How We Created a Mediterranean Garden on a Budget

I’d love to be one of those effortlessly green-fingered people, but if I’m honest, I never quite know where to start — a garden can feel every bit as daunting as a blank white room. So when I saw what Isatu had created, I was completely inspired to finally have a go myself. She and her husband transformed a bare, uninspiring plot into the most beautiful Mediterranean garden escape, and the best part? They did the whole thing on a budget, mostly with their own hands, reusing and reimagining what they already had.

It’s exactly the kind of slow, sun-soaked, holiday-at-home feeling I love, and proof that you don’t need deep pockets or a designer to create somewhere that feels like a little corner of Europe. So I’ll hand over to Isatu, who’s kindly sharing exactly how they did it, step by step.

How We Started

We knew how we wanted our garden to look so we designed it ourselves. It wasn’t easy but we knew we could do it and we got there in the end. My starting point for the design was a white pergola that I had seen on Pinterest many years ago and saved it in my dream garden folder. I knew that one day I wanted to have a white pergola in my garden.

I think it’s really helpful to find a starting point and gather inspiration from lots of different places before bringing it together to create something that’s uniquely yours.

Building Our Dream Garden

As a low cost solution, we were able to reuse the decking by changing the position, painting it black and flipping it over but because of the condition, we knew it wouldn’t last too much longer. We did as much of the work as we could ourselves, even hiring a mini digger. We spent many evenings and weekends working on our garden because we knew we wanted to create a space that would flow naturally from our home. We hired trades people to do some of the more difficult tasks like building the pergola and some of the groundwork.

“We spent many evenings and weekends working on our garden because we knew we wanted to create a space that would flow naturally from our home.”

How we Added Interest

Credit: @life-of-isatu

We planted lots of trees, grasses and plants which have added a real softness to the garden. We built the decking around the olive tree which makes a feature of it. We also have a lot of plants and flowers, in pots dotted around the garden. Most of the pots are terracotta which is my favourite kind of pot and I think they work really well with our Mediterranean style garden.

“Having lots of our plants in pots means we can easily move them around the garden.”

Perfect for Quiet Days and Entertaining

Our garden has lots of different areas which makes it extra special when socialising with family and friends. We’ve hosted lots of gatherings over the summers and it’s been lovely watching everyone find their special spots to sit and chat in the day and into the evening.

There are lots of little seating areas including the summer house, It’s really a glorified shed but it’s a great additional place to sit. It has come in really handy on those long summer days, in the garden, when someone might want a rest from all the socialising. People have even been known to sneak off for an afternoon snooze in there.

“A shorter tip or highlight for this category — this sits in the beige box, like the shorts article.”I sometimes work out there in the summer, which is also nice to do, especially because I work from home.”

Outdoor Kitchen

We also knew we wanted to add an outdoor kitchen. To save costs we found a wooden workbench that fitted the space perfectly. We painted it white to match the rest of the garden. My husband came up with a brilliant idea to use stored rainwater to supply the sink. We purchased a sink from a local reclaim yard. My husband found a water tank that worked well for plumbing in the rainwater, he boxed it in and painted it white. A couple of years later we decided to tile the top of the work bench to make it more user friendly and easier to keep clean. It’s nothing too fancy but works well and it’s the perfect spot to prepare simple meals and drinks through the spring and summer.

“To save costs we found a wooden workbench that fitted the space perfectly.”

A Much Needed Refresh

About 2 years ago we had to replace the decking because it was completely rotten. We had put our foot through it in several places and the plant pots were even starting to sink! We decided because the decking needed replacing it would be a good time to change the feel of the garden. We used scaffold boards, to help keep the cost down and we’ve always loved how they look. We whitewashed them to give them that Mediterranean feel and had a partly enclosed garden room built to replace the metal freestanding pergola that had been damaged beyond repair over the winter, due to lots of strong winds. We wanted sliding doors with slats to match the pergola but couldn’t find anything. Our carpenter found a sliding mechanism. I then came up with the idea that if he built the door frames could we add slatted garden trellis to make the slats, rather than him having to make each one which would be a lot of time and money. They worked perfectly and we then painted them white to match the rest of the garden

“We had put our foot through it in several places and the plant pots were even starting to sink!”

My Thoughts

Our aim was to create a garden that had a real holiday feel inspired by our European travels. We also wanted it to flow from our house to create that inside/outside feel, which I think we have managed to achieve.

Our garden has become so much more than an outdoor space. It’s where we enjoy slow mornings with a coffee, long summer evenings with family and friends, and little moments that make everyday life feel like a holiday. Creating a Mediterranean inspired garden on a budget has shown us that you don’t need to spend a fortune to create somewhere beautiful. Sometimes it’s about reusing what you already have, getting creative, and building it bit by bit

We still have a few little projects we would like to do, but for now we are simply enjoying the space we have created. My advice would be, if you are starting with a blank canvas, is not to be afraid to take your time.

After more than 12 years, I still can’t quite believe where we started. Our garden has definitely become our favourite place to relax, entertain and make memories together especial over the warm summer days.