Mother and daughters transform the rubbish and dog poo-filled garden of their new home for £450

Thanks to lockdown, many of us have been spending more time than ever in our gardens.

And when one mother moved into a new place, she was determined to transform the rubbish-filled front and back garden into a place she and her kids could relax in.

Kelly Jones, a mother-of-three and school lunchtime assistant, from Oldham, moved into a new house and was horrified with the mess she inherited in the garden.

The family set to work on tidying the garden, planting new bulbs and accessorising with garden items from budget brands including B&M, Poundland, Tesco and Aldi.

They spent £450 and have a stylish, clean new garden after all their hard work.

The garden was full of rubbish, dog poo, glass and bricks. 

Kelly, 36, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘I moved into this property in December just gone and was horrified with the mess in the front garden and back garden. 

‘I’ve been working really hard to make the garden presentable: it was full of mess, rubbish, dog faeces all over and in bags left by the last tenants, glass and so much more.

‘It’s taken three tip runs and lots of blood, sweat and tears to get to where it is now.’

Kelly said she and her daughters first had to remove the rubbish and dig the flower beds which also had glass and bricks buried in them.   

‘We had to remove those and fill them with new topsoil. We then bought new plants and big stones to try and achieve some colour,’ she said. 

‘The children enjoyed planting – I had each child dig holes and plant each bulb or baby plant in the ground.

‘I like to bargain hunt online and in local shops like Tesco, B&M, Aldi and garden centres, where most of the plants have been reduced and came at a great timing for us.’ 

Kelly and her daughters, who are aged six, seven and 12, worked together to transform both the front and back garden of their home.   

‘Me and my three children aged six, seven and 12 worked together to strip both gardens back to the basics and worked from there,’ she added. 

‘My children and I love to garden – we love planting and wanted the bulbs and plants to thrive.

‘We love seeing all the amazing colours and I enjoy educating my children about the cycle of life.

‘We brought a lot of garden stuff with us from the old house and transformed it into something we are very proud of.

‘In total, I’d say I’ve spent no more than £20 on plants, £60 on stones, £65 on plastic turf and £250 on garden furniture.

‘In the front, I spent no more than £40 on plants from Tesco, B&M, Aldi and Poundland.

‘In total, for both, I’d say I spent about £450.’

Kelly and her kids are delighted with the garden’s transformation, with everyone pitching in to get the project done in time for the summer.

‘We love to be outside in the garden and love watching things grow so for us this has been a project of love especially with how bad it was,’ she adds.

‘My wonderful new neighbours have helped me massively with these gardens by taking three massive loads of rubbish to the tip for me and helping me lay the new fake grass too.

‘I moved into the house of horrors but got the best neighbours so that was a blessing!

‘All I’d say to anyone wanting to do what I’ve done is look at the bigger picture and have patience. All I saw was the beauty that could be achieved with a little help from my girls!’

Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: ‘There are always some unexpected surprises when you move into a new place, but Kelly and her family really had their work cut out for them with the messy garden they inherited!

‘Luckily, thanks to their hard work, the garden now looks fantastic – and I think they managed to do it on an excellent budget considering the before and after pictures.’