A DIY enthusiast has revealed how she achieved an epic garden transformation – and she did it all herself.
Jenna Weir from Scotland decided to transform her lifeless new plot into a brand new look with DIY projects and bargains from B&M and Poundland.
Now, four years after receiving the keys to the property, her garden boasts a “chic Scandinavian-style retreat” complete with a stylish terrace, rocking chair and sofa area.
Jenna had been quoted between £7,000 and £15,000 to transform her garden, but by doing the work herself she managed to complete it for just over £1,000.
Posting on your TikTok account @weir_homeJenna shared a clip of the incredible renovations and admitted: “I can’t believe we managed to do all of this ourselves.”
Now, four years after receiving the keys to the Scottish property, her garden boasts of being a “chic Scandinavian-style retreat.”
Jenna Weir says she saved around £10,000 by transforming her garden herself. Pictured before
Jenna described how she managed to achieve the monochrome minimalist look without spending a fortune.
She and her partner Callum took care of all the labor costs, including installing and painting the deck, adding furniture and decorations.
The couple paid £200 for rolls of turf and £180 for a new 1.8m fence. The decking kit cost £550, but they saved on manual costs by installing it themselves.
Speaking to Gardeners World, Jenna said: ‘A lot of my garden decor finds are from B&M and Home Bargains, including the fence and decking paint, which was from B&M.
‘Our glass solar fence lights were a Poundland find and our beautiful U-shaped garden set was from a local company called Modish Furnishings who do regular sales.’
Describing the renovation process, she added: ‘When my husband and I moved into our newly built property, the soil in our garden wasn’t great and the ground quickly became overgrown with weeds, so it needed a lot of TLC before we started laying the turf.
‘Since we didn’t have the financial resources to start growing our garden properly at the time, we decided to put grass everywhere so we would have somewhere to sit.
Jenna described how she managed to achieve a minimalist monochromatic look without spending a fortune.
Thanks to DIY and doing the work themselves, the couple managed to save most of their money for the terrace area.
‘We retained the original flagstones the builder had put in place for entry and exit through the back door and erected a 6-foot privacy fence to replace the 3-foot one the builder had originally put in.
‘After having the lawn for almost a year, we began the transformation of our terrace.
‘The decking was laid on top of the lawn with a white stone border. We then began painting the fences with a stunning Cuprinol natural stone, as well as putting in a ‘green wall’ to achieve more privacy in this area.
‘During the renovation we discovered we had a dead area running along the side of the patio doors so we replaced this with large white stones and topiary balls before finalising the rest of the garden furniture and decor – and I still love how it turned out!’
Social media users were quick to express their admiration for the gorgeous new look and how cost effective it had been.
They wrote: “Looks amazing, I can only guess how much you were quoted, you’ve done brilliantly”;
‘It looks fabulous!’;
“Beautiful. Is this real grass?”
‘Excellent work!’;
Jenna (pictured) felt her garden was lifeless before, but now she enjoys hosting friends for barbecues and parties.
The deck kit cost £550, but they saved on manual costs by installing it themselves.
She achieved style on a budget by adding a wall of grass plants from Amazon, bringing color back to her garden.
Saving space on the essentials meant Jenna was able to customize the garden to her liking.
At night, the garden is illuminated by lights that the couple installed themselves.
“$180 for a fence is great, but the price of lumber and logs is now very high”;
“I love it. It has given me a lot of inspiration for my garden. Thank you so much!”
For the topiary section, Jenna used wooden edging from Home Bargains for £4.99, stones from B&Q and topiary balls for £6.99, also from Home Bargains.
She achieved style on a budget by adding a wall of grass plants from Amazon, bringing color back to her garden.
Now Jenna can feel proud when she throws parties and invites her friends over for a barbecue.
Beginning the transformation in 2021, Jenna faced several delays due to the Scottish weather.
However, she wanted to make sure she took her time to create a garden she loved and taking it one step at a time also made her transformation more cost-effective.
Much of her inspiration came from Instagram, before she started testing out what paint colors she would like.
Thanks to her smart shopping and DIY, Jenna managed to keep costs down and allocate the majority of her budget to the deck area.
Social media users were quick to express their admiration for the gorgeous new look and how cost effective it had been.
She said: ‘We also did it all ourselves and saved a fortune on labour costs, it was just a matter of buying the necessary materials and allocating the time to do it all.
‘We made the biggest savings on the decking by installing the kit ourselves and then staining it one colour. If it had been installed by professionals or if they had put down composite decking it would have cost thousands of dollars. For the time being we have also kept our original flagstones and natural grass.
‘The majority of our budget went towards the terrace area as we wanted a fairly large terrace for sitting and entertaining.
‘We opted for white stones to enhance the look of the terrace and decorated it with a luxurious rug, a hanging egg chair and a modular rattan garden set that can be moved.’
Although there were some challenges along the way, Jenna is in love with her garden and how she has seen her ideas come to life and looks forward to adding the finishing touches to her garden in the near future.
“Make sure you know what you want and what will be most practical for you as well,” she advised.
‘We live in Scotland so it’s rare that we can sit outside without it raining, but when we do, we want to make the most of it and maximise the areas that get the most sun.
Take your time and remember that you can also add things gradually over the years. Just because you’re “done” doesn’t mean you can’t add new plants, pots and furniture, as stores seem to get better every year when it comes to garden décor.