B&Q Unloved Gardens feedback thread. Non-testers: add your unloved garden comments - £150 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

This thread is for the 20 Mumsnetters who have been chosen by B&Q to revamp their unloved garden.

Those selected have been sent a B&Q giftcard to buy the things they need to give their unloved garden a makeover. They're working to complete the makeover by the 28th, and will be keeping us up-to-date on how their revamps are going on this thread as well as posting photos.

Please do follow their stories and add your own comments if you want to show some support!

Below are the questions we'd like testers to answer but please feel free to add your own comments too. Please give us a bit of info about the garden you're revamping and what you plan to do with it in your response.

• Why is your unloved garden unloved? What do you want to change about it? What has stopped you until now?
• Where did you get your inspiration for doing up the garden from? What sort of style are you going for etc?
• Have you had much help along the way with the revamp? If so, who from? And what sort of help - practical or ideas-based?
• How did you find your shopping experience at B&Q? Were the staff helpful? Did you find anything in store you maybe didn't expect to beforehand?
• Did you use any of the help and advice that B&Q offer? This includes their videos on YouTube, leaflets and classes in store etc. If so, how useful was that help and advice?
• If B&Q could do anything more to help you next time you visit, what would it be?
• Have you had any feedback on what you've done with the garden from family/friends? Has the transformation had a big impact on you and/or your family?

If you're not an official tester but would like to be in with a chance of winning a £150 B&Q giftcard, please post on this thread to tell us about your own garden revamp successes (or failures!) - we'd love to hear from all MNers who have a garden makeover story to share!

Thanks very much
MNHQ

Before Middle section of our garden.

After Middle section of our garden.

We pulled up all the weeds, most of the paving and relaid 'new to us' rubber tiles while we had to pressure wash from slimy green back to black before using (eBay's best) Added new B&Q playhouse paid for by us, grandparents and some B&Q vouchers for our four children's birthdays. All children's play equipment broken apart and pressure washed and reassembled.

After Middle section.

Shows where two steps between levels have been removed and re-laid as slopes. So the children can drive their big Tikes cars down from the shed at the top level of the garden and roll down two levels of paving to the bottom nearest the hose, newly dubbed adults garden area. Might add a finish line and finishing flag next month...just for a bit of fun.

Before Kitchen window bottom section of the garden nearest the house.

This bottom section is the area where our table and chairs will stay, when I find the right location for them. It is also the area that I am adding plants and a water feature. It is the more adult area in the garden. Not to say that the children can't play there but I will be encouraging them to use the bottom 2/3rds of the garden which are laid out with them in mind.

After Kitchen Bottom area. Note the new B&Q cascade planter which I love. With loads of pots. I know have a hanging basket with plants. I even wound up the hoses pretty. I'm using the hoses every night to water my plants.

This was the area I considered the most ugly in my garden pre-makeover. In reality the bottom was worse but as that area was behind a locked fence and gate it never bothered me, whereas this area I see daily.

How nice is it now :)

Before Bottom Left section of our garden.

Directly outside our living room french doors.

Not a tester but have been making over my garden for nearly 10 years since we built an extension. There was just grass and weeds out there and some out of control conifers. Every year I would do a small part of it. Started with small paved step outside patio doors, then gravel,then small walls (using stone left over from extension) with raised beds. Added shrubs,bulbs, perennials and ground cover. Then added a path and rose arch (with bargain £1 b&q rose!) A major undertaking was digging out and creating a pond - after a few years there are enough plants to keep water clear and we have frogs, diving beetles, pond skaters and even newts last year! There is a BBQ (built with left over breeze blocks, paving slabs and plaster) with stone circle patio, which is yet to be properly laid... A garden is a never ending project, I love how it changes all the time. My next plans are for summer house to replace raised beds - but that will have to wait for next year! This year's big project was a small greenhouse, so excited to plan what I can grow in that next year! And it's not even a big garden....

After Bottom left area of our garden.

The wooden planter is a handmade surprise present from a good friend. So well made, I love it. Just have to line it with plastic before I plant the honeysuckle plant in it :)

Before Bottom Right

Right hand side of photo...missing trellis which we bought and never put up. Office chair to enable our children to chat to neighbours child, lol.

