Tell B&Q about your unloved garden - £150 giftcard to be won NOW CLOSED

[KatieBMumsnet]

As you may have seen already, we're working with B&Q, who so far have helped 20 MNers revamp their unloved gardens - soon you'll be able to check out the video of their revamps. MNers have also been posting their before and after pics of gardens they've transformed here so do check out this thread for Mumsnetter garden makeovers!

Now, we'd love to hear from other MNers who might have an unloved garden of their own. Do you have a lawn that's more of a jungle? A window box that's a little bit weathered? Or a patio that's seen better days?

Tell us what makes your garden so unloved for a chance to win a £150 giftcard from B&Q. What do you want to change about it? Maybe you'd like to put down some decking or just get some new plants? What has stopped you from changing your garden?

Everyone who shares their unloved garden stories here will be entered into a prize draw to win a £150 B&Q giftcard.

Please note that any comments you post here may appear on the B&Q pages on Mumsnet and potentially elsewhere.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw
MNHQ

Our front garden was pebbles over when we bought the house. We stuck a few pots on it as a temporary measure, but 9 years on, it is still the same. The small wall at the front of the house had been hit a few times before we moved in, and the stones just haphazardly piled up. Embarrassing really as its the first thing anyone sees when they come to the house.

Our garden is tiny but it has a lot of potential! We have some lovely shrubs, a small cherry tree and a tiny patch of grass but I'd love a proper organised window box full of fresh herbs and a climbing plant at the front door like a clematis or a honeysuckle. A nice bench to sit and watch the world go by (or drink coffee on while the kids run amok!) would just complete the whole thing

Oh I used to love my garden
But we now seem to have an invasion of that Japanese knotweed plant
That we can't seem to get rid of
It's taken over whole garden and killed everything can't afford to do industrial weed killers numerous times

Don't even seem to have a garden any more

During the recent heatwave I managed to kill almost every potted plant in our back garden

To be fair I was at the end of my pregnancy (then adjusting to a newborn) and life also got in the way.

I would dearly love to plant some pretty flowers for me and some rocket for my husband as well as starting to show my son how to garden (without killing plants!).

I would also like to lay done a small line of paving stones to make it easier to walk from my side gate to the front door. Ooh, and maybe a small flat area to put the bistro table and chairs... so many things to do :-)

Our garden was a mess when we moved in, the drive was dangerous, the grass waist high, only half a fence and a wrecked patio. We even found an old metal bed under all the grass and random bricks buried in the 'lawn'.

Now we have an okay fence and pulled up the worst of the patio and dug out the bricks. We've done the best we can with the drive with what money we have. We have a corner house so the garden starts at the front and wraps round the house, with the bit at the back a small triangle shape. This means most of the garden is at the front.

In the front the ground is shaped like a bowl with quite a big dip at the centre so that when it rains it becomes a pond. The ground at the back is bumpy so we can't have swings or a trampoline for the DCs.

If we had the money I'd love to buy a tonne of top soil and hire a leveller to make the ground nice and level and put down grass seed. There's also a garage base/foundations so I'd like to build a simple garage there to store bikes and toys so that when the weather is bad the DCs can play in there. I'd also like to put a high fence or plant a hedge in the front garden for privacy as we're on a main road, plus we could then get a trampoline.

I'd love to dig some flower beds and a small raised planter for vegetables at the back. We'd need a lot of top soil as there's no soil as such in the garden as its heavy clay so no good for growing without the time and money to replace it.

To do all this would be expensive but we're saving what we can to make the garden nice (and safe) for the DCs to play in as there aren't any decent parks on our estate (Local authority housing) and they're still too young to play on the fields behind our house.

Our new front lawn appears to have been attacked by insects deluge having no problems previously. It's gutting as we spent the last of our savings on it and are at a bit of a loss as to what to do.

Our back garden has different patches of grass and in an ideal world we would sort that too but it's too expensive.

At present our garden is just grass or patio. I would love some plants and DS aged four really wants us to plant some bulbs to come up in spring.

I would also like to get DS a tub to grown some vegetables next year if we could afford it as I feel time is limited for his interest in this sort of thing.

With an even bigger budget I would get some decking to make a little Play area for DD that is level with patio doors, a picnic table to have lunches out with the DC, some way of giving us shade as there is none until late afternoon and a box that we could put a few outdoor toys into.

I have just bought a new house, and it has a garden - the first garden I've had since I was 9, nearly 40 years ago! It has so much potential: I want to grow berries and a few veg, and my teenage children have been promised a trampoline and summerhouse-type hang-out... But the previous owners were not gardeners, and all there is now is a lawn and one straight, thin, overshadowed flowerbed full of weeds... Where to start?!

We moved here last year and the garden has needed sorting since then but we haven't managed it yet.

There's a random "pathway" which has a double layer of slabs on it, empty (but for the weeds) borders, a rundown shed which needs to be replaced and moved as it currently takes centre stage in the garden (not sure why). At the bottom of the garden is a pretty little apple tree which is covered in a holly tree and a beautiful, grade 2 listed wall but at the moment it is hidden by ivy, slabs, the shed and a compost heap. So I see potential.

