Grow your garden at a snip!

Getting the house looking ship-shape is one thing that all homeowners and renters out there know is extremely important.

It can create a great first impression for guests - some of whom may be thinking about purchasing the property, if it's on the market - and generally makes living in your abode a lot more comfortable and stress free.

And if you're lucky enough to have a garden out back, well, you're sitting on a bonus.

There are loads of benefits to a nice garden

Yes, it may currently be full of weeds and occupied by an overgrown lawn and abandoned deck chairs, but sorting it out could have huge benefits - especially with the warm weather on its way.

Just think about what you could have if you spruced it up a bit.

Days sat outside, lapping up the sun with an ice-cold drink and a good book.

Or evenings having all your mates round with the barbecue on the go, backed by a soundtrack of summer tunes.

It can even give you your green fix without having to head out to a park to for a slice of nature.

A well-maintained outdoor space can even boost your home's value too, according to one expert.

Garden designer Jill Fenwick says: "If you have got two identical houses at the same price, one's got a boring lawn and nothing else and the other one has got a beautiful garden, then which one are [you] going to buy?"

But it all sounds expensive to sort out, doesn't it?

You can fix it up on a budget

It doesn't have to be at all, though, though, as fixing up your backyard is entirely possible on a budget.

So where do you start when embarking on a low-cost gardening project?

A spokeswoman for DIY product manufacturer Ronseal advises: "Have a good clean up - a good starting point is to freshen up your fences, walls, paving or any grimy surfaces by using a garden cleaner."

And what about all that rubbish you've got lying around on your lawn?

"Whether it's inside or outside the home, it's easy for gardens to get cluttered, which can quickly lead to a messy, unsightly space. Try concealing your clutter with clever storage," she says.

So where next then, once it's all cleaned up?

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, garden expert and television presenter Joe Swift gives a few of his top tips on the next step for a green-fingered scheme.

Draw up a masterplan

He says it's a good idea to draw up a masterplan first and then aim to split the space into three separate areas with different themes, to create a sense of diversity.

In addition, you may want to "incorporate diagonals, angles and asymmetry in the design" to make a "more interesting route through it".

Now, what about the plants and flowers to start cultivating to really make your area blossom?

The Ronseal spokeswoman suggests planting ivy, dwarf rhododendron, bay or small conifers and perennials, such as choisya 'aztec pearl' and hardy buxus, which will give you a "green base" with which to work.

Mr Swift adds some of his favourite plants include olive trees, Verbena bonariensis - an "elegant lilac perennial" - and the evergreen shrub Pittosporum tobira 'Nanum'.

You may think that by specifically trying to save the pennies while sprucing up the garden, you may be in some way compromising the quality of the final result.

But don't worry, Matt James, garden designer, horticulturist and university lecturer, states: "There are a lot of low-cost options that people are exploring; it doesn't mean to say that the aesthetics need to be sacrificed."