Lifestyle - Garden Dreams

We moved into our house nearly 2 years ago, and decoration and garden have ground to a halt recently, I am finding it really hard to make this house a home, and still do not feel settled.

I want to do some work on the garden as to be honest it a a right mess, and I hate going out there at the moment, because budget is so tight I have been looking at Pinterest a lot recently for some inspiration, I love DIY projects especially if I get to have some fun and be creative so Pinterest as become a bit of an obsession for me :)

One of our biggest problems has been the Grass area as with 3 dogs and my parents two visiting to be honest it has been trashed! we did build a fence to keep them off during the winter and when its wet to try and save it, but with a pup who is half collie and can jump seriously high, the fence didn't bother him in the least, so I have been figuring out a way to make it more practical up there without it being a concrete car park look.

Paving is the easiest option as obviously it can be hosed off and not dug up, but it is just so bland as we already have a large paved patio area.

This image I found  is brilliant and I am so tempted to give it a go as it is so pretty!

This means I still get a bit of grass but in smaller areas which will make patching and repairing easier if the dogs do go nuts. 

I suppose I could also use the fake grass you can get on the roll but there is nothing like real grass!

This next image I found is of concrete stained with acid, which is out of my price range, but omg it is so so pretty!!!

It really is just beautiful!

I have also been looking at lighting to make the garden more personal and cosy, we want to build a covered trellis area over the patio to give us a sheltered sitting area, that can be covered over with lovely climbing plants.

I like this next idea, they are bathroom globe light fittings with fairy light strands stuffed inside, it looks so good, I am scouring charity shops and ebay for cheap ones!

I think these would work great under the trellis in amongst post and in planters.

For the trellis I want Wisteria, I am hoping to find a good quality plant and want it to look amazing, but think I will mix in some chocolate vine for good measure as it covers beautifully! so long as it wouldn't strangle the wisteria, I also love clematis. 

Something like this! 

I do tend to buy plants from places like B&Q and local garden centres but for those who don't have one near or live by the internet, Crocus are amazing for plants online, I have a huge mental shopping list of plants from them!

This is Chocolate Vine, it has beautiful vibrant green foliage and stunning dark red flowers in spring.

One thing I really want in my garden is a greenhouse, but I want to make my own just like this :) 

This can be seen on the fabulous blog Junk Market Style 

Pinterest is amazing for DIY projects so go take a look my boards are filling up with them all, I have a lighting project to try out but I will save it for another time and show you how I get on. 

What are your garden dreams are there any things that catch your eye and make you long for summer days in the sunshine?

All the images can be seen on my boards and will take you to any linked posts from there. 

Mhairi