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.

@chilliplant634

Buy a wire hand brush from B&Q and brush your shed & fence down with that to get rid of algae, loose bits and dirt. NO sanding needed.

Buy a big brush and a big tin of shed/fence paint and get it done.
Ask staff in DIY shop for advice if you're not sure.

Power wash slabs. Tart up edges with plants. Watch where & when sun strikes the garden and ask advice from garden centre staff about what to plant.
It’s a huge learning curve but it’ll be fab next spring.

chilliplant634 · Yesterday 13:44
Thanks for the great suggestions! I think I will try and pressure wash the crazy paving and see how it looks. Sorry for the silly questions, but after pressure washing do I need some sort of sand to fill in between the paving slabs? What type do I use? I've just found that there are weeds constantly growing between the paving and I struggle to keep up with “

Missed this question, hopefully someone else has answered?

If not, there is a particular kind of sand for precisely this. You brush it in dry then when it rains it hardens up. Can’t remember the name (sharp sand, maybe/maybe not?) but anyone at a builders’ merchant will be able to advise.

Please post some photos when you’ve finished 😃

Personally I wouldn't do this in the OP's type of garden, at least not now. For one thing, if you want fauna beneath the pavers to flourish, and I hope you do, they need water and access/egress in the cracks between. Insects, worms, etc. which are an important part of our eco-system and deserve to have their little lives.

For another, you may find that you wish to plant steppables, moss, etc., in the cracks for a cottage garden effect. Putting sand that hardens like concrete in there is not conducive.

Really, just tidy up, use all of those spare bricks and pavers lying around to augment the path from patio to shed, paint that fence, get yourself a little chair and bistro table, and let some ideas sink in. No need to rush it. Get to know the light, air, sound and soil in your garden before spending substantial funds and making irrevocable changes. Visit garden centres, review blogs, and keep notes of things that you like. It will be a very fulfilling project.