Hello, we don't have much money but I thought I would share a fun garden project that has been a real hit with the kids. Our flat has shared access to a sort of roof terrace. I say roof terrace, but it's actually the top of a small local supermarket and there is access to a few flats and not much else on it.

So my neighbour and I thought it would be fun if we could try and brighten this roof area a bit and get our children involved in looking after some plants or even growing their own. Maybe even some vegetables in the future to help them want to eat more healthily, but we are not quite there yet.

So my friend came up with the idea of a vertical garden to keep everything neat and tidy and then it just sort of grew (pardon my pun) from there.

We got an old wooden pallet someone was throwing away. Stood it up on its end and nailed some other pieces of wood across the bottom, so that it won't fall over. It is surprisingly steady actually. I found out, more nails means more steady.

Then we have been collecting over the months, old food cans and other things we think we can put little plants in. Then we poked holes in the back of them and the bottom so any water could drain out. Then we screwed them to the pallet. My thinking is that they won't go rusty, because they don't go rusty when they have food in them. Well we will have to wait and see I suppose.

Then we had a really fun painting day and all the kids helped paint the cans lovely colours and we painted the pallet orange. Then we stood it in the sunniest part of the roof and it already made a huge difference.

Then my dad bought us some soil and over the next few weeks we have been collecting plants from friends and family and planting them. Now we are basically finished and we all think it looks fantastic. All for a little hard work and not much money at all.

It's such a wonderful addition to what was a very boring space. The kids love it. They get to look after the plants together and learn how to be responsible and learn about the different types of plants and what their needs are.

And although we have finished this project, we are all really inspired to do something else similar. Maybe we will have to find a way to do those vegetables. Maybe we could make a planter out of an old pallet, or maybe a bench and a little table.

Hope this has inspired someone else who is on a bit of a budget, that you can get out there and have fun making something.

Lori x