Mum of three Janine Byrom, 38, a managed to revamp her garden under lockdown for just £200 - and the transformation is incredible.
The business owner from Atherton took inspiration from social media pages, and combined it wither her own ingenuity to make something that not only looks amazing, but is a lot more child-friendly than her old one.
“Our garden was overgrown and not kid-friendly," Janine told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk.
"I had always wanted a lovely garden that we could enjoy as a family but had little knowledge of how and where to start.
"I joined a few gardening pages on Facebook and took inspiration from people creating smaller gardens on a budget.
"I’ve always loved pretty shabby chic inspired things and had collected many things before lockdown as I gathered my ideas."
But it was being stuck at home, with the schools closed, that made her take action to turn her vision into reality.
"Lockdown really pushed me to do something," Janine said.
"The garden was overgrown with weeds and nettles and the kids just had a large trampoline that was taking up so much space!
"With their permission, I dismantled the trampoline and set to work on the garden. I did get quotes from gardeners but as a single mum on a very low budget, I just couldn’t afford what they were asking. "
Most Read
So she set to work herself instead.
"I was undeterred and decided to just get stuck in. I borrowed gardening tools from a neighbour and dug up the weeds and levelled the soil," Janine said.
"I managed to get hold of some fake turf during my weekly shop to B&M - I always shop there for the kids' snacks and crafting supplies so I added a few bits to my trolley during my essential visit.
"I followed the instructions and laid the turf. Already the garden was beginning to take shape!
"I recycled and upcycled where I could. I even transformed an old sideboard that I was planning to tip into a seating area by covering it with a waterproof tablecloth and outdoor cushions.
"I ordered my fence paint online and spent a day repainting the fence - this took me a couple of days but it was oh so worth it and the garden really did look 100% better."
Don’t miss
"I had a trellis to attach to my shed which I added more fake flowers to, and I filled flower pots with fake flowers until I could get to a garden centre. Friends and neighbours also brought me plants and little bits they weren’t using.
"I had some old china and attached plates to my shed via some strong adhesive strips and I added garden solar lights too.
"The kids' bench I already had from a previous car boot find that I managed to snap up for a fiver so I just painted that with some paint I had previously used on my front door. "
"I’m still going to add to the garden as and when I can get more plants and so on, but the difference this extra space has made is unbelievable!
"My daughter's birthday was during lockdown and I managed to do her a little BBQ and paddling pool which she loved!"
And rather than fork out thousands getting professionals in, Janine spent just £200 by carefully selecting each item.
That broke down as £50 on turf, £8 on a picket fence, £20 on fence paint, £28 on cushions, £18 on paint for her bench, £12 on the fake trellis, £8 on the fake flowers, £16 on floral wreaths and around £40 on other bits and bobs.
And the finished results had far more than just cosmetic benefits.
"The project has helped so much during this difficult time,” Janine said.
"It’s been so good mentally to focus on something to do and I can quite honestly say that if it wasn’t for lockdown I wouldn’t have had the kick up the bum to do it!
"I’m really proud of our garden and never believed I could achieve so much on a £200 budget!”