When the kids were younger, our garden was more of a football pitch than a peaceful outdoor space. Most days it was covered in stray footballs, Nerf bullets and dominated by a huge trampoline. Back then, all we really did was keep the grass cut, a few half-hearted attempts at painting the fence and trim back the few bushes left by the previous owners — survival mode gardening, really.
We are lucky that the garden backs onto a small copse, which gives the illusion of a woodland at the end of the garden with tall tree canopies above the end fence. Sadly though, the few fruit trees that once dotted the garden had long since died and the garden became a patch of grass with a few sparse overgrown shrubs and not much else. And then, after a particularly windy spell, we noticed the fencing starting to wobble. Really wobble.
It became obvious pretty quickly that the fence needed more than a quick patch‑up. The posts were loose, the panels were warped and once the ivy came off, we could see how that was actually holding the whole thing together. We needed the job done quickly – as the combination of a wobbly, half‑fallen fence and two dogs who love to potter around the garden – wasn’t ideal. It became less about how it looked and more about how unsafe it had become.
Once the ivy was stripped away, we could see that thick, stubborn ivy roots that had woven themselves into every post, so we spent hours pulling, cutting and digging them out just to get the area clear.
We decided to bring in someone who actually knew what they were doing and we found a local gardening contractor through a friend. Within a couple of days, the old fence was down, new posts and panels went in. Watching professionals do it made us realise just how big a job it would have been to tackle it ourselves…. Sometimes the best DIY decision is knowing when not to DIY.
Once the new fence was finally in place, the whole garden instantly felt different – calmer, tidier and somehow bigger. It’s amazing how much a solid, straight, freshly installed fence can change the feel of a space. For the first time in years, the garden actually had a proper boundary again instead of a patchwork of wobbly panels and ivy roots holding everything together.
With the fence sorted, we could finally start imagining what the rest of the garden might become. Suddenly the concrete slab, the odd paths and the empty patches of grass felt less overwhelming and more like a blank canvas.
It wasn’t a dramatic makeover, but it was the first real step in taking the garden back after years of kid‑chaos and weather damage. And honestly, seeing that clean line of new panels felt like a small victory – the kind that gives you the motivation to tackle the next project.
What We Used….
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Fence panels
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Posts
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Postcrete / concrete
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Fixings + brackets
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Waste removal
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Labour
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Total cost = £2,100
Check out the next garden transformation blog!
