Cheap Garden Makeover Ideas
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After the harshness of winter, the spring is now approaching and it’s time to think about spending more time outdoors. The garden can get a little neglected over the winter months, so spring is the perfect time to be thinking about sprucing it up to get maximum enjoyment from it once the weather warms up.
Cheap Garden Makeover Ideas
Barbeque Area
One thing we’re keen to add to our garden this year is a proper space for barbequing. My husband is a big meat eater and enjoys cooking outside, so managing the last few years with a small kettle barbeque has been a bit of a sore point.
As he has experience in metal fabrication he is keen to build his own barbeque-come-smoker from an old oil drum. While this may not be the absolute cheapest route to go, it is less costly than having someone else build it to his exact specifications.
Winter is actually the perfect time to think about buying a new barbeque, as many of last years models will be on sale before new ranges are brought out for summer. This is actually pretty true of most garden furniture so if you have room to store it, now is the time to buy!
Lighting
Lighting is a cheap and effective way to give your outdoor space a boost. Whether you opt for solar-powered lights or electric, they can be strung along fences, twisted around bushes or hung from pergolas to give a pretty glow when the sun goes down.
Lick Of Paint
Giving your garden a lick of paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve the overall look. Use black paint for areas you want to blend into the background, such as the shed, and bright colours for areas you want to stand out. Painting can also help if you’re looking to give your garden a theme – I recently wrote about how to give your garden a beach theme – painting fences white is one of the easiest ways to do this.
Grow Your Own
Adding a vegetable patch to your garden could save you lots of money in the long run as growing your own fruit and vegetables could save you needing to buy them during the summer and autumn months. Even if you’re a total beginner there are plenty of options, many of which will provide several harvests. Try growing tomatoes, runner beans, potatoes, salad leaves, radishes, onions and garlic.
Herbs are also easy to grow and provide ingredients for the kitchen as well as beautiful scents for the garden.
If you have the space you could even go one step further and keep a couple of chickens!
Paths and Paving
If you’re planning on adding paths around your garden, gravel is significantly cheaper than using paving slabs. If you have a patio, a good hose down with a pressure washer should have it looking ship-shape in no time. If you don’t feel it’s worth investing one to use once a year, there are lots of schemes that let you borrow or rent them for a small charge.
Reuse and Recycle
There are lots of ways old items can be upcycled and reused in your garden and the best part is they are usually free or very cheap to come by. Pallets are a very popular option for turning into both garden furniture, planters and have even been used to create a back garden bar. Old tyres can be made into seats. Old tin baths are sometimes used as water features or for a focal point filled with flowers. Tin cans can be drilled full of holes to create budget hanging candle holders.
Another popular idea is to use a combination of pallets and large metal dog bowls to create a mud kitchen – a fun outdoor play area or children.