However, realising that potential will be tough due to lack of time as we have 2 small children and also lack of funds. And maybe a feeling of how overwhelming it is to sort out and a lack of inspiration. I have booked myself on a gardening course this autumn to help with the lack of inspiration, so maybe this time next year we'll have our family sanctuary created by my own fair hand.

We took on our mother in laws house and garden which had previously been inhabited by students and the garden untended for 4 years.

We cut everything back but feel we are losing the battle with 20yr old established shrubs, broken fencing, rabbit hole pitted lawn, an abundance of unwanted gravel, and a recent garden fire next door that took a large part of our replanted garden with it.

Holes, weeds, gravel, charcoal is the sum total of our garden and we are so ashamed of it.

What do we want to change? Just a decent lawn would be enough.

Health issues and finances are stopping us completing it.

We recently moved in to a new house and to say that the garden is unloved might be an understatement. The lawn was a jungle and although now trimmed it needs some attention with some new seeds and a cover to help patch it up. There is so much Ivy that has grown in from the outside which I don't think has been touched in years. The trunk of the Ivy was as think as my arm - I have never seen so much Ivy in one place! We have started to pull it down but now we need to redefine the borders (which currently don't exist any more), buy flowers to go in them, prune and sort through the plants that are left and fix any fence panels that have been damaged by the ivy! It needs lots of attention! PLus we would love to make a cosy seating area for us to sit out in in the evening with new table, chairs and parasol!

We have recently moved into a property that had been vacant for three years ..................... and unloved for many years before that.

We'd driven past it regularly over the years and seen how the house was neglected and the garden, a wilderness.

Our first viewing of the bungalow revealed a back garden that looked a bit like a warzone. The wooden fencing at the rear only had 2 vertical panels - the rest were horizontal, partially obscured by brambles and ivy. There were no planted areas, no borders, no paths or landscaping, just a veritable jungle of grass and tangled weeds. In the corner was a shed. Well, I say 'shed', but this makes it sound far too grand. Sunken into the ground with a plastic tarpaulin as a roof and brambles to secure it on a windy day, was a ramshackle wooden wreck. Peering inside wasn't a pleasant experience.

The day after we exchanged contracts, we hired a petrol strimmer and started to attack the brambles and 'lawns'. We took photos to remember just how overgrown everything was - the grass, well above knee-height - was like cutting hay. Once shorn, my husband used the lawnmower to tame it still further but it almost looked worse when this work was complete. Patches of bare earth competed with the non-existent fencing to entice our two dogs to explore our new neighbours' gardens much to our embarrassment. But, in all honesty, who can blame our pooches for wanting to decamp and sunbathe in an outdoor space which has soft grass, warm patios and peaceful planting.

One of these days ........................................

since the kids have grown up the garden has been neglected and now we loose the dog everytime he goes out there :(

We have a side return that's full of old paint and rubbish from when we had a loft conversion. There are also a few big tree stumps and this takes up so much space as we live in a Victorian terrace so the garden isn't very big. I'd love to clean it out and start from scratch, pull out the half concrete paving and do a small deck area and step and totally tidy it up.

My garden is VERY unloved. I recently moved into my new house and the garden should be renamed the jungle. There is weed everywhere. The grass is probably waist high due to the very hot weather we are having. I don't know where to or how to start. Worst of all I haven't been able to enjoy the garden at all due to the state it's in. My garden is so unloved it would weep if it could. Money is quite tight at the moment so have been putting it off. These vouchers would come in so much use.

Not sure if you are allowed to nominate someone? My nanas garden used to be lovely when my grandad was still alive and fit but as he got older (and eventually died in 2009) the garden slowly started to decline. Me and my brother has just managed to landscape her front patch (just took everything out and gravelled it-only took about 20 bags of gravel-so not very big) but the back will cost way too much for my nan to ever have it looking decent again.

Its quite a big garden and it used to be fenced off half way down. The bottom half was for growing vegetables in (there's allotments behind so the soil is great for growing) and they had a greenhouse which used to grow the best tomatoes in the world The half closest to the house was just a lovely lawn with a border around it and loads of nice flowers. It gets the sun all day and I remember playing out there in my paddling pool when i was little. Now the garden is just all grass/weeds, its no longer sectioned off so its just a mass of unkempt lawn and its uneven all over. I'd love to have the money to restore it as close to its former glory as possible for my nan to enjoy for the rest of her days.

