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How To Cost-Effectively Transform Your Garden
Everyone wants to enjoy their garden space however most homeowners look out onto a dull and uninspiring area, and it can feel like your garden will never be the place enjoy. Perhaps now is the time to make some cost-effective changes to transform your outdoor living area. We are aware that transforming your garden area can become expensive and not everyone will have a huge amount of funds at their disposal. If you are not prepared to part ways with an excessive amount of money to re-design your garden, but still want it to look great, there are many other ways in which you can make the most of your outdoor space.
DIY
First up, Do-It-yourself or ‘DIY’ is one of the best ways to save your money. Gardeners and landscapers can charge a lot for their time, costing around £200 per day per person, they can very quickly become more expensive that the materials themselves. Gardening should be a relatively relaxing pastime and removing struggling weeds can be a great start to transforming your garden, giving it a much cleaner look. If you can use basic tools and are willing to spend some time both reading up on easy-to-use instructions and guides, you yourself could even take on the hard landscaping tasks such as installing a full decking area or building a wall. As an example of how much you may save, if you were building a 30sqm decking area, this will take two landscapers around 4 days to complete. If you were prepared to do this yourself, you could save around £1600! Of course, the project may take a bit longer to complete, but if you have the time to space, maybe even borrowing the help of family and friends and enjoy a technical challenge then the rewards will show for themselves once you have finished the job.
Planting
Plants are an amazing way to bring colour and give the revitalising feeling of being outside even closer. Plants can be expensive but with a bit of planning and patience, overtime you can fill your garden with beautiful plants keeping your budget relatively low. The secret to this is buying your plants when they are small and reading up on the best way to keep them growing. Plants being to get expensive when they must be cared and nurtured for by the garden centres. For example, a small rose bush costs around £20, but the equivalent in a seed would cost around £0.14! (£7 for a pack of 50 / 50 = £0.14). You will have to ensure that you are willing to spend the time looking after the seeds so that they grow properly. Afterall, its all-good planting seeds, but if they don’t grow, there’s not really any point and you will have wasted your time and money. Choosing the correct plants and positioning them correctly is also very important so using plant pots which complement the colour theme and ambience of your garden will really help to pull everything together.
Decorative stones and rocks are another clever way to tidy any edges around decking and porcelain which you might not want to be on show for your guests to see. Typically, a flat bed of stones is incorporated into a small project to complement the main attraction. Decorative stones can come in a range of sizes but of course it is a personal preference on what you may decide to go for and of course you may want to match or contrast what is it up against. A 20kg bag of white 10/30mm stones could cost you about £35.99, so depending on how big the area was, this may be all that you require.
Painting
A great way to brighten up your garden is to give any fences or the outside walls of your house a fresh coat of paint. Adding some colour to an otherwise dull fence or wall has several benefits, the main being that it is cheap! A small pot of paint could cost around £20 which would be able to cover about 20m of fencing. Choosing the correct colour scheme can really change the look and feel of your outdoor living space and make it an environment that people will want to spend time in. Painting a fence black is an interesting wat contrast against the colours of any plants, and make it seem like a much more vibrant, colourful area. If you have any wooden garden furniture such as chairs, tables, and benches these can also be touched up with paint to match the surrounding walls.
The advantage of paint is that it is available in a huge array of colours from naturals to bold, matching any outdoor areas. Paint also preserves your fences, meaning it will last a lot longer and stand up to the elements without changing the appearance of the wood itself. You will want to check that you have a good period of warm weather in the forecast before deciding to paint anything but avoid doing so in extreme temperatures.
Decking or Paving
A decking or paving area is absolutely one of the best ways to transform your garden. It can take an outdoor space from just a basic, unenthused garden to a paradise where you can entertain family and friends, spend some time relaxing in the sun, or create a safe environment for children and pets to play outside. You may be aware that the idea of doing this would not see ‘cheap’ as composite decking and paving can be expensive. One way to reduce the cost of your decking is to use materials with a cheaper upfront cost such as timber wood that you can source from all home improvement distributors. Wooden decking costs around £30 per square meter, whereas composite decking costs more like £50-100 per square meter. However, you must know that whilst wooden decking is cheap, it will not last nearly as long, around 5-10 years, whereas composite decking boards will last 15-25 years with little to no maintenance. So, a greater cost up front but more than twice the lifespan. With a patio, using cheaper materials like concrete will help keep the price low. Concrete paving can cost as little as £30 per square meter. You get what you pay for nowadays, and concrete doesn’t will not be able to transform your area like a porcelain or stone tile will. You may want to consider your budget so you can spend that bit extra to give your garden that ‘WOW’ factor. A porcelain tile costs around £50-70 per square meter.
What Now?
Now that you've read a bit more about garden ideas, you may begin thinking about going ahead with it yourself. With so many ways to go about it available, we know it can seem like a big decision to make. Why not begin by ordering one of our free sample boxes to help you choose which style will best suit you?
You can also call us on 0208 159 2999 or send us an email to sales@ovaeda.com to get quotes, guidance and any technical support with your plans. If you think you will require the help of a professional installer, we are happy to recommend one to assist.