Find out how MNers are getting on with their Homebase Garden Goals challenge NOW CLOSED

[AmeliaMumsnet]

This feedback thread is for the 10 MNers taking part in Homebase’s Garden Goals challenge. Each MNer is undertaking a particular task to create their dream garden; either making an edible garden, a patio garden, adding some colour, encouraging wildlife or creating a garden for entertaining.

Each tester was given a £100 Homebase voucher and is undertaking a ‘one hour’, a ‘half a day’ and a ‘one day’ task to transform their gardens by following Homebase’s Garden Goals tips and instructions. They will leave weekly updates on their progress on this thread.

Here’s what Homebase has to say: “We have teamed up with Anne-Marie Powell to launch our Garden Goals challenge to help families get their outside spaces ready for summer. We want to encourage those of all gardening abilities to complete a garden project; whether that’s creating an edible garden, creating a patio garden, adding colour to your garden, encouraging wildlife to your garden or creating a garden for entertaining.”

Watch this short video to find out more:

We also tasked 5 MN bloggers with the same Garden Goals challenges, check out how they got on below:

Create an edible garden challenge before and after by Attachment Mummy
Create a garden for entertaining challenge before and after by A Strong Coffee
Add colour to your garden challenge before and after by ET Speaks From Home
Create a wildlife garden challenge before and after by Confessions of a Crummy Mummy
Create a patio garden challenge before and after by Le Coin De Mel

Testers

Throughout the 8 weeks when posting about your progress with your garden, please think about and answer the below:

• Which Garden Goal did you take on and why did you want to undertake this particular challenge? What was your garden like before you started to work on it?
• How did you find your in store experience at Homebase? Were the staff friendly and helpful?
• How useful did you find Homebase’s ‘how to guides’?
• How did you find using the shopping lists provided? Did you find everything you needed in store to complete your Garden Goal?
• Do you feel like you achieved your Garden Goal?
• After completing your Garden Goal, do you feel more confident in gardening and would you like to take on more challenges throughout your home and garden?

Each week we’d love to get an update on how you are progressing with your Garden Goal tasks and to see lots of lovely pictures. Please also share your photos on your social media channels using #GardenGoals and tagging @ Mumsnet on Instagram and @ MumsnetInsight on twitter.

Everyone who leaves their feedback on this thread as required will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 Homebase voucher.

Thanks and happy gardening!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Morning! I went to pick up a planting trug I had to order in store at my local homebase as they don't stock it.
Ordering it was really easy and the customer service staff were helpful, even phoned me as soon as it was in.
I built the frame yesterday and filled it with a mix of soil and enriched compost.
I have planted cos lettuce and rocket seeds in rows.

I felt really frustrated over the past week as we had such heavy rain I couldn't do much in the garden .

Here it is.

Gardengirl that trug looks lovely!

This week has been very frustrating here too but I'm hopeful today we'll spend a lot of time in the garden!

Lovely gardengirl! That's interesting to know that Homebase can order in items. Is it simply a case of it being in stock on the website?

We really needed the rain but I'm bored of it now Today is hopefully the last day and back to glorious gardening sunshine this week!

On the plus side the rain has topped up the pond and introduced a whole load of tiny wiggly things. I think they might be fly larvae (ugh!). Hopefully they'll entice bigger things (newts!) to come and feast on them

I haven't been around much, had an ongoing family emergency and the rain has been horrible here.
I have managed to power through and get my herb garden going though which I am pleased about.
I'm a total novice in the garden so I'm hoping I've done it all right and they start to spread a bit more.
I lined the soil with a weed blanket thing, then cut some holes to let me plant my herbs. The Homebase website had good advice on this which I did find really helpful.

I really like the way it's turned out, I just need to fill up the rest of the huge bed now!

I've also planted up some herbs in some planters, and done an impromptu salad spot in an old Belfast sink.

Oooh love that sink Iam.

Haven't got much done this week due to the rain and getting distracted with the front garden but I did a bit this afternoon.

I'm going to tackle the kids play house which will take a couple of weeks to prep and paint as it's going to be muti-coloured as per the naughty pixies request.

Cleared out the inside of all the junk and boken bits and bobs and have given it a good sweep. I'm going to give it a good blast with the pressure washer to get rid of the dirt and old woodstain before sanding it down during the week.

Hi fellow gardengoalers!

This weekend we planted out two trees as part of the "plant a tree" goal. The trees we were actually given as house warming presents and one is magnolia and the other lilac. So great spring flowering trees. They looked big in the pots but where we have planted them (by a fence where the grass is really long) they look tiny! I know they will grow big eventually though, just have to wait. But being in a new house it's really nice to think the trees will grow with us....and with the children.

I will post a pic from my phone soon.

Lilac and magnolia trees planted.

On other wildlife news, not really related to homebase garden goals...we have found we have bats in the roof. 9pm last nigh DH calls me outside as he thinks he can hear birds in the roof. Then they all start flying out, must have been 20 or more tiny bats. It was amazing!!!

