foot scrub - £7. Intensely exfoliating volcanic rock granules help to slough away rough patches of hardened skin to leave feet soft, smooth and fragrant.
• Born Lippy Mint - £4. A preservative-free, refreshing mint flavoured lip balm that effectively softens and moisturises the lips whilst providing an innovative cooling sensation upon application.

If you’re making your first online purchase from The Body Shop website then you can get ten per cent off by entering the promotional code DHAD000856 at the checkout. This code is valid until midnight on January 31.

This code is valid only at www.thebodyshop.co.uk, cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer and can only be used for one online order. It cannot be exchanged for cash.

What do you do if your garden’s got completely out of hand and you know there’s little chance of you getting on top of it any time soon?

Or perhaps you’d love some professional input but don’t want to take out a second mortgage to get it, or you’ve always dreamed of surprising someone with by bringing in a gardening team, but have no idea how to organise it.

Well, here are some innovative ideas from ActivityGifts.co.uk that might be just the thing. They have packages to help you design and sort out your garden without spending hundreds and hundreds of pounds to do it.

Treat yourself or give as a gift to a keen gardener (or would-be gardener) close to you:

• Garden design package - £165. Create the garden of your dreams with guidance from professionals. A DIY kit will be posted to you to enable you to complete a site survey of your garden. An expert supplier will respond to the information you supply with a detailed scale design, planting scheme and step-by-step guides to completing the projects involved. A great opportunity to transform your garden into what you have always wanted, without the expense of a team coming in to do it for you.
• One-day garden makeover - £350. Transform your garden with a one-day attack. At least two gardeners and labourers will arrive at your home to give your garden a ‘deep clean’ including tidying, clearing, weeding, pruning shrubs, reconditioning the soil, cleaning hard surfaces and anything else needed to get your garden into a more manageable state.
• And finally… if you’ve overdone it in the garden and are feeling like a wreck as a result, why not treat yourself with a spa and pampering day to help yourself recover? Click here to see the options on offer.