How to transform your garden from drab to fab with just plants and lights

13 July 2020, 16:19 | Updated: 7 July 2021, 10:37

Promoted by wilko

Heart's Fia Tarrant was inspired to give her garden a well-deserved makeover during lockdown. Here she shares how she transformed it from a grey space to somewhere relaxing and inviting.

By Fia Tarrant

@FiaTarrant

Until lockdown, my garden was only really used for the odd bit of sunbathing, and having drinks with friends - weather permitting.

At the start of April, when everyone was staying indoors, I invested in some fruit plants, excited at the thought of being able to pop outside and pick berries to have in my breakfast whenever I fancied.

However, I was left disappointed to learn that there might not be anything to harvest until next year, and my garden dreams again faded away.

But, after spending a good few months staring at it out of the window, I began to feel much more appreciative of my garden, and I knew it was time to show it a bit of love.

Calling upon the assistance of my 4-year-old son, who I affectionately call Monster, I sat down and thought about what I really wanted from our outside space.

I decided that I wanted it to be more colourful, be more atmospheric in the evenings, and be a relaxing place for us to enjoy our meals in the sunshine. He wanted an opportunity to get his hands muddy, so I made sure to get a packet of mixed wildflower seeds he could grow from scratch.

All the things that I used to take my garden from drab to fab came from wilko, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had such a great offering of different outdoor products, from plants to solar lights and dining furniture.

It meant I only needed to make one order and it was all delivered. It was a lot less stressful than having to travel to different stores, choose what I needed, and maintain social distancing measures for me and my little boy.

As soon as my order arrived, I couldn’t wait to get out in the garden - and I knew this was the start of a whole new phase for me; ‘Gardener’.

Read more: How to transform your kitchen and bathroom with a decluttering project

Laying out the brightly hued flowers and outdoor plants with a tropical look, my garden immediately looked so much more inviting - and I hadn’t even taken them out of the box yet!

As well as the plants, I ordered several planters of different shapes, colours and sizes, and Monster loved the cute squirrel one, and I loved the striking yellow one.

Planting some gorgeous summer flowers meant that he had the chance to get his hands dirty, and he has also taken on an important new job, which he describes as “keeping them alive”.

Getting busy in the garden together was really good fun, and I loved seeing him enjoy himself and learn about nature at the same time.

A day of potting and planting also wore him out, so once he was in bed I was able to really appreciate all our hard work with a glass of wine outside.

Sitting at my new table and chairs underneath twinkling solar lanterns, taking in the rich colours of our new plants, was a moment of bliss.

Since then we have even started having BBQs, and I can’t wait for when friends and family can come over and enjoy our garden with us… as long as the weather stays dry!

Whether you're keeping busy at home with a bit of organising and decluttering, finding new ways to entertain the kids, or brightening up the garden for the summer, wilko has got your little wins covered. Click here to check out their ranges.

Plus, we've teamed up with them to give you the chance to win £1,000 to do up your garden and outdoor spaces. Enter here.