Love the Belfast sink planted up IAm. There are some great tips on this thread that I am going to steal!!

Oh and Ginger the squirrel is called Nutkin...which I think makes DH Mr MacGregor .

Oh I love bats chicken, am very jealous!

I went to Homebase again and got my final items and planted them all up yesterday afternoon.
I chose a blueberry bush and a bay tree.
Our soil isn't the right type for a blueberry bush so I also bought a big planter and a couple of bags of ericaceous soil.
Nothing to do with the task but we've also completed adding a sunken trampoline to the garden which was a job and a half!

I still have a long way to go to get our garden how I want it but I have really enjoyed this starting point. I've learnt a lot already from doing my own garden with the help of the HB website and staff, but also from reading everyone else's tips on here.
My garden is now actually useful and a lot less bland than it was before I started!

I'd love a blueberry bush. DD2 eats enough of them so it would save money as well.

I was looking at all the bees in the garden yesterday, who knew there were so many different varieties!

I definitely think I am more of a gardener now.....the amount of plants I am buying is an indicator of that.

And I am going to get another squirrel proof bird feeder.

Worwax I am going to do a herb garden in a Belfast sink too for a goal too! Any tips?

The biggest tip is to move it where you will definitely want it to stay before you fill it as they weigh a ton! I've had mine since childhood so I'm properly skilled in manoeuvring it now
Drainage is a big thing. If you can manage to do so without breaking it then drilling holes in the bottom would be a good idea. I darent risk it so did a layer of stones and have it slightly on its side so any water drains out the plug hole.

Loving seeing all your photos and hearing how you are getting on!

I had another weekend of preparation, removing the last section of broken fence (had been poured into a concrete base so I made some very interesting noises pulling it out by hand and all by myself! Felt like wonderwoman afterwards!) and putting up the three garden maypole that I had bought from Homebase! Sweet peas will grow up those to make a fence of sorts. This weekend I'm going to plan the rest of the front of the border, with the intention of heading to Homebase again over the May half term to purchase plants, then plant out. So excited to see things finally going in the ground!!

wow everyone has been busy! Lovely pictures, especially the lilac and magnolia trees chicken.
My potatoes have plants pushing through, so need to get some more soil over the top.
I am going to dig over one of my raised beds and sort out the soil ready to plant something!

Amazing progress everyone! I'll reply individually in another post but thought I'd better write my update first

I did a series of half hour garden goals this week. Some are categorised half day on the Homebase website but they definitely didn't take that long so I managed to pack more in

I checked up on my bird feeders and decided to buy a nyger seed feeder to attract goldfinches. I've been meaning to do this for ages. Within 48hrs I had my first goldfinches visiting I bought this heavy duty Gardman feeder from Homebase along with some seed:

here

I was a bit worried about the feeding holes being overly small (they really are tiny - see poor reviews) so I used a hot skewer on the plastic to make them a bit bigger. The goldfinches and other small finches are visiting every day and the seed is going down so they must be managing

I piched a spare pair of binoculars from my parents' so I'm acing that garden goal too - as well as looking increasingly eccentric to my neighbours The tree with the feeders on is halfway down the garden so it's great to actually ID individual bird species. No sign of the squirrel yet chickens!

I've cut down on the amount I'm feeding the birds as there ought to be plenty of insects available now. I've left some fatballs up as well as the nyger seeds as they're both suitable for young birds. Once the fat balls have gone I won't replace them until October as per RSPB advice. The birds aren't fussed about the feeders in summer and I don't want the fat snax to go rancid.

The bird feeders are strung up in a laburnum tree growing up through a hedge. I keep the sides of the hedge clipped but the top was getting rather bushy and the birds seemed to prefer a clear shot at the feeders. I'd assumed they'd prefer the extra cover but not so! I followed the advice from the garden goal link and managed to shape the hedge very effectively using my Homebase garden shears. The birds seem really happy with the results

I also gave the bird bath a good clean and refilled it as a lady blackbird has been visiting and having a good wash. I'm very excited as I've never seen a bird use it in the whole time I've had it.

I chopped up some more logs and added them to my log pile at the bottom of the garden. Hope the creepy crawlies are appreciating my efforts!

Finally I gave my compost bin a good stir and added a new batch of green and brown garden waste.

Photos to come!

Trimmed hedge and birdfeeders:

Birdbath (the mini bricks are used to balance it and provide a landing platform!)

Garden blooming! The bees love the foxgloves, alliums, ceanothus and pyracantha. The latter were purchased from Homebase 2 years ago

Pyracantha full of flowers. Hope this means I get a nice amount of berries on it this winter!

Ginger your borders are lovely! Gives me something to aim for in the future, once tree stumps are history!

I did a half day task at the weekend and built a herb garden (although it only took me about an hour max)
I used a ready selected herb pack and it pretty much had everything I wanted.
It was easy to plant and looks nice in the pot even though it wasn't quite what i originally wanted.
I love using fresh herbs in cooking so this is perfect