Well, my dears, the little scrappy patch of wilderness at the back of my garden is finally no more. The truth is, it’s actually been mostly done for a couple of weeks but I promise I haven’t just been holding out.
It’s just that I live in Manchester, England. And while England is known the world over for being rainy, Manchester is known throughout England as ‘The Rainy City’. So that’s saying something. But, hey the music scene is brilliant so ya win some, ya lose some.
As it goes, I’ve not had a sunny enough day to take pictures so that I could share the work we’ve done, never mind be able to use the space. However, yesterday was a gorgeously sunny day! Hurrah! About bloody time as well.
You may recall from the last time you saw the back of my garden, there was a massive improvement to the space over the course of a single weekend. A lot of digging, moving, weeding, planting, raking, re-planting, potting, blood, sweat, tears, etc etc was necessary as it was looking really quite horrible and sad.
Just as a reminder, this was the state of it when I took the original pictures on Thursday, 15th March. If you haven’t seen it before, brace yourself. It’s not pretty.
A heck of a busy weekend meant that by Sunday, 19th March, it looked like this:
A bit better, but not quite there yet. I teased you a week later that we’d done more to the garden, including painting the shed…
And laying a wee patio…
But it wasn’t quite ready for the full reveal just yet. I needed to add a few finishing touches before that was going to happen. You’ll be happy to know the finishing touches are pretty much done (I say ‘pretty much’ because I don’t think a space is ever truly ‘done’!) so I do hope you like it.
Right, getting on with it now! Just a reminder of our before…
And – ta da! What it looks like now…
Ahhhhhhh that’s better, no?
Inspired by this pin, I added my own version of a herb garden on the front of the shed. Just three little aluminium pots that I spray painted orange and hung with hooks. I love the bit of contrast they provide with the bluey-green of the shed.
This planter had been purchased over 2 years ago – before we even moved into the house. And it was languishing, never having been used and collecting dust, in our cellar. I’d just never had a spot for it until now. It was actually cream but as this space was going to be all about adding some colour, it too got the spray paint treatment.
This little orange bistro set was one I purchased from eBay for a mere £20. Bargain! I’ve seen similar sets new for around £100 so it pays to check what’s on the market second-hand before you buy! I think it fits the space nicely. (In my dream outdoor space, I’d have a big crazy candelabra/chandelier hanging from a tree over this table but alas, I don’t have a tree big enough nearby…)
Oh and didn’t W do well on laying the patio? I think he’s done rather well considering this was never in our original plans! Funny how plans just escalate, isn’t it? *looks around innocently* Not that I’m complaining… ;)
I added some solar lights in bright colours so we can sit out there in an evening as well.
These little ones were only £2 each from Homebase but they matched the colour scheme so well, I couldn’t really resist.
Snazzy hardware completes the shed as well… I simply spray painted the silver hinges that came with the fence gold and purchased a lovely pull handle for £8.
I also added another 2 bags of stones to the front – that’s 4 bags of the stuff in total! Crazy that such a small space would need so much – oh well, it does look better than the horrible concrete walkway that had been there previously.
And finally, a few pretty potted flowers give the space a little bit more colour and life.
As I had said in my previous post, we had to leave a patch of dirt to the right of the little patio for the cats. If we didn’t, they’d be digging up the rest of our garden as well as our neighbours. But I don’t think it looks too out of place and we’re going to plant a some rose bushes near the wall. I’m hoping in a few years’ time the back wall is all full of climbing roses – so very English!
Oh and I changed the ‘curtain’ that was hanging in the window of the shed. It’s actually just a £7 shower curtain stapled inside to look as though it’s ruffled. When I finally order some outdoor fabrics, I will probably change it but until then, the colours worked so I figured why not!
Anyway, I hope you liked my little back garden blitz and hope it’s encouraged you that it doesn’t take loads and loads of money to transform however neglected a space you may have! Some bargains, a few potted plants, maybe a creative planter or two, a lot of hard work and a bit of know-how (we learnt how to lay a patio from the internet!) is all you really need.
Any garden makeovers in your plans?
Oh my goodness it looks fantastic!! You must be so pleased. I love the colour of the shed and the little patio set. It just all looks so stylish and colourful!!<br /><br />Cant wait to do ours at some point!<br /><br />Rachie xo
the cutest garden ever. where is my lemonade?????<br /><br />smiles and hope you have a wonderful week after all that labor!<br /><br />michele
LOVE it! love the lanterns and colors!!! SO cute!
Red, it's perfect!! I love the shed color and hardware, that table is adorbs, and don't we all dream of an outdoor chandelier? I know I do all the time. <br /><br />The patio turned out fantastic too! Your escalated ideas are genius!<br /><br />Xx. Patience
It looks fab! Lots of lovely ideas to pinch for our patio area when we move into our new house next month. <br />Claire x
It looks AMAZING, Red! I love everything you've done and all the bright colours are calling summer (cannot wait for warmer weather)!! Such a happy spot you've created! Love the little fairy lights and solar lights, and the herb planters are very clever :) <br /><br />You both deserve a big pat on the back and many happy sunny days relaxing out there. <br /><br />Hope you're well my
Great reveal how cute I love the diy patio you have inspired me!
Oh my gosh! It looks great! I can't believe the transformation. Every part is wonderful, especially the pops of color.
WOW! You did such a good job! Kudos on your vision, and of course on the execution. Mind if I steal your idea for the herb buckets on hooks? I kinda need some of those…
This is fantastic little garden makeover – I hope you don't mind if we blog this post on the DIY Doctor Blog? – I will credit you! I think you may inspire lots of others! Well done and keep DIYing!<br />www.diydoctor.org.uk
It looks lovely. The coloursare very cute. I love the pink plant holder on the wall. ADORE the shed! xxx
Wow it is an amazing transformation. I love the herb buckets idea! <br /><br />If you want a climbing rose that has no thorns go for Zephirine Drouhin, it has lovely pink blooms and you won't prick yourself.
Loving the little bucket idea, and am going to hang some on my fence. B&M Bargains currently has them in different colours for just 99p!
Um, WOW! What a dramatic before-and-after! This is just perfect and so cheery, love it!!
oh my goodness the transformation is amazing! <br /><br />xx
You did SUCH an awesome job! I love it all, seriously
It looks fantastic! Well done, such a fab transformation!!
Lovely page with great ideas. Just a thought, keep your eyes open for an old mirror (charity shop or an auntie) and install it behind the pink planter. It will make the garden seem to have another “room”. Hope you don’t mind the suggestion. Great little area to sit.
I love that idea Jake and it’s actually something I’ve been considering as we’re going to be expanding the patio this year! Thanks for the reminder, must look and see if I can find something suitable! :) xx