Garden Projects and DIY

You really need a good covering of top soil, 10cm is min but 15cm is pretty standard. This may mean you have to remove soil but it’s the way to insure you have depth for good root formation. If you had issues with standing water then you may have to consider drainage but you will need to add...

Nice one @Belto

Makes sense then as a noob I will go for getting cement and ballast separate. The cost is not that different, only £3-4 difference between postcrete and separate cement & ballast, due to the size of my project not being massive.

For sure...now you can plant something you really want there

I had lots at previous house but can't find any in the 3 local garden centres. I've just ordered packet of seed (none in garden centres either) from Amazon....didn't realise it won't flower til next year. Oh well, suppose it will be worth waiting for - and once established it will spread for ever.

Made my own 20 years ago.....galvanised steel. Neat, robust, permanent Wooden structures all ultimately rot and look a tad heavy I think

@CanadianLori . No problem. @mazambo . Thanks. I had better put the project on hold for the time being. I will come back to it when I'm ready. At the speed I work that may be some time away yet..G.

I can't envisage exactly what the cracks are like, but when I was involved with susidence (and heave) remedial works, the structural engineers would fit 'tell tales' like these Linestorm Standard Tell Tale Crack Monitor | eBayAn old tip to save a few quid was to make some out of strips of...

Hi @Selleri Lovely creative pots. I have painted all sorts ... pots, wall murals, water barrels, with plain old artist's acrylic. It comes in tubes and bottles, really cheap in Chinese shops here, perhaps Wilkos there. Once dry, it is there for life, takes intense sun and torrential rain...

I agree with Sheal. The first thing would be to get the soil right. It's not a big area so should be fairly quick to do.North-facing is going to cut down on the number of plants you can have but there's still quite a lot of choice if it gets plenty of light in the morning.

Ricky101 you are a star! Thank you so much yes I think that is my one ! Thank you again

It's that time of year when we look back over past project ideas. Last year I was promised a tractor tyre from a farmer and a scaffolding pole from a scaffolder. Neither of these materialised and so this project never got off the ground.I am now thinking about the possibility of making a...

Many years ago I saw some pictures of some garden seating shaped like various lithops made from concrete. They were coloured naturalistically and looked great. Unfortunately I didn't get around to enquiring about cost quickly enough and never saw them again. My question is - how hard do you...

I would get a petrol one. I have a petrol and electric. Petrol for strength,electric for mild work. Nilfisk over karcher if going electric imho.A soap type pre treatment also helps

Thanks HarryS. I'll look at those options as both seem good.Pete, I tend to feel the same, but I'd rather be able to eat my veg unpoisoned than deadly and have to recoat the planters often. I think the reocote is fine for my flower planters as they will be lined with plastic and weed fabric.

Thanks for the kind words. We've five altogther in our small garden.

Timber for pickets and posts received this morning - just finished cutting to size .Have to let them dry out before painting with the Cuprinol Autumn Gold.Concreting in will also have to wait until we have some milder weather - don't want the wet concrete to freeze.New photos when posts go...

Hiya fumanchu. Yep a windbreak is first requirement. Hawthorn perhaps? I would plant a couple of evergreen shrubs in front too

Thanks again I'll check at Screwfix next time I'm in town.