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

I have an update on the squirrels, which I am beginning to grow strangely fond of. I went to clear them off the birdfeeder and one of them had managed to get inside the bars of the squirrel proof feeder. I think it must have been a young one to get through the bars. They ran off and I counted 5 of them, I think it must be a family, they are working together to get the birds food.

We have so many bees and butterflies in the garden at the moment and are getting some stunning dragonflies as well. I'm trying to photo as many as I can so that we can work out the different types. We also have loads of birds: blackbirds, woodpeckers, crows, robins, blue tits, magpies, sparrows.

My husband saw rabbits once and I think I saw a fox one night. Then there are the bats, which have gone quiet so they may have moved on for this year.

Its lovely.

Placemarking for later!! Had totally lost this thread, will update tonight.

I'm really chuffed with how my garden is coming on
I got some of the those ball lights that were recommended and fairy lights to go round my tree, the pic doesn't really do it justice it looks awesome!
I have tidied up a lot of bits, and jetwashed as you can see but I'm struggling to keep on top of the weeds, I'm guessing it's going to take several lots of weedkiller.
My plants in containers aren't doing great either, I'm realising gardening isn't that way at all. water and food don't seem to be enough at all!

*easy not way!

Here's a before and after of a more than day long task! When digging out my borders I realised that the previous owners had put rocks in as fillers, and covered the top with gravel as well.

I didn't have a flat compost area, so decided to pop to Homebase and get something to use with the stones! And then proceeded to dig and sieve lord only knows how many tons of stone from the area. The stones used for the new compost area are only about half of what was dug up!! But the soil now in the beds is far easier to work with, and I also took the chance to enhance it with some locally sourced horse manure.

buckeejit only just seen your question sorry! I'd guess they were just over 6 foot. I really like them, and have had lots of positive feedback from the neighbours!! I love sweet peas as well, and after the tree stumps finally rot down and I can plant some copper beech hedging, I plan to re-use the maypoles in a different areas of my garden.

We love to sit in our garden with the children and family, especially when having a BBQ. Unfortunately when I became unwell my garden is suffering as much as I am. Our goal has been to keep the garden low maintenance, as I am now registered disabled and unable to work on my garden. I used to grow my own fruits and vegetables and I had a dedicated patch for this, but was removed after my health problems got worse. I had some lovely volunteers come out and replace the membrane for the patio area for the front garden, but now, the patio has more weeds and wild flowers than a forest. The grass is too big for the first time to even consider cutting, so requires a strong trimmer, and a new membrane needs to be replaced with a stronger one, and covered with pebbles to finish the look. My rear garden makes me really upset as again it's in need of a clear out. My husband is my main carer and my children do help him a lot. He is also a self employed electrician and has too many responsibilities for one person and also a really bad back. So he really struggles to keep up with the shopping, laundry, my care his work, the cooking and cleaning and the children's commitments to extra curricular experience. So if Homebase is looking for a property to review their products on or as a PR project, we would be extremely grateful. If I won I would definitely get something useful for the long term use for maintaining the gardens.

Looking forward to seeing the results. Well done winners

This little guy in my garden last night!

So a little wildlife update. The squirrels and I are still battling. I don't think there is such a thing as squirrel proof. They are so clever and persistent.

Today we have had two greater spotted woodpeckers in the garden. Apparently they are usually solo creatures apart from when mating.

Woodpecker pics

oh my goodness chicken the wildlife pics are brilliant!

I am loving it. Am way over excited every time I see a new Bird in the garden. I think I'm getting old. Have bought some expensive binoculars and got a Bird book!

Love the woodpeckers (and the squirrels ) chickens!

My poor garden seems to be suffering after the heatwave and now so the rain. Going to have to do a tidy up before the final after pics!

Me too Gardengirl! I was away at Glastonbury and had my parents on watering duty. Typical it had to be the hottest week of the year! I think a few pots may have been missed

Just recovering from a chest infection but I'll get out there and take some pics and write my final report asap.

Hey Ginger, I was at Glastonbury as well. I live nearby. We could have met up and compared notes!!

Okay going to answer the last two questions:

Do you feel like you achieved your Garden Goal?
Yes I do, since I started the challenge I have had more wildlife in , especially birds, and loads of varieties of butterflies and bees.

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?
I don't think I have completed it all as it is an on-going process and I still want to build a pond and plant a wildlife meadow and do loads more things. I would like to get more bird nesting boxes and a camera so I can what is out there at night (owls, hedgehogs, foxes etc.). I think I would call myself a gardener now. It's my main hobby and I am planning loads more challenges in the weeks, months and years ahead.

I've also been doing non-wildlife things and have grown courgettes, salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, raspberries as well as planted some hanging baskets. Gardening is good for the wildlife, good for the family and good for your soul.

Happy Friday everyone and roll on Gardeners World and the lovely Monty Don tonight!

Oh yay Chickens!! Did you get in free as a local?! I've been volunteering there for years Nearly melted at the beginning of the year this year!
What were your highlights? I'm always a total gardening nerd exploring Permaculture, the Peace Garden (in the stone circle) and Hortisculptures as well as any other garden/eco bits up in the greenfields! Caught plenty of bands this year too mind

ps Thanks for the Monty reminder!

