Cheapest way to fix my ugly garden?

[chilliplant634]

Hi. I live in a Victorian terrace and I would like to tackle the garden this month. My budget is tight. Can anyone give me suggestions on the cheapest/most cost effective way to make the garden look presentable? The emphasis being on making the garden as low maintenance as possible.

Someone suggested putting artifical grass over the crazy paving. I wasn't sure if this would work as the paving seems quite uneven.

It's a lovely space. I'd start with a good tidy up, pressure wash paving and paint the fence and shed. That'll give you a blank canvas ready to decide your next steps. Personally I'd steer clear of very bright colours for woodwork. As someone mentioned, pale colours look dirty very quickly and they can look quite garish in my opinion. Something more muted and neutral will provide a better background to show the beauty of the plants you will have.Good luck!

Agree with the others, that could look lovely with the fence and shed painting which ever colour you feel like and some planting to soften it. I have inherited crazy paving in my front garden which has a fair bit of planting around it, here it is on the day we exchanged. We’ll be doing some gentle pruning later this year and adding to the planting.

Which fence is actually yours ?

The one on the right (wooden posts and ivy) is shot and needs replacing. Painting it would be a waste of paint.

When and if you take that ivy down the fence underneath it will collapse.

This.

Tidy up, paint the fence a smoky grey-green, clover seed the area near the shed and get started on a lovely container garden.

Please don't use chemical cleaners on the pavers; the insects and worms beneath them deserve a life.

It's a very small area for turf, and you don't need the hassle of a mower or a hoover. So I'd reject both artificial turf and natural turf.

• clean the slabs
• paint the shed
• give the ivy a really good tidy up in the Autumn

I wouldn't remove the paving but I might re-lay it if it's uneven, and look at lifting some of the slabs from the edges to create interesting borders.

How low is the low maintenance requirement?

Paint the fence black or dark green: once you’ve got things growing up and in front of it, it adds depth to the garden: makes it look deceptively bigger. Look at tinyandthehouse on Instagram.

Lavender is a great low-maintenance cheap filler to cover lots of space. Love pp’s suggestion of herbs between the paving slabs. Chuck a handful of fleabane seeds around and next year you’ll have flowers most of the year and forever more – it self seeds wonderfully and covers all manner of sins. Nigella (love in a mist) is another great self seeder that fills out beds cheaply and prettily.

I would wait a bit to buy paint, whatever you decide to go for - a couple of years ago we found huge tubs (10l I think) of Cuprinol and Ronseal in B&M for £5 each! I think it was in August, so assume it was reduced because 'everyone' (everyone organised!) would have done all their garden painting already...

Likewise with plants, you can find all sorts of bargains looking a bit unloved at supermarkets etc, and if you give them some attention they often perk up nicely. Look on Facebook too - you might find people giving away or selling cheap plants, as well as pots and paint where they've bought too much.

That's the neighbour's fence. He doesn't want to fix it. It's about 3.5 to 4 panels that probably need replacing. To do it nicely with the sturdy base will probably cost around £750. It's not a priority for him right now. I don't plan on painting that side. If I had the money I would offer to go halves with him, but I don't. I want to spend my money fixing the rest of my garden up.

If there is no grass/turf/gravel next to the shed, then won't it just overgrow with weeds?

It's a very low maintenance requirement :/

Thanks for the suggestions. I did consider darker grey or soft charcoal for the fence, but I was worried it might look too harsh, if the whole fence was painted that colour.

Do the fence and shed have to be the same colour? I was thinking of doing a charcoal or bluish tinged black on the shed and a light/medium natural wood colour for the fence. But then I suppose the white concrete posts would look out of place. Would I paint those in charcoal as a contrast?

I do like the idea of painting it a sage green, but almost feel like I'm not brave enough to do it! Not sure what colour combination would look good with the shed.

