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

Loving the purple virgo. I did my garden without the B&Q thing as I didn't get picked (gives MNHQ a sad and pathetic look ).

I had a rubbish filled area to the right side of my patio doors and have turned it into a lovely area to look at by using rose pink Cotswold stone and adding plants and some alpines in a stone trough. Looks fabulous now.

Hi everyone, love the transformations and the incredibly impressive building work done, I just used the money for pots, flowers and furniture, plus the oomph to get the weeding and clearing done but am inspired now and have marked out a gravel patio and stepping stones, plus a raised bed to take the top soil that will be produced. I need another month though as I couldn't start the task until the 26th !

A bit dark, there's honeysuckle on the trellis which is already going a bit crazy

Difficult to get everything in one photo, garden is on 3 sides of the house so project was a bit 'bitty'. It has made such a difference already though, we have been out every moment it's not raining and are inundated with bees and butterflies, I have a new hobby that makes my thighs ache too!

- Why is your unloved garden unloved? What do you want to change about it? What has stopped you until now?
3 main reasons:
Rented house - why bother factor? But we have been here 4 years now and potentially another 4, easily as long as some home owners. Also, it may be someone else's house but it's our home and we should treat it as such.
Poor structure, building materials, the feeling that what ever we do it will never look nice.
Lack of time and money.

- Where did you get your inspiration for doing up the garden from? What sort of style are you going for etc?
My friend's gardens, the 'How to be a gardener' TV series on Youtube, neighbours' gardens. Exuberant planting in a relaxed country cottage setting. In the shadow of Old Trafford. Not much to ask?

- Have you had much help along the way with the revamp? If so, who from? And what sort of help - practical or ideas-based?
Baby sitting and a little technical know-how from my mum and stepdad.

- 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?
Staff always very helpful, we live across the road and take the kids for a mooch all the time. The plants were maintained beautifully and the whole shop looked for the terracotta rather than glazed feet for us. They were busy due to the weather but nothing was too much trouble, Keiran, Danny and Anthony especially helpful.

- 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?
Used videos but were quite short, thought we should have been invited to a class rather than left to our own devices on that one.

The driveway before.

And nearly after (still some more plants to go in, silvery ground cover and a spikier hydrangea).

Oh I did think of a criticism, I would have liked less utilitarian benches but it had to be metal. Other shops seem to have nice cast aluminium ones for not much more. At B and Q it was mine, wood or hyper modern and expensive glass topped ratten style ones.

Here are my before photos. First my unloved patio area.

My 'lawn' !!

This started as a small wild area which my son wanted to encourage wildlife. It started on the opposite side of the garden and was on its way to spreading half way across the garden.

We even had our own Crop circle. Its too big for a cat and we don't have a dog!!

The nettles were taller than the Elderberry tree!

After much toil and sweat we now have a usable 'loved' garden. We have a patio to sit with a drink and chill!

After many scratches we have cleared most of the bramble and have found some long lost benches.

We have some beautiful plants.

Why is your unloved garden unloved? What do you want to change about it? What has stopped you until now? We haven't had the time to spend on the garden in recent years. We have tried and had plans but it just hasn't happened!

• Where did you get your inspiration for doing up the garden from? What sort of style are you going for etc? We got our inspiration from the realisation that we aren't grand gardeners. We are going for plain and usable.
• Have you had much help along the way with the revamp? If so, who from? And what sort of help - practical or ideas-based? It has been my self, my husband and my daughter.
• 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? Shopping at B&Q was good. The staff were helpful when we asked a question. Even the customers were helpful, as we looked at plants a gentleman advised us on the actual plant. Very kind and helpful. There were lots of empty shelves when we went which could have been due to the weather or the fact they were doing a stock take.
• 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? no, although I did look at some advise on their website.
• If B&Q could do anything more to help you next time you visit, what would it be? Have full stock!
• 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? Yes friends have commented that they didn't realise how big our garden is and several have said they will be around in the summer holidays.

We haven't finished by any means, we will be putting down some grass seed to help the lawn to recover. We plan to have lighting places around the garden and patio (stocks were low when we went shopping).
After all the work removing the bramble and nettles we have found a pear tree and 2 apple trees that we thought were lost. My parents gave me a grapevine a few years ago and whilst I did plant it we didn't hold much hope for it against the nettles, brambles and bindweed but on inspection today we discovered we have 2 bunches of grapes growing.

It is typical that whilst we have been working on the garden the weather has been incredibly hot and now we have a garden we can sit in it has poured down. It saves us having to water the lawn I suppose.
Thank you Mumsnet and B & Q without you we wouldn't have had the motivation to tackle our wilderness! We still have wild life having been visited by loads of Butterflies and Bees and even a frog (still not sure what caused our crop circle though!)

oooh, just discovered this thread and am inspired to do something about our garden now.

I did laugh at lissie - loved that your DH was still putting last screws to the decking and you'd already arranged the furniture and plants on it.

I'm so impresse. You've all done so well. We all have.

Mme, I know. Bless him. He was astounded I let him use Florence at all, tbh. I gave him strict instructions

It is great reading all the accounts and looking at all the tidy patios!
Those who would like to continue with garden chat are most welcome at the potting shed party thread.

Out in the garden today and that pesky Bindweed was trying to reclaim my pear tree! We soon rectified that. Its raining again now!