...cont (forgot to add)
If i were to win the money i'd use it to hire a rotavator (if you can use the gift card for that? But if not i'll pay that myself) Take all the grass/weeds from the bottom half and buy a small fence/paneling to fence it off (shouldn't cost too much as the garden is more long than wide) Then dig the borders on the top bit and buy some plants to put in them. I dont think i could manage to get a greenhouse too with that much but will buy some veg seedsand maybe some planters/compost heap to put in the bottom next spring. and if there's any money left over some fairy garden ornaments or whatever takes my nanas fancy.

my garden is very unloved. its small and a mess. i would love to make it nicer so that my children could play out there, dd1 has aspergers and adhd and cannot be trusted to play outside. it needs new fencing and levelling out more than anything. we used to have lovely parties and bbq's but over time they have dwindled as i cannot manage the upkeep as well as looking after my 4 dc's, 2 of whom have ASD's. i would love a garden makeover to give the children the space they so desperately need and want to play in.

Another one here who has just moved house and inherited a garden the previous owner 'promised' would be tidied up - :) it was a neglected wilderness full of cat poo and chalk stones. We have moved to the deep south from the north, and brought some lovely things with us in pots.....
I have resolutely tackled the overgrown hedge, the hideous leylandii, the bind weed and ivy and am now trying to create a bee haven and a pleasant place for the whole family to enjoy - the paving is all haphazard and uneven, and the garden slopes, so is going to need some skill to restore and nuture it - a lovely low level dry stone wall to remind us of our northern roots, and an updated patio area would really help us to create something to enjoy and pass on, - like many of these stories, trying to make a space beautiful instead of an ugly, neglected and sad piece of land. We want to enjoy our gardens, not ignore and feel sorry for them!

We are lucky enough to have quite a long garden. It contains a giant vegetable patch which is useless to us because neither DH or I is in any way interested in growing vegetables. It also has a patio where stepping on half the stones is a gamble as they may tip up and throw you into said vegetable patch.

If we had the money I would repair the patio and make it much bigger so the kids could ride their scooters on it. I would also get the kids the swing they have been asking for all year.

I would then buy an apple tree and some fruit bushes and turn the veg patch into a fruit producing area. And some posh pots so the children could plant them up with colourful plants. And some storage for all the plastic toys currently scattered around the garden. And a nice bench for me to sit on and read.

I am sure I could spend a lot on the garden - but if we had any spare cash it would have to go on the interior of the house because that is dire.

Although this is a rental property I still like to take pride in sorting the garden out.
When we moved in it was the size of a postage stamp because it was so overgrown.

The neighbours said that our landlady (a lovely old lady) used to take pride in the garden but that the previous tenants didn't use it much.
In the first week of moving in I got my two eldest DC to get their all in one suits on and out we went, chopping down weeds and branches and it's now at least four times the size. I bought a playhouse and there's much more room for the DC to play but I still want to add flowers a few bushes at the bottom of the sloped area and put a wee bit of grass in so DC3 can sit outside with them.

It looks a little bit like a building site but we'll get there next summer eventually!

This summer DD and I have sacrificed our holiday, spare money and lots of time to try and get our garden sorted. So far, we have one side with all the hard stuff just about done- decking, lawn and gravel. But we've ran out of funds for the pretty, fun stuff- pots, flowers, a nice table, that sort of stuff. And my back garden still looks like a bomb has hit a jungle, but thats a lot more than £150 worth of work out there!

A helping hand would be very appreciated

I moved into this house two weeks ago and the 30x30 foot garden was a meadow, chest high. I rang a chap on gumtree advertising gardening services and he casually quoted twenty quid to blitz it. When he saw it, standing there with his battery powered strimmer, his face fell! Eventually we sorted something out and he hired a brush cutter and had it done in two hours. So now I have the beginnings of a garden.... But nothing else!

Moving has wiped me out financially so I haven't got any equipment of my own yet. I've also managed to de-weed the lovely little borders at the front and am desperate to get some lavender and herbs in there. Any help would be gratefully received!

BTW I got some delightful come-uppance after sniggering at all the cat mess moaners on MN. Literally within 4 minutes of getting rid of the final weed, my ginger cat went number two in the freshly turned soil.

I live in a small cul-de-sac of 10 homes. There are several communal areas by walls/at the backs of garages etc that were planted up when the houses were built (about 20 years ago). This planting is now out of control - there is blackthorn, honeysuckle, mahonia, buddleia, pyrocantha etc - so this summer instead of the pruning I've tried before, I am removing the plants completely - roots and all!

I have three green waste wheely bins of my own and the use of a neighbours... one of the highlights of my fortnight is the day these are emptied and then I can chop down some more!

I contacted the local authority before I started and they're quite happy as these areas are not their responsibility and have been most encouraging.

All the neighbours are really pleased and with a bit of luck the last roots will soon be out and I'll be ready to plant anew in about four weeks.

The voucher would benefit not only the ten homes that directly view the rediscovered spaces but hopefully other overgrown areas on the estate too as the improvements are seen and replicated

We live in a rented house where the garden has obviously been 'unloved' for quite some time. The main problem is overgrown borders which desperately need weeding, and a one corner which is completely overgrown with bamboo. Not sure why anyone would plant bamboo in a small suburban garden - it grows ridiculously tall and quickly too!

As with many people, it is difficult to find the time (and energy) to sort out the garden when you are working and have small children around. Not to mention having the time to do it needing to coincide with some reasonable weather!