Thanks for this

Dont get rid of the paving, turn it into a little court yard garden with lots of lavenders, pots/containers with things that will grow back year on year, evergreen shrubs, and climbers up the sides, a table and chairs with parasol, paint the shed a light colour, lemon or cream

A dark grey-green would look great with a charcoal shed, though I like the rustic shed as-is, too. Pink climbing roses would be stunning on fence and/or shed.

White dutch clover is inexpensive, germinates well and would be a pollinator-friendly ground cover in the bare areas, with those stepping stones leading from the paved area to the shed. It wouldn't prevent you from inserting plants there at will. It also adds nitrogen to the soil and is more drought-tolerant than turf grass.

Hosta or lavender along the base of the shed sets it off and is about as low-maintenance as you can get.

Ask on Freecycle and similar sites for plants, pots and supplies; many people have excess to share. Focus on perenniels and herbs rather than annuals.

You can paint pots if free ones aren't the colour you like. I'd think about a theme: terra cotta? grey/green with "french country" imprints and lots of lavender? primary colours/brights?

for example, I determined years ago that I'd have no orange, yellow, red or other "hot" tones in my garden. Only pink, purple/lavender/violet, blue and white. Pots and garden decor are mostly sage green, some greige or a lighter "retro" green. It's gradually developing a pulled-together feel. Green and white variagated hosta for some lightness around the flower beds.

What level of sun exposure does the bare area get?

@bussteward I like the idea of self seeding wild flowers in the borders. If I want to do a combination of these flowers for a colourful effect, how do I sow the seeds? Do I just do little patches of each seed next to eachother? Sorry, I'm a complete gardening novice!

@bussteward also the soil is very dense clay type london soil. Do I need to add something to it before planting these seeds?

Yes, you should turn over the soil and mix in compost.

There are many online resources about establishing self-sowing wildflower meadows, and tbh it's harder than it looks; it takes several years to establish with mowing (or strimming, I suppose) done at specific intervals.

You might be better off sticking to tried-and-true border plants like lavender, hosta, etc., and experimenting in your pots with various seeds. If you are aiming for low-maintenance.

I subscribe to this woman's blog; she has a wonderful courtyard garden.
https://londoncottagegarden.com/

Agree with other posters that painting fence and shed and jet washing the paving should be first step. Will make a huge difference.

If you've got clay soil, roses might well grow quite well so you could plant a couple that are supposed to get large in front of the shed. They would look lovely and block the shed, but they're not evergreen so you might have to think about something else as well to soften it the rest of the time.

Pots are great but do get expensive. What we've done over the years is started small. so a few cheaper pots and cheaper filler things that might not last so well but will brighten things up in the short time, and one or two permanent things each year that are perhaps more pricey. A few pots though would immediately add colour and would create a less rigid space.

Most fence stuff is a stain, so you wouldn't be able to sand it off, it is ingrained in the wood as a preservative. If I were you, I'd choose a mid brown fence stain and paint the whole lot with it, shed included. It will all start to blend in nicely and give a neutral background.

Give the ivy (or whatever it is) in the shed corner a good haircut, trim back anything else round the edges that looks messy, sweep the slabs to within an inch of their life and if there are any gaps between the slabs, then get some gravel and put that in the gaps. Then buy a cheap little patio set. You could get a couple of tubs of summer flowers as well, and maybe a hanging basket attached to the shed to give a focal point. Just make it neat and tidy, and it will make all the difference. It won't cost a lot, but will make the garden look well cared-for.

Don't try to do too much at once, it will cost a lot more, and might not work out the way you want. If you would like a lawn, then sow seed or lay turf in the early autumn or wait till next spring, don't do it now. Seed is super-cheap by the way, and you could do a whole lawn for £5 and some elbow grease!

(I had a garden design background in the dim and distant past, and I always suggest people take their time deciding how to make changes).

