I saved THOUSANDS on my garden transformation – but I did it with freebies and bargain products from ALDI
A WOMAN saved thousands on her garden transformation and says the secrets to her success were very simple.
Thrifty Karen Brooke, 67, changed her “jungle” into a dream outdoor space – saving more than £5,000.
Karen bought her Cheshire bungalow two years ago for a steal of price.
The garden had been completely abandoned and was in a state.
But instead of being put off by the project, the gran-of-four got to work scouring selling sites and social media for bargains.
A stunning garden oasis now sits at the back of her home thanks to upcycling.
Karen broke up the soil with a tiller she bought from Aldi and began transforming the plot over the next year.
She put up a greenhouse in one corner and created a waterfall out of unwanted rocks that she sourced for free online.
She also put up a trellis – which is now covered in pink and white roses – and planted box hedges, lavender, hardy grasses and ornamental conifers.
Despite spending £7k on the 18m by 18m plot, Karen saved thousands.
Karen said: “I always wanted to do the garden myself as I like to get my hands stuck in and knew I wouldn’t want to spend what a landscape gardener would have cost.
“Just thinking about it, it would have set me back around £12,000, so it was better to do it myself.
“When I first saw the garden I thought what can I do with it and just got stuck in – and have lost a stone in weight in the twelve months it has taken.
“Doing the landscaping and the renovation of the garden was fantastic for losing weight because you’re walking around with wheelbarrows and shifting rocks.
“And now it’s all planted, it still keeps you fit because you’re bending down and stretching.
“It’s also fantastic for your mental health and your happiness.
“It’s just ended up like an oasis. I get the sun all day in it and it’s very, very peaceful.”
She now plans to spend the warm nights enjoying the gin corner she made.
Karen cut costs by looking for unwanted items that people were giving away.
She added: “I’m a bargain hunter, and I like to find things on freebie sites.
“I had to pay large sums of money for the concrete base, the greenhouse, and the summer house, but even on the patio, I upcycled what was there.
“My summer house has three chairs and I’ve upcycled them with white chalk paint, and I have a nice gin and tonic in there at 6pm.
“It’s actually got a label on it saying ‘The Gin Corner’. I sit in there with my dog for a couple of hours.
“I’ve also got a beautiful water feature that looks like a tumbled-down mountain, just a rocky waterfall, and that was to disguise an old fish pond that was there.
“I really feel I have turned a jungle into a garden.”