After Bottom Right

See the new fence colour of the left, will be continuing with that job tomorrow.

All new trellis is up and new climbing plants Clematis in pots. Dark purple, dark pink and pale purple.

Hi

I'm not a tester but was so sure I'd win a £300 voucher that by the time I realised I hadn't, DH and I had psyched ourselves up to sort out our garden. It was pretty disgraceful - 2 years of renovating our house along with DD (18 months) coming along meant we hadn't really done much.

So, we got stuck in and I'm now posting shamelessly in the hope that b&q will feel sorry for me and give me one of the £150 cards mentioned. We still have a little way to go.

In the last week we (DH, DF and I) have;

Moved a shed (emptying it was bad enough!);
Shifted 16 tonnes of top soil (hence photo);
Made a gravel path;
Had 2 bonfires;
Moved numerous sandstone blocks buried in the garden to act as edging;
Cut down a holly tree to save DD falling in it our beautiful apple tree;
Tried to level the entire garden;
Built a small crazy paving area in front of the (now moved) shed;
Taken 2 sleepers from my MIL's shed that she had had for so long she couldn't remember where she got them from and cut them at 45 degrees to contain some of the soil;
Dug up lots of overgrown nettles and unearthed too much cat poo ;
And I have learnt to do the crossing out effect on Mumsnet!

We need to do more, and need grass seed for the autumn to cover the 16 tonnes of soil. We also need a nice piece of wood as the seat of a bench DH has made from some old gate posts and we need a shed for our bikes which live in the dining room.

Last section.

Before little side patio on middle section (aka left bit of this photo.)

Not a tester.

Our garden is often too wet to be used but at the moment is great (if it wasn't overlooked by other houses) except everything is a bit dry!

Needs fake grass so the kids can play in it all year round.

After little side patio.

We have added our new water feature (solar pump to be added later)
Added loads of pots. A few have real plants which keep going year on year and some are bedding plants which look pretty this year but will need replacing next year.

Added various solar garden lights to make the garden pretty at night as well :)

Well that is the tour of my makeover. Thank you so much B&Q I had a great time doing this makeover

(ps. My kitchen is a nightmare if you are doing a kitchen makeover I would love to be considered !)

Very embarrased to say we're unfinished and have had an eventful and tbh disastrous day here with a neighbourhood problem escalating, and ds dropping a heavy concrete slab corner first onto his toes putting himself out of action.

I'm making the priority getting things tidied up and everything uploaded in time, then coming back here to update and post pics, (so may be some time) but we have to return to hospital at 10.

It won?t be properly finished but all the things we were trying to achieve are there and the difference is notable.

Also Edmonton B+Q totally redeemed themselves, completely different experience from the other day, Honza gets 12 out of 10 for customer service, and Ben (who I'm pretty sure is management) 10 out of 10 and Taffy, Dwayne, and Georgina an honourable mention. Way to change someone?s opinions, well done!
Must go to bed, up in a few hours to try and rescue things.

Crossing fingers for the rain to stop.

Arghh, flipping rain. I am never going to get the fences painted at this rate.

Anyone else having trouble uploading pics and videos to the fieldnotes app?
10 mins past deadline now and I can't get it to complete. :(

I don't think it is a strict deadline is it?

I have been unable to upload videos since Friday, really wanted to get the tasks finished. I emailed on Friday but no reply as yet.

I emailed today and got a reply straight away, basically said to keep trying and leave the app open while uploading and to get back in touch if still having problems.

Paving done, painted walls, potted plants. Completed project. Looking SO much better than the concrete hardbase of a carport. Thankyou B&Q!

That's looking great Roma.

I'm done. Literally finished about an hour ago (I've just got out of the shower). The slates finally arrived today, and the very friendly driver let slip that the reason they didn't come on Saturday was because the driver didn't fancy getting his large lorry down my narrow street. There was no knock on the door that I missed.

I am totally shattered having worked solid 10 hour days for the past 10 days, but I am totally chuffed with my garden. It was too late to take pictures today, and I need to do a final tidy up but I will post tomorrow.

Also looking forward to seeing everyone else's gardens, as I am posting on my phone at the moment.