I'm a gardening expert, my £10 tricks will totally transform your garden with minimum effort but will have a high impact
GROW GIRL I'm a gardening expert, my £10 tricks will totally transform your garden with minimum effort but will have a high impact
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WITH summer right around the corner, Brits are itching to get back out into their gardens.
But, a well-designed outdoor space isn't just for show – it could boost your home's value by a whopping 20% - a staggering £53,480 based on the average house price.
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A few budget adjustments can transform a garden
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Alison MacLean, property expert at the award-winning national housebuilder, St. Modwen Homes, has revealed five budget-friendly garden upgrades that could add serious value to your outdoor space this summer…
Maximise light and shade
While simply owning a south facing garden is enough to boost your property's value - regardless of your outdoor orientation, finding a way to make the most of British summertime is key.
Those with a north or east facing garden will find their outdoor spaces are naturally shadier.
Prioritise lighter areas by adding seating or decking, and in the shadier areas, focus on brightening with shadow loving plants, painting fences in lighter colours, and adding reflective surfaces such as mirrors and water features.
For west or south facing gardens, zoning can help to create shady retreats.
Planting taller trees on the west side of your garden can provide cooling coverage from the afternoon heat, and installing small structures can help to create shaded areas to spend time throughout the day.
If you have more money to invest, a pergola can be a great option, or a more budget-friendly parasol can be bought for as little as £10 to provide a similar effect.
If you're lucky enough to have a newbuild home and a blank canvas to work from, track the sunlight before making any big decisions—understanding how it moves through your space will help you create a garden that's both practical and primed for the sunniest days.
Put down some roots
Although obvious, adding plants and flowers to your garden can be one of the most costs-effective, and transformative, ways to boost your curb appeal.
Choose plants that will thrive in the space you have and that also meet your budget.
Shoppers urged 'not to blink' and get their hands on Home Bargains garden essential that sold out fast last time and it makes your garden extra cute - TikTok homebargainsofficialuk
Marigolds and pansies are both excellent choices for those who want to create instant bursts of colour without the wait – ideal for a brand-new garden.
Raised wooden vegetable or herb gardens are an easy way to grow homegrown produce, and of course, earn garden bragging rights.
They're equally functional as they are aesthetic, and cost on average around £200 to build.
Create a sense of privacy
Incorporating trees, hedges or climbing plants can be a perfect way to create visual barriers.
If speed is a priority, bamboo is fast-growing option, and for those willing to play the long game, a clematis can also make for a beautiful privacy screen over time.
Looking to add a structural element? Trellis is a fantastic choice and can cost just £15 - £20 per panel.
Whether it's built alongside fences to support climbing plants or used to zone off standalone areas of the garden, it's a versatile upgrade that offers a huge amount of creativity in its use.
Improve your lawn health
A well-kept lawn requires some effort but makes an enormous difference to your outdoor space.
With the British summertime as unpredictable as ever – as well as regular mowing, keep an eye on whether your lawn needs some extra hydration.
For homeowners that have purchased a new build, don't just cross your fingers and hope for the best - freshly laid turf may need some extra love and care.
Gardening mistakes that could get you fined
Gardening experts over at Toolstation have revealed the garden laws you need to be aware of not breaking.
While some of these laws could land you with a fine of up to £20,000 in extreme cases, a friendly chat with your neighbours can usually resolve any issues.
Tree removal and pruning: If you have a tree in your garden you want to get rid of you better think twice and do your research.
The gardening experts reveal: 'If one neighbour wishes to remove or heavily prune a tree that the other neighbour values, disputes can arise over the impact on the view, shade, or privacy. "
While it might cause a row, if it is in your property boundary it is ultimately your choice, unless it has a Tree Protection Order on it.
'But, some trees may be protected by a Tree Protection Order which makes it an offence to uproot, top or destroy them, the experts warn.
The maximum fine for breaking this law is £20,000, so make sure you double check if it does have a TPO.
You can find out by contacting your local council for a map that shows this information. Alternatively, you can ask to speak with your local tree officer.
Property boundaries and fences: One of the main causes of neighbours falling out is through arguing over property boundaries and fencing.
To avoid this situation, the gardening pros recommend checking the deeds of your property to determine the correct boundaries
'Most of the time, it's easy to determine who owns the fence as the fence posts will usually be on the owners side," they add.
