With 2 small children, 3 dogs and chickens, we needed a low maintenance garden fit for purpose, but on a budget. Before we started the garden resembled a mud slide in places and was unsafe for the children. The overhaul started with us fencing off an area for the dogs to do their business (Fence panels B&Q £13 each). We then sought out a gardener from our local face book pages to fit artificial grass. The major companies quoted around £2000 for the area we needed to cover, the gentleman from face book quoted £960 and did an amazing job and guaranteed us for 8 years. The next step was a play area for the children, using bark (Large chip bark B&Q 3 for £20 when bought during summer, Basic weed liner Homebargins £3). We used small wooden borders to stop the bark getting all over the grass (Wooden borders EBay 3 for £10). We then moved on to decoration and pretty bits. We made tyre planters for free, all local garages have to pay to have their old tyres destroyed so most will just give you what you need just pop in and ask. We gave the main fences a fresh coat of paint (Ronseal paint Homebargins £5) the tub of paint is huge and will do another coat later in the year. Then all of the inner fences, borders and tyres are painted in various bright colours (B&Q outdoor fence paint £7.36 per pot). We now have a garden that is great all year round that is safe for our children to play in, with a separate area for the dogs.
Written By Christine Mckinlay
Get Garden Ready