Is a brand new look overdue for your backyard? Every garden needs sprucing up at some point, whether you’re just tidying and tweaking things or totally transforming the space at your disposal.
Of course, any type of garden renovation requires a lot of planning. Before you start restyling your yard, take a look at our tips below to help you organise your project.
From finding inspiration to skip hire in Leyland, these five points should show you how to think thoroughly about what you want and make the best choices for your garden.
Researching style ideas for your new garden
There are so many different types of garden designs to choose from. Which styles suit your personality and home the best? What kind of atmosphere do you want your garden to have when you spend time outside? Think about both the visual and practical aspects; how do you want the space to look, and how do you intend to use it?
These are the questions you need to ask yourself when deciding which design features to go for. If you’re struggling with ideas for your exterior design, don’t worry – there are plenty of resources online that can guide you with a few Google searches. You can also visit garden centres or public parks to look for things that you like. Try creating a mood board to keep track of your ideas.
Working out your garden makeover budget
Now that you know what you want for your garden, you should calculate how much you can spend to achieve this. Your budget must cover every part of the renovation, including all the materials, tools, and labour costs. Though it’s more fun than the installation stages, shopping for plants, furniture, and accessories is only the first part of the process!
You should set a maximum amount in advance, so you don’t overspend, and only look for elements that fit within your budget. If you’re going down the DIY route, you’ll need to buy the relevant equipment, whereas if you hire professionals to take care of it for you then you’ll have to pay for their services. Always add a little extra to your budget in case extra expenses pop up later.
Getting the right materials and equipment
Once you have your shopping list and budget prepared, it’s time to buy everything you need and book any professional services you wish to use. Try to do this as close together as possible, to ensure that everything will be ready when you need it to be. Make sure you’re covering all the bases when selecting products, including:
- Walls or fences
- Pathways
- Decking or patios
- Planters or flowerbed borders
- Hedges, trees, flowers, etc
- Water features
- Outdoor lighting
- Dining or lounge furniture
- Play equipment for kids
If you don’t know how to structure the space properly to get the most out of the natural light and layout, it’s best to hire a garden designer. Equally, it’s better to hire a landscaper and/or electrician for outdoor installations if you’re not experienced in DIY. This will be much more cost-effective than buying all the tools yourself and potentially making mistakes that you’ll have to pay more to fix.
Following a step-by-step garden renovation plan
When you have your garden design planned out and all the products you need prepared, you should break the project down into different steps. This will make it easier to know what needs doing and when, and ensures that you don’t forget anything important along the way. It can be helpful to create a floor plan as a visual guide for the areas of your garden that you need to work on.
By writing down everything that you want to complete, you’ll be able to organise a realistic timeline and arrange all the tasks in a sensible order. Your step-by-step plan could be something like this:
- Prepare the garden (cut the grass, clear weeds and clutter)
- Level the ground (turn over the soil, remove debris)
- Fit new borders (e.g. fences, walls, hedges)
- Lay paving or construct decking for a patio area
- Lay new grass, pathways, and boundaries for planting areas
- Set up outdoor lighting (e.g. solar powered, wired, or battery powered lights)
- Install new plants and flowers (planting in the ground or potting)
- Add garden furniture (chairs, tables, ornamental features)
Assign a time scale for each task and set a final deadline so your garden will be complete by a certain date. Remember to be considerate of neighbours, as you’ll probably be making a lot of noise.
Hiring a skip to dispose of garden waste
Clearing out your garden to prepare for the renovation will produce a lot of waste, as will installing all the new elements. The most convenient solution to getting rid of a large amount of garden waste is simply to hire a skip. This allows you to dispose of the debris from your garden responsibly, without having to wait for green bin collections or make multiple trips in your car.
From skip hire in Chorley to skip hire in Leyland, we can drop off a skip for you to use throughout the duration of your garden project, then collect it afterwards and take the waste away for recycling. It’s so much easier to put all the soil, foliage, rubble, and old furniture into a skip and forget about it when you’re done. If you need help choosing the right skip size for your garden renovation or understanding what can go in a skip, please get in touch with Leyland Skip Hire.