'Additionally, the height of fences or hedges can cause disputes between neighbours if one party feels the height has exceeded the two metre guidance.
"Hedges and fences should be no more than two metres high, and you could be asked by the council to take them down if a neighbour complains about the height.
"Luckily, standard fence sizes are less than two metres tall so you shouldn't have a problem.'
Garden structures and additions: A pergola is the perfect addition to a garden if you want somewhere to relax in the shade.
But if it obstructs your neighbour's view or violates local building regulations it could cause a dispute, as can sheds and other garden structures.
'If you're not sure, have a chat with your neighbours to let them know what you're planning and, if there's an issue, get in touch with your local council who can give you more guidance," advise the gardening experts.
Overhanging branches and plants: 'When branches, vines, or roots from one neighbour's tree or plant extend into the neighbouring property, it can lead to disagreements over potential damage to structures, blocked views, or the burden of maintenance," reveal the pros.
However, it's important to note you can only trim overhanging branches up to the boundary of your property otherwise, it could be seen as trespassing.
You can climb into the tree to carry out the work if needed, but only on your property and make sure to stay on your side of the fence if you don't have permission to enter your neighbours garden.
Watering once a week or less if the weather is damp, with collected rainwater, can help your new garden to establish itself to remain green all year round.
Adding mulch is also cost-effective way to improve your soil and grass health without breaking the bank and can cost as little as £110. Think of it as a superfood for your garden – but without the hefty price tag.
Keep it secure
A sure-fire way to boost your property's value is to improve your garden security.
Ensuring you have robust fencing, strategically planted borders and gates with strong locks and bolts are all basic measures to undertake, but what other things can be done to deter unwanted intruders?
Motion-activated lights are a quick, easy, and cost-effective solution, and are best placed near access points such as back doors or gates.
Opting for gravel paths can also make it more challenging for an intruder to approach quietly at a budget-friendly cost of just £10-£30 per square meter.
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How to make perfect tandoori chicken (without a tandoor) – recipe
When was the last time you had tandoori chicken? Described by the Liverpool Daily Post in 1962 as 'roast chicken Indian fashion', this delicately seasoned, but often luridly coloured, dish was once the mainstay of the British Indian restaurant menu; yet, always greedy for novelty, I can't remember when I last had the pleasure. The loss is mine, because it's one of the very best ways to eat chicken – rich and tender, thanks to its yoghurt marinade, tangy with lemon and perfumed with spice. Vivek Singh argues that 'no Punjabi celebration can be complete without tandoori chicken', while J Inder Singh Kalra went as far as to crown it the 'king of kebabs', a sentiment echoed by Rohit Ghai. The issue for domestic cooks is, of course, that few of us have the clay oven, or tandoor, from which the dish takes its name. Traditionally used to cook bread, and capable of getting up to astonishingly high temperatures, it's this that gives tandoori chicken its characteristically smoky flavour. So, assuming you don't happen to have one handy, what's the best way to make tandoori-style chicken at home? Tandoori chicken is usually a whole bird cut into pieces and threaded on to skewers, ready to be lowered into the oven – using boneless chicken pieces instead, as newly crowned Fortnum & Mason cookery writer of the year Ravinder Bhogal notes in these very pages, will get 'dinner on the table faster' (she suggests using thigh for tikka, which I'd echo, because it stays much juicier). Most recipes specify either a whole bird or an assortment of joints – drumsticks for Nik Sharma, legs and breasts for Madhur Jaffrey – but because they're for the most part all cut into pieces, you can adapt this to suit your own preference, with the caveat that I wouldn't recommend using just breast, because it does dry out very easily. A mixture, or legs alone, is a far better bet. Both Bhogal and Singh spatchcock the whole bird, splaying it out so it cooks more evenly. This looks impressive, but I've decided to stick with pieces only, not least because of the risk of overcooking the white meat; this way, it's easy to whip out the breasts and leave in the legs for a few minutes longer. Tandoori chicken is almost always skinless – only Ghai and those cooking whole birds (Bhogal and Roopa Gulati) don't mention removing it – because it gives the