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Fencing is one of those things that we often leave in a garden for years, knowing that it really needs replacing but not wanting to fork out the money to pay for it. If you have wooden fencing all the way round your garden, then just giving it a quick lick of paint can make a huge difference. You may find it hard to paint the fence if you have shrubs and tress covering some of it, which is why it is often a good time to paint it towards the end of the year when all the trees have lost their leaves and can be pruned back.

Wooden fence panels can last decades if they are looked after, but over time the wood will start to rot and become brittle and a strong wind may be enough to bring them down. If you are attached to another property, you will usually find that you are only responsible for the fencing on one side of the garden, the other side will probably be your neighbours’ responsibility. There are varying sizes of fencing you can put in your garden and if your garden has a slop, the fence may be installed to slop up with the garden.

If you want a bit more privacy then why not install a higher fence. This will stop you being overlooked so much and may help to keep the noise level down. A new wooden fence panel will cost around twenty five to thirty pounds each so to replace them all the way around your garden can quickly add up/ If you want to raise the fence but your neighbours wont agree you may be able to install another fence on the inside of the existing one. You will lose a little bit of space but often its not enough to really notice it.

If you want to paint your fence panels you can either use a sprayer or you can paint them with a brush. Spraying them tends to give an even non drip finish and is quicker but it does make it harder to contain the paint so you may find that it covers the fence posts and even the plants in your garden. You can employ a gardener or a handy man to come and paint the fence for you but this will increase the cost. You can buy a tin of fence paint for around £12 and it will usually cover around six square meters per litre.

Many people enjoy looking out into their garden watching the birds and other wildlife and want to be able to encourage different species such as butterflies and bees to visit their garden so how is the best way to achieve this?

If you want to attract a range of different bird species into your garden then you will need to provide them with the food they like and a safe place to eat away from possible predators such as cats. Some birds are particular keen on some foods for instance robins love mealworms and sunflower hearts are a favourite of most small birds. Fat balls that contain mealworms and seeds are an excellent choice for the bird table and will attract lots of hungry birds in springtime when they have young. Even dog and cat food can provide a nutritious meal for blackbirds especially when the ground is hard, and it is difficult for them to get worms from the ground.

Attracting butterflies and bees into a garden is all about the planting. Buddleia also known as the butterfly bush will have insects flocking to its blooms making an attractive sight in any garden. Wildflowers can be planted in an unmanicured corner of the garden which will be a haven for insects and bees throughout the summer.

It has become a popular pastime for people to try to convert the outside space of a property into an extension of the inside space by changing the garden layout and the garden furniture. The cost of these changes to the garden can be huge but with some clever tweaks, the perfect garden could be possible for a fraction of the cost.

To start the process of this transformation the garden area will need to be measured and drawn out to a rough scale. This will enable you to try out ideas on paper before starting any construction work. Searching online for ideas for garden planning is a good idea if you are stuck for where to start. Try to settle on just one or two feature areas initially to keep the budget as low as possible. A water feature or built-in barbeque can be constructed cheaply from reclaimed bricks and will make a good impression on visitors.

Once you have settled on a plan, mark out your garden with pegs and string to show where edging or patio areas will be. It is at this point that asking for the help of family and friends is wise as digging up areas of the garden is hard work but hiring mechanical diggers can be costly. A promise of a celebratory barbeque once the work is finished may be a good incentive.

At this time of the year many of us rarely venture out into the garden unless it is to do a bit of tidying or sweeping. Most plants have died back, and the grass and weeds are not growing as ferociously as in the summer months, so we get an opportunity to see more of the outline of our gardens. It may be that your thoughts turn to installing a patio area leading from the house to the garden, one that can be used in the warmer months for family gatherings and barbeques and winter is, some would say, the ideal time to do this task.

Start by measuring out the area of the garden where you would like your patio to be situated. Next you will need to decide on the materials you are going to use. Many people choose slabs as they are relatively cheap and hardwearing, but decking is another option if you do not mind the ongoing maintenance needed to keep it looking good.

It is usually possible to lay the slabs or fit the decking yourself as this is obviously cheaper. There are many online videos that can help with this and so following these instructions should make the task achievable for many.

Gardens are important places to many people who regard them as somewhere they can relax after work or as a place to entertain family and friends at the weekends however maintaining the garden can be a problem if time is limited or mobility issues are making some gardening tasks difficult.

One of the regular maintenance tasks in the garden is mowing a lawn which means owning and storing a lawnmower but now there is the option of installing artificial grass. Good quality artificial grass looks very realistic and can be cut to size and laid quite simply providing a green space in the garden with none of the maintenance issues involved with a real turf lawn.

Planting in and around the garden can be made simpler by installing large pots with castors attached to contain plants. These are a good alternative to borders that will need regular weeding and can be moved around the garden to suit your tastes. Once planted up in spring they will need little attention throughout the summer months and can be planted with winter flowering plants in the autumn to provide colour throughout winter. If you prefer to have border planting think about having raised borders as these are easier to work on without the need to bend and kneel down.