When you have children, you need to think a bit more about the function and safety of your garden than you did before. We all want our gardens to be fun spaces where we can relax, play and enjoy nature, but sometimes that means a little more planning.
If you have a garden that you want you and your children to love, check out the ideas below, which will help you create a great family garden on a modest budget:
Lower Your Expectations
If you have young kids, in particular, you need to accept the fact that, a lot of the time your lawn is going to be littered with colourful pieces of plastic, your flowers are going to be trampled on and things are going to get a little messy from time to time, and that’s ok. When they’re young, the garden should ideally be more about play and fun than it is prized roses and immaculate lawns. Instead, you’re going to want to plant hardy shrubs that will withstand a tackle from a toddler or a ball to the body.
Build Barriers
To keep your kids safe, you’ll need a lockable gate attached to a strong fence. You may also want to use additional borders and barriers to separate the space for different purposes. These can be made from fencing, railway sleepers, a line of shrubs or…well pretty much anything. Use them to separate the eating area from the play area, from the football playing area, etc., so that the kids know what they can and cannot do in certain places, keeping at least some of your garden clean and tranquil.
Plant in Pots and Raised Beds
When you have kids, colourful plastic pots and raised beds are your friend if you want to have lots of pretty flowers on display. The pots can easily be moved out of the way when the kids are playing footie or swingball, for example, and the raised beds are going to keep your flowers safe from a trampling toddler, but you’ll still be able to get your fingers dirty and plant seeds together.
Get a Greenhouse
You might think that getting a greenhouse when you have kids would be a bad idea, but if you want to teach your kids about plants and flowers and have fun growing them together, greenhouses, like the ones at Greenhouse Stores, mean that you can do just that all year round, even when the weather isn’t amazing.
Keep/Plant Mature Trees
Mature trees are great for family gardens. Not only do they offer shade under which you can all lay down a picnic blanket and have a tea party, but they’re perfect for hanging swings from, and climbing if you want to keep the kids active. They also attract birds, so you can all have fun spotting our feathered friends, Trees can be really educational, and when they have a bit of age to them, they look amazing too.
Revamp your garden and the whole family will benefit!
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