marinade better access to the meat. The yoghurty coating will play a similar protective role, insulating the flesh from direct heat, while a couple of deep slashes will bring the marinade, and its flavour, into the centre of the meat. The consensus breaks down when it comes to the marinade. Sharma, Bhogal and Sarah Woods's lovely book Desi Kitchen all use a single marinade, while Rick Stein's India, Inder Singh Kalra's Prashad, Ghai's Yatra, Keith Floyd's India, Jaffrey's Indian Cookery and Gulati's Curry Lovers employ a two-step process in which the meat is first rubbed with citrus juice or vinegar, salt and sometimes a few aromatics (ginger and garlic paste for Ghai; turmeric, chilli and pepper for Gulati) and left for half an hour or so before the yoghurt mix is added. And this extra step seems well worth it, because, the spices aside, lemon (you could use lime or Gulati's white-wine vinegar instead, if you prefer) and salt seem to me the top notes of every tandoori chicken I can remember eating. Salt is the only molecule that is small enough here realistically to penetrate into the interior, but the rest will season the outside well enough to flavour every bite regardless (most British chicken is young enough that tenderness ought not to be an issue). The dairy marinade, which contains fat that will dissolve the aromatics in the spices, so they coat the meat thoroughly, will stay largely on the surface of the chicken, as a kind of integral sauce. The thicker the yoghurt, the more easily it will stick, so a greek-style thick one is ideal. You could also add pureed red onion, as Sharma does, or Jaffrey's yellow onion. Green chillies are also popular, as is chilli powder (whether readymade or ground from dried Kashmiri chillies). Cumin is near ubiquitous; peppercorns, fenugreek and turmeric pop up a lot, as do sweeter spices such as green cardamom and cloves – I particularly enjoy Bhogal's luxurious cinnamon and saffron, for example. That said, I want to keep my recipe fairly simple, because my testers and I all enjoy Jaffrey's tandoori chicken, spiced with fresh green chilli, garam masala and paprika, so much, which proves you don't need a kaleidoscope of spices to make your own. That's why I've stuck with garam masala (which, in India, usually includes cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and peppercorns) plus a little extra cumin, though you may well want to add other spices that take your fancy. (Saffron comes highly recommended, both for its elusive fragrance and the colour it lends.) Time-wise, and though I hate to disagree with Jaffrey, I don't think 'the longer, the better' applies here. After her recommended 24 hours in the marinade, the surface of the chicken is a little bit mushy, so four to six hours feels like the sweet spot. Possibly chickens were tougher back in 1982? The tandoori chicken I grew up on got what Mallika Basu describes in her book Masala as its 'characteristic Day-Glo red appearance from a dash of artificial colour, but', she adds, 'Kashmiri chilli powder or paprika is more commonly used at home'. Sharma suggests adding some beetroot, 'which does work very well without affecting the taste, though I will admit, I wish it were a deeper shade of red. However, too much beet could also end up sweetening the chicken, which is something I wanted to avoid'. Stein uses beetroot powder instead, which can be found at specialist spice retailers (I bought some from Spice Mountain at London's Borough Market, which also sells online), but I think you get just as good a result from Jaffrey's paprika rub. Alternatively, if it just doesn't feel like tandoori chicken if it doesn't glow in the dark, use an artificial colouring; if you don't worry about eating it in cakes and sweets, it feels illogical to avoid it here (Dan Toombs notes that, contrary to packet instructions, you should rub the colouring directly on to the meat). Jaffrey excitedly reports that, 'I have, I think, found a way to make tandoor-style chicken without a tandoor!' which, 'as I am sure you all know by now, is a vat-shaped clay oven, heated with charcoal or wood. The heat inside builds up to such an extent that small whole chickens, skewered and thrust into it, cook in about 10 minutes. The fierce heat seals the juices of the bird and keeps it moist … the result is quite spectacular.' Her home solution is an oven heated to its maximum temperature: 'The cooking time is not 10 minutes, because home ovens do not get as hot as tandoors. Still, breasts cook in 15 or 20 minutes and legs in 20 to 25 minutes.' Sharma also uses the oven, though at a mere 200C, then finishes off the drumsticks under the grill. Ghai's book Yatra uses a hot grill alone (time to switch on that extractor fan), while Singh and Bhogal prefer the barbecue, which is, in my opinion, the ideal scenario for a slightly smoky flavour. 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