Our £1000 (ish) Moroccan Back Garden Makeover

For the past two years, our back garden has grown out of control and was pretty unusable. Our back gate kept breaking every time there was a bit of wind and despite Steve's best efforts, it just wasn't secure. The whole fence would sway in the wind. Our shed was broken into a few times and the whole space was just unsafe/unusable. 

We didn't do anything about it last summer as we were out and about a lot and didn't actually miss the back garden at all. We are lucky to have lots of space in our front (although this isn't private). We also didn't have the money to replace our fence but vowed to save and for it to be our project this summer. 

Getting a fence quote was not the easiest of jobs. I must have been in touch with around 10 fencers. Most just didn't get back to me. How people can run a business like this is beyond me! Anyway, our first guy didn't turn up then our second guy could only pop over in 7 days time.

When he did, the quote was £1250! Now we had only saved £1000 and we could stretch another £250 but that would be all of our budget gone on the fence. I asked my Insta followers and they all seemed to think that £500-£700 is what I should be paying. £1250 was double this. I was really torn at this stage as I just wanted it done and it had taken so long to get just one quote but then on the other hand, I didn't want to be ripped off. 

Anyway, I messaged another guy who people had recommended again and persistence paid off - he quoted just £500 to replace our fence (+ £80 to take the old panels away). What a saving! We booked him in straight away but there was a wait of 7 weeks..........( We used AJ Garden & Landscapes). 

A few before photos: 

On a nice sunny day during lockdown, Steve and Harry took down our old garden shed. Harry loved using crowbars and screwdrivers and it was a good team effort. Meanwhile, I tackled the weeds which had overgrown at an alarming rate. 

Trying to take the old wood to the tip during lockdown was a bit of a nightmare and it took Steve three attempts. He finally got there! Then we just had to wait for our fence day to arrive......

During the wait, I ordered accessories online. Our garden bench is from Wayfair. I think they have sold out of the exact one but it is a three-person bench and cost around £130. I wasn't too impressed with Wayfair - delivery took over a month and a lot of the other stuff I ordered from there to match ended up being cancelled just before delivery which was annoying. They do have a huge selection though. Thanks to my bro for putting my bench together. 

Finally, fence day arrived. I was nervous after all of this time they weren't going to turn up but they did. However, as soon as they had ripped our old fence down, the heavens opened and it was chucking it down. They downed tools and promised to return tomorrow. 

The next day, our fence was complete. It took 2 men around 4/5 hours to put up. I am so pleased we didn't attempt this job ourselves - some jobs are definitely left to the professionals. I am SO happy with the results. 

The garden was left in a bit of a state though. We decided to dig up the stone borders and replace with bark (£8.97 from B&Q for 100litres - we used 1.5 bags). This took myself, Steve and the kids a good half day of digging and clearing but we got there. 

My bro has taken up DIY during lockdown and was looking for a new project. He suggested making us some decking for our seating area and I thought that sounded like a fab idea. Materials cost around £90 for a 3m x 3m decked area. He cracked on with Harry as his apprentice and it was done within 24 hours from the initial idea. I love it and I am so pleased we decided to go for it. 

The garden was starting to take shape! 

Painting the fence was the worst part but many hands make light work and it took 3 of us (myself, Heidi and my bro) less than a day. We used Ronseal midnight blue fence paint (£19 for 9 litres). We also stained our decking with Ronseal decking stain (chestnut - £27). 

Putting the finishing touches together was the best part. I will list everything at the bottom of this post. I wanted the garden to be bright and colourful and have a slight Morrocan theme to it.  

My mam had been taking care of our AMAZING Everdure BBQ for the past year as I was too scared it would be stolen from ours. It is so good to have it back and I cannot wait for a summer of BBQs. 

I decided to buy an outdoor rug - you can leave these outside in all weathers. Steve isn't convinced and keeps bringing it in every night / when it rains. I say, what is the point of buying an outside rug if we are not going to use it properly? We may as well have just bought a cheaper indoor one. The battle continues!

At time of print, I am still waiting for burnt orange exterior paint to arrive which I am going to use on my garden bench. I cannot wait to see it! We also need to clean our patio, we just need to buy a different attachment for our tap. Over the summer I am sure I will be buying more plants too and I may add a cantilever parasol if we are blessed with a bout of particularly sunny weather. 

Shopping List (some links are affiliate) 

• Fence (A J Landscapes) - £500
• Fence removal (A J Landscapes) - £80 
• Garden Bench (Wayfair) - £130
• Decking (B&Q) - £90 
• Border Bark ( B&Q) - £13.50   
• Garden Table (Amazon) - £40
• Outdoor Rug (The Rug Seller) - £55
• Bench Cushions (Simply Be) - £20 
• Bench Throw (Simply Be) - £15
• Outdoor Fairy Lights (Amazon) - £16.99
• Lantern (Etsy - sorry I can't find the link) - £12
• Basket Plant Pots (Simply Be) - £20
• Moroccan Mirrors (Amazon) £15.99
• 2 x Blue Fence Planters (Dobbies) - £14
• Midnight Blue Ronseal Fence Paint (B&Q) - £19 
• Ronseal Decking Stain (B&Q) - £27 
•  Charlottes Locks Exterior Paint (Farrow & Ball - awaiting arrival) - £27 

Total : £1095

A little bit over budget but this is due to the decking which was 100% worth the extra spend I think. Once I have painted our bench, I will share the final photos. 

I am so happy with how our garden has turned out and cannot wait to make full use of it this summer. 

PS - We already owned our BBQ and the two cream metal chairs. Also, I completely forgot about Decorating Centre Online, next time, I will definitely go there for my fence paint rather than spending a fortune at F&B when I am tipsy! 

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