Woman transforms rotting garden into sitting area with £15 B&Q bargain
A woman transformed her rotting garden into a picturesque sitting area by using a simple bargain.
Emma Bailey, 35, from Sutton, Greater London, posts to YouTube as Emma's Allotment Diaries, and recently revealed how she revamped her garden with a DIY hack.
As many people prepare to spruce up their gardens ready for summer, a lot of gardeners will be keen to know how she pulled off the magical makeover.
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Emma told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "I wanted to make the back garden a liveable space for the summer, and it required some work because the furniture was rotting, there was a big pile of compost causing damage to the shed and the patio needed a good clean.
"As part of the makeover I decided to change the colour of the fence from white to dark blue because I felt like the white was washing out the colours from the flowers, and making the area seem a little dull.
"The design was an experiment really. I've never designed a garden before, but I knew I wanted an area at the back to sit and relax in."
The plan is for Emma to sit outside regularly and do some work as it's such a huge space.
She explained the patio is quite solid, so there's no point in pulling it up.
Initially they had pallet furniture at the back of the garden on the patio, but they removed it, and the original furniture was rather uncomfortable to sit on.
Emma also noticed that bugs and spiders would hide inside, which wasn't very nice.
"We decided to buy a new table and chairs from IKEA, and we found the prices quite reasonable," she added. "It was about £200 all in.
"The first job I needed to do was clear out the compost area. I raked it out, bagged it up, swept away the remaining soil and got rid of it.
"This waste had been causing the bottom of the shed to rot so I'm glad it's gone.
"We have now got a special bin to store garden waste, which was long overdue.
"I then washed the patio with the garden hose. I used bicarbonate of soda on the more difficult stains.
"At this point it was time to paint the garden fence. I went for the colour Urban Slate from the Cuprinol range – it was on sale for £15 at B&Q. We have lots left over!"
Emma opted for the off-black colour as she thought it contrasted nicely with the plants.
It took a while to paint, but she was thrilled with how it all turned out, and it looked great when combined with the colour of the yellow shed, pink blossom and tulips.
The next day she laid down a rug on the patio which she snapped up for just £25 from B&Q, and she worked to assemble the IKEA furniture too.
Emma said: "Once we put the table and chairs together it was just a matter of planting lots of colourful flowers to encourage wildlife and pollinators as well as create a calm area to sit in.
"I'm thrilled with how it looks, as it was such an easy makeover but really effective.
"It's transformed the back garden, and I'm really looking forward to using the space in the summer.
"I also have a mini allotment area further down. At the moment I'm growing peas, I have a blueberry bush and some potatoes.
"I also make use of the vertical space and have pots hanging on the fence. I've got little strawberry plants and chives."
"We would never get a professional to tackle the garden – all of the fencing and landscaping has been done by us," she continued.
"YouTube tutorials help. We are both pretty hands on with the DIY in our house and garden!"
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