I transformed my ugly, green fence with £20 buy from Wickes and didn’t even have to get my hands grubby
THE winter has left many of our garden fences looking weathered and worn.
Now that the weather’s warming up, this family of four are keen to get back out in the garden – but the fence needs some work.
Sophie, 30, and partner Sean Scanlon, 32, from Middlesbrough, were tired of their ‘wonky and ugly’ fence but rather than replace it, they wanted to find a cost effective way to make it look new and modern.
So that’s just what they did, and on their hunt for fence paint, they found a better alternative in Wickes.
Delighted with what they had discovered, the couple took to TiKTok to share the news and document their garden fence transformation.
The clip on TikTok, which rocked up a generous amount of likes and comments.
“Little unplanned project today, got these panels in Wickes for £20 each on clearance!
“Absolute bargain!!
“This fence had annoyed me since we moved in, [particularly] how wonky and ugly it looked – so when I saw these, I knew exactly what I could do with them,” they exclaimed.
The couple wasted no time and purchased the four Forest Garden Contemporary Double Slatted Fence Panels for just £20 each.
The new modern slatted fence panels were originally priced at £98 so when Sophie spotted them for a fraction of the price she jumped at her chance.
“I saw them on a Trolly for £25 each! I couldn’t believe it, [there was a] slight bit of damage to a couple slates, but nothing major,” she said.
Within one afternoon their shabby old garden fence was totally transformed.
The new panels were easy to install and as seen in their clip, the new contemporary panels were simply screwed to the existing fence with a drill.
“Luckily, the fence is pretty sound structurally, so I used them to put another frame in front and screwed it to that,” Sophie explained.
May gardening jobs
The Sun's Gardening Editor, Veronica Lorraine, has shared the tasks you need to crack on with in May.
GARDEN growth can go from nought to ninety in May, depending on the weather. The last UK frosts are generally seen at the beginning of the month, so all of a sudden there’s so much more to do and grow.
Plant out dahlia tubers
It’s a joy to finally plant out your dahlia tubers. Remember how big they can get – and space accordingly – anything up to half a metre apart.
It’s a good idea to put your support stakes in now instead of trying to work around them.
And make sure you include lots of well rotted manure or decent compost to feed it and then mulch to keep it moist and suppress weeds. They generally start blooming in July.
Final feed to Spring flowers
You can give a cheeky feed to all your remaining tulips and daffodils.
Although the majority of bulbs aren’t guaranteed to come back year after year any more, as long as you’ve left them to die back naturally there’s a good chance they’ll have stored enough energy to come back again. Tomato feed is fine.
Tie up climbers
Your clematis, honeysuckle and rambling roses should be well on their way by now – try to use plastic free string to tie them back into their support, or tuck them round each other to make sure they don’t sprout off in crazy directions.
Feed the lawn
It’s not too late to give your lawn a good feed.
Whether you use granular or liquid, it can give it a good boost to see it through the harsher summer months.
While mowing, don’t go too low with your cut length yet and never take more than a third off the grass height.
Get creative
It’s also time to get creative with hanging baskets and pots.
Trailing pelargoniums, which a lot of people call geraniums, and Begonias are a good, low cost way of getting lovely returning blooms throughout the summer in your baskets.
And pots can be planted with spring bulbs.
Don’t forget the greenhouse!
Give your greenhouse a good tidy and clean the glass inside and out.
The improved light will help plants grow quicker inside and tidying is good for the soul.
You can just use a household white wine vinegar and water solution – or even neat if you’re feeling spendy – which gives a really good shine.
The mother of two couldn’t be happier with their bargain buy and the transformation it brought to her garden.
People flocked to TikTok to share their excitement:
One commenter said: “Looks amazing, so much better.”
Another added: “What a transformation, great bargain too.”
The couple have set themselves a challenge to document the rest of their garden renovation in series on TikTok @renovatinglilac.
