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’re 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.
So, it was time to start thinking about what we did next. We had taken down the asbestos garage (the Blog on that eye-sore is still to come) and we were left with a very large concrete slab and some odd concrete pavers in random places.
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 realised just how little was actually holding it all together. We have tackled lots of DI{Y projects in the past but this felt beyond our DIY comfort zone.
On top of that, we needed the job done quickly – with two dogs who love to sniff and potter around the garden and a wobbly, half‑fallen fence are not a great combination. It wasn’t just unsightly; it didn’t feel safe. The last thing we wanted was one of them squeezing through a gap while we were trying to sort everything out. Once the panels were down, we realised just how much ivy had been holding everything together – thick, stubborn roots that had woven themselves into every post. We spent hours pulling, cutting and digging them out just to get the area clear.
So we decided to bring in someone who actually knew what they were doing. We found a local gardening contractor through a friend who came out, had a proper look and confirmed what we already suspected: the whole run needed replacing. To be honest, it was a relief to hand it over to someone with the right tools, the right skills and the ability to get it done safely and quickly.
Within a couple of days, the old fence was down, new posts were reset properly and the new panels were going in. Watching professionals do it made us realise just how big a job it would have been to tackle 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….
Fence Panels
Concrete post supports
Large outdoor paintbrushes
Garden waste bags
Protective gloves
A stiff brush for clearning ivy roots
With the fence finally in place, the patio was the next big job on our list — and it turned out to be a bigger transformation than we expected. If you’d like to see how we tackled that next, jump to the Patio makeover Blog.