I did the one-hour Garden Goals Challenge - DRESS YOUR PATIO WITH FURNITURE AND ACCESSORIES.

As soon as I saw the blue bistro set I knew I wanted it! It is so lovely.

I bought the set from Homebase and it was wrongly priced but the staff were very helpful and sold it to me for the price online. As mentioned before, the reason I wanted to do the garden was because I've just had a baby girl so wanted to be able to sit out with her. I was given a rose named after her which I put out there, and the other garden goal - the herb garden - is on there too. We've had lots of lovely breakfasts and evening meals sitting out there. Attached is a photo of my DD and I on there!

That was a really fun and easy challenge and it looks lovely now. I'd like to add some more bedding plants when we get time, to make it really special.

For the garden goals 'half day' challenge, we chose to build a herb garden.

We had an ancient Belfast sink in the garden which the previous owner had in his greenhouse. My DH moved it up to the patio area and then we went to Homebase and chose our herbs. The range was really good and very good value.

We looked up the 'how to' guide and then cracked on! We filled the sink with compost and DH dug a hollow for it. Then we spaced out the plants and just popped them in.

We chose garlic chives, Greek basil, oregano, mint, thyme and sage. They are surprisingly all thriving! The only one not faring so well is the Greek basil which perhaps isn't as hardy as the others.

At first it looked at though the chives wouldn't take but they're doing well now.

I'm not sure how they'll winter but we actually have plans to put a second planter in on the other side too, with perhaps marjoram, tarragon and rosemary in.

This challenge has been really fun - probably the best return on the time investment! Last night we had pasta with chives and sage from the garden which was really lovely. It has given us so much happiness to grow some of our own herbs! It helped our confidence too as it's such an easy win.

I also wanted to just sum up some of the other activity we have done in the garden as I think our garden goal to build a patio garden has expanded and grown and incorporated elements of the other challenges!

• Do you feel like you achieved your Garden Goal?

Definitely; having the structure really gave us the opportunity to try something with a finite ending, with the confidence that it wouldn't be left half finished! It has inspired us to do far more around the garden and actually start using it as we'd like to. Our renovations have spread outdoors!

• 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?

Absolutely! It has really sparked our imagination and creativity. We used the £100 voucher and have probably spent another £800 in the last eight weeks on materials from Homebase and a garden shed to house our new tools. DH and I have always had a sense that there's a 'right way' and a 'wrong way' to garden but with help from my DF and my DMIL we have really made huge changes in our garden. The staff at our local Homebase have been genuinely helpful and encouraging of us as total amateurs, and they have probably got quite used to the sight of us wheeling our baby DD round the gardening section!

We have made huge progress. We sowed a lawn on Monday evening and are hopeful this weeks' rain will help it along! We have also had lots more wildlife coming to visit including a very cute foxcub last week and a robin. We have even had a visit from a rare black fox.

I'll add before and after photos tomorrow as I've used up my limit today, but we have also fully weeded the front garden and added a patch of grass, and put down plum slate instead of concrete in the yard.

Being a new mum, sometimes I have done tasks in the evening - my DH found me outside at 9pm with some masonry paint a couple of weeks ago! But it's really spurred us on to make huge changes over the course of the challenge.

Your posts are so inspiring ibuilt! Can't wait to see more photos

That's exactly how I learnt to garden, bit by bit. The bitesize garden goals are really encouraging as you say, as you actually see results!

Little and often is my gardening mantra. I do exactly as you describe, pottering around of an evening - deadheading, painting a shed, mowing the lawn. Anything I can fit in in 20-60mins on a warm evening

Herbs are just fabulous aren't they! I haven't had masses of luck overwintering mine (SE) but I don't think this is a reflection on me, most of them are Mediterranean after all! Saying that my rosemary, chives and oregano have stood the test of time. I sow basil indoors on my sunny kitchen windowsill every spring as it seems to prefer it to the great outdoors. I lost a sage and thyme this year but they're inexpensive to replace.

Very jealous of your fox cub and black fox

So here's my 11th hour final update.

Do you feel like you achieved your Garden Goals?

My garden goals were to add colour to my garden and yes I think I have achieved that. The potted plant display, which was my half hour goal looks lovely, the plants from Homebase have flowered and flowered and look glorious (as long as remember to water them).

The half day goal was to paint up the old bench and table and my full day "s"... and days and days job was to paint up the kids play house. The outside is finished and although I still need to replace the windows and juje up the inside, it certainly makes a big difference in the garden and looks great.

After completing your garden goal, do you feel more confident in gardening and would you like to take on more challenges throughout your garden and home?

Yes and yes. I have really enjoyed taking part in this project and have gone from rarely stepping into the garden to going out everyday to potter about and do jobs. I already have plans that include some of the other challenges such as making a herb garden and encouraging the wildlife except for the family of rats that have decamped under the decking, they need to be evicted even though they are kind of small and cute. On the upside I did see a bird of prey in the neighbour tree which I've never seen in SW London before. I'm really grateful for being picked for this as it's been really enjoyable both to do and to watch other posters progress.

I've never shopped at Homebase before despite it being closer than the other big DIY store but I will use it in the future - they have a good range and the staff are really helpful and knowledgable.