Project 1: Replace lawn with a garden bed
Gather your supplies:
- Plants
- Compost
- Mulch
You'll also need:
- Grass marking paint
- Square-edged spade
- Metal rake
- Garden fork
- Post-hole digger
- Buckets
Here's how
Step 1
Mark out where lawn is to be removed with grass marking spray paint. Remove turf and all roots by digging squares with square-edged spade, then lifting it up - but keep as much soil as you can.
Step 2
Rake soil to ensure all roots are moved.
Step 3
Turn over soil with fork to aerate it, add compost and rake it in.
Step 4
Set out plants where you want them to go, ensuring that those that grow tall are at the back of the bed.
Step 5
Dig holes with a post-hole digger as deep as pots and twice as wide. Pour water in holes. Soak plants in buckets of water. When water has drained, add plants and backfill holes.
Step 6
Spread mulch over soil of the garden bed.
Project 2: Replace a struggling hedge
Gather your supplies
- Hedging plants
- Compost
- Mulch
You'll also need
- Square-edged spade
- Garden fork
- Metal rake
- Tape measure
- Post-hole digger
- Buckets
Here's how
Step 1
Dig out old hedge.
Step 2
Dig out and lift squares of turf with spade.
Step 3
Turn soil over with fork to aerate it.
Step 4
Add compost to soil and rake in.
Step 5
Set out new hedge plants 50cm-80cm apart.
Step 6
Dig holes as deep as pots and twice as wide, pour water in holes. Soak plants in buckets of water. When water has drained, add plants and backfill holes.
Step 7
Spread mulch.
Finishing touches
1. Paint your porch
The porch is your entrance and bare concrete is a dull grey. Brighten it up with a coat of paint in a deeper, richer grey.
2. Pressure clean your driveway
A gleaming driveway vastly improves the look of your home and costs you nothing more than the hire of a pressure washer.
3. Replace letterbox
A letterbox is essential for any home, but it need not be just a box. It can be architectural and smart too, but not cost a bomb.
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