Make the most of your garden during lockdown

One of the things that I have been grateful for at this time is my garden. I may not have a big garden, but having an outdoor space has been amazing for my wellbeing during this period of lockdown. I have loved seeing all my neighbours out cutting their grass, painting walls and planting flowers. I have also been keeping busy and created some garden DIY projects that I want to share with you today. 

Where can I get garden supplies? 

With the closure of non-essential retail, it is harder than ever to get your hands on garden supplies. However, it is not impossible. Here are some ways you can get your hands on what you need. 

• Supermarkets and the magic middle aisle, Lidl, Aldi and some larger supermarkets have seeds and supplies. I created a mini herb garden by using the potted herbs from the grocery section. 
• Online deliveries are few and far between and you will also find most plants are out of stock. You may be able to get a delivery from a smaller nursery. Check out local nurseries in your area to check for deliveries. 
• Seed swap or cutting exchanges. Why not try your local Facebook group and see if some fellow gardeners are looking for supplies. Make sure to adhere to social distancing, but you could leave some seeds in a neighbours doorstep as a gardeners gift. 
• Recycle old items. Are you struggling and short on pots. Why not recycle old toilet rolls and milk cartons to start your seedlings. Check out this post where I show you how. 

Garden DIY Projects

During the past few weeks, I have recycled some scrap wood, and old items to create some cute garden DIY projects. I recently teamed up with Miracle-Gro and created this tiered plant stand. I will pop the video below for you to watch. 

This Spring, I have partnered with Miracle-Gro and in the video below, I am sharing some of the products from their Performance Organics range. This range allows gardeners to get great results by using organic ingredients and guarantee to Grow your plants and veg, twice as big. If you are like me, and you forget to feed your plants, then don’t worry.

When I planted my pots, I added in some of the All-Purpose Granular Plant Food. This will feed your plants for up to three months. This is also perfect for indoor plants and great for hanging baskets too. This range is child, pet and bee-friendly which is important for me as I have a wild hedgehog that visits, the cats and I recently planted some bee-friendly plants to entice them into the garden. This product is really easy to use, and there are easy to follow instructions on the back.

For more information on this range then click here.

I used some planks of wood I already had. I cut them to size using my mitre saw and used my nail gun and some wood glue to secure the legs. A quick lick of paint and voila. These are easy to make and are a fun weekend project. Check out my video for more details on how I made them. 

How to turn a table into quirky shelves for the garden 

I had seen loads of tables transformed into shelves over on Pinterest and I decided to have a go at creating this DIY. I had an old coffee table in my shed, but it was covered in spiders and cobwebs. It was also slightly damaged, but I didn’t want to throw it away. I measured the table and marked the centre. I then used my jigsaw to cut the table in two. I cleaned down the shelves and lightly sanded. I then applied a coat of primer and two coats of Colourtrend satin in the shade “Aged Vellum”. I had this paint left over from a previous project. 

You can have a closer look at this project in the video below. 

I hope you got some inspiration from today’s post. Whether you have a small balcony garden or a larger open garden, I hope that you are making the most of your space and getting creative. Gardening can be therapeutic and healing. It is also nice to have an extra zone in your home. If you are a complete newbie to gardening, check out this post I wrote for beginners. You may also enjoy these other garden DIY’s in this post here. 

Thanks so much for reading, 

Chat soon, 

Catherine.