Agree with clear, stain fences grey/greeny and shed. Lots of gardeners love to share free plants so talk to neighbours when they are gardening. My mum made practically her whole garden from cuttings (snip off a non flowering short stem and leave a little ‘heel’ on the base and put in soil, keep damp then plant when big enough).
For low maintenance in front of the shed, cover it with weed suppressant fabric and plant lots of lavender bushes through it, adding compost in the planting holes as you plant. Cover the whole lot with gravel. It will keep weeds down, be great for bees, is very low on upkeep and smells like heaven. Once a year cut the lavender back. That’s it.
Get free pots from fam/friends who are clearing out stuff, facebook or freecycle and arrange on the lovely paving with an upcycled table and chairs.
A shallow container (look in skips/junk shops)with solar fountain and couple of pond plants would be perfect. (Ask a friend with a pond we are always sharing these). It is a lovely garden and will be worth it to have a restorative space for you to enjoy.

I agree with painting the shed and the fence. If it were me I’d probably go for a dark grey colour as it looks fab against the background for plants and doesn’t look dark at all. Definitely keep the paving too and focus on the borders around it. I’d also concentrate on getting some fairly large shrubs or small trees along the borders in strategically placed positions. Wildflowers are a great idea in some areas but I found them temperamental and I think you need something larger/ with more impact. I’d look online in Facebook marketplace for some largish planters if you can get hold of them, and then fill them with larger plants – you can often get some really good bargains at local Plant sales or even places like B&M. Also look at filing cabinet planters – these can be a really good way of getting large planters for less money. You could also fit some trellis at the side of the shed and grow a climber like jasmine or honeysuckle.

Then I’d also try and get some secondhand garden furniture, you can I can often get a really good bargain on Facebook/ eBay if you’re prepared to repair it slightly or stain it. Definitely don’t get artificial grass, it won’t be a good investment as every garden I’ve seen having it done it looks fine for the first year or so but then looks dreadful.

Don't get rid of the paving! It's so cool!

A good clear up will help for starters.

Then I would see which pots you can pick up for free or very cheaply and add a few shrubs/trees. You will be amazed at what you can find reduced to very little. (I recently got a Red Robin bush and an acer for £3 each and two ginormous pots for free! They look amazing and I am excited to see them grow.)

A trellis and some wisteria could also be nice in whichever spot gets the most sun.

Be sure to plan ground-level and raised water sources for birds, insects and wildlife, too. Even if you don't want to feed the birds, providing water is a humane way to do and draws beautiful creatures to your yard.

@chilliplant634 Nigella, poppies and fleabane all established fine in my London clay soil.

For lazy soil improvement: put a layer of cardboard down on your beds. Cover with a layer of compost, or well-rotted manure. Ignore it all winter: let the worms and creepy crawlies do their thing. You can poke holes in the card once it gets wet from rain and plant directly in it.

Roses: plant “bare root” in winter when they look like sad twigs. Buy from David Austin and add the fungus powder they recommend.

Nigella and poppies: Higgledy seeds are good. I just throw handfuls in the air roughly where I want them. Fleabane I had most success with plug plants (like cheap tiny little plants in eggcup size pots – with fleabane just stuff the rootball, compost and all, into cracks between paving).

Lavender likes dry, barren soil really and can get waterlogged in clay so either in pots or a rocky bit of ground, full sun.

You can always move plants around if things don’t work, it’s part of the fun. And seeds will eventually fill a garden cheaply: don’t be tempted to overplant with lots of established things because stuff GROWS. First year plants sleep (establishing their roots), second year creep, third year they leap. It might look happy at first but it’s not long til it’s lush.

See if there is a local to you FB plant swap/ give away page. On our area one, people are always giving away plants, pots and all manner of gardening stuff.
Good luck with your gardening endeavours!

Yes, put out the word. A friend of a friend gave me a carrier bag full of dug-up bearded iris tubers - I didn't get around to jamming them in the ground until January (two years ago) and bloomed that first spring and have spread amazingly.

Really love your pavers. The possibilities for a cute container/cottage garden are endless.