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Easy backyard ideas for spring

By Bunnings magazine/ Spring 2025

An outdoor patio setting with a raised bed to the left, a table, lounge with stylish cushions and a white and timber market umbrella.

Overview

Spring is here and since you want to be outside after a long winter, it’s the perfect time to get working on some backyard ideas – projects that will help create your dream outdoor space. Learn how to make a pretty umbrella planter to add colour and much needed shade to an outdoor seating area. Or make an upcycled bamboo screen to turn a section of your garden into a zen-like private area for sipping your morning brew. Best of all, you can easily untie it from the fence for another use – a great solution if you’re a tenant! This guide will help give a touch of the tropics to your outdoor space.

Safety tip: Always wear the appropriate safety equipment (safety glasses, gloves, ear muffs and a mask, for example) and always follow the instructions for the product or equipment.

Project 1

How to make an umbrella planter

Create a base for a market umbrella using a bucket, PVC pipe and concrete, then place it in a large decorative pot and plant it up with living colour.

Steps

  1. 1

    Preparing your umbrella planter: measuring and cutting

    Wearing safety equipment and working on a drop sheet, measure and mark 350mm from the end of a 50mm PVC pipe and cut using a hacksaw. Cover the cut end of the pipe piece with a thick plastic bag and secure with tape.
  2. 2

    Building the structure: Positioning the pipe

    Pour 2L water into a 20L plastic bucket. Submerge the covered end of the pipe piece in the water, and enlist a second pair of hands to position and hold the pipe in the centre of the bucket.
    A Bunnings 20L bucket with a white pipe in the centre and a hand stirring concrete.
  3. 3

    Centring the pipe: Adding concrete

    Wearing a mask, eye protection and gloves, and working in a well-ventilated area, add quick-set concrete to the water according to the manufacturer’s instructions, stirring with a rod and adding extra water if required. Make sure the pipe is plumb and centred, then allow the concrete to set.
  4. 4

    Adding the plant pot: Assemble the base

    Place an even layer of pebbles in the base of a large outdoor plant pot. Position the bucket centred on top of the pebbles, making sure it sits level.
    Green Bunnings hammer
    Tip: The pebbles aid drainage, preventing the plants becoming waterlogged.
    A 20L Bunnings bucket with a white pipe in the centre is filled with setting concrete.
  5. 5

    Completing your umbrella planter: Adding soil and plants

    Part-fill the pot with potting mix, add plants and fill with more mix, pressing it down firmly to prevent air pockets. Keep the soil level below the top of the pipe to prevent soil falling in. Water in well, then insert the umbrella pole into the pipe.

Project 2

How to make an upcycled bamboo screen

Transform a corner of your patio into a private seating area perfect for a morning coffee. Mix and match a bistro table with a fabric director’s chair for a laidback look, and bring the tropics home with whitewashed bamboo screening and a potted orange tree.

A timber director’s chair and bistro outdoor table sit in front of an upcycled bamboo screen.

Steps

  1. 1

    Getting started: Prep and clean your screen

    Roll out the bamboo screening outdoors and clean using timber deck wash solution, a brush and hose. Allow to dry.
    A close up of a hand using white spray paint to upcycle a bamboo screen.
  2. 2

    Transforming the screen: Spray the colour

    Wearing a mask, eye protection and gloves, and working on a drop sheet in a well-ventilated area, apply several light coats of white spray paint, allowing to dry after each coat.
    A close up of an upcycled bamboo screen spray painted white being rolled out.
  3. 3

    Completing your upcycled bamboo screen: Securing it

    Move the painted screen into position and secure it to the existing fence using durable galvanised tie wire.

Keep in mind…

When spray-painting, wear eye protection, a mask and gloves and work outside or in a well-ventilated area, covering surrounding areas with a drop sheet to avoid overspray.

Keep all paint and chemicals out of reach of children and pets.

Looking for more D.I.Y. projects for your garden?

Try these easy garden makeover ideas.

Some advertised services and products are not available at some Bunnings stores, but products can be ordered. Paint colours may vary on application.

 

Photo credit: Reuben Looi, Melle Van Sambeek.

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Health & Safety

Please make sure you use all equipment appropriately and safely when following the advice in these D.I.Y. videos. You need to be familiar with how to use equipment safely and follow the instructions that came with the equipment. If you are unsure, you may feel it is safest to consult an expert, such as the manufacturer or an expert Bunnings Team Member.

Grave health hazards are linked to asbestos, which may be in homes built up to 1990. Health hazards may result from exposure to lead-based paints in older materials and copper chromium arsenic (CCA) treated timber. For information on the dangers of asbestos, lead-based paint and CCA treated timber and tips for dealing with these materials contact your local council's Environmental Health Officer.