Last Updated on December 27, 2020 by HodgePodgeDays
Creating the right garden space is a fine art. You’ve got so many different things to consider. And whether you are predominantly looking for a venue for your children’s birthday parties, or you want something to take you away from the pressures of modern life, a garden can be all things to all people. But with that in mind, how can we get the garden just right, so that it pleases, not one member of the family, but every single one of us, children included?
What Do You Really Want?
Yes, it might be a simple question, but what do you want from your space? Do you need the opportunity for parties, social gatherings with adults and children alike, or is it something simpler? Whatever it is, think about what you really want, and see if the space caters to your needs. Sometimes it can be very difficult. Perhaps the garden space isn’t too big, and so, practicality is an issue in terms of what you would like to achieve. But on the other hand, if space is a problem, perhaps you need to be more creative with how you decorate the space, but also makes allowances. If you’ve got a small garden and you envisioned a garden shed, perhaps this needs to go on the back burner. And when space is an issue, layers can help so there are many different heights, it can be very useful to split up the space, and also make it appear bigger than it is. And this is another thing we’ve got to think of; if we think we have got a small space, there are ways around disguising this, or making the space appear larger than it is.
Does It Have To Be Expensive?
A garden space can scream expensive! But this goes back to what you want to achieve. If you want to make it a space that caters for yourself, the children, and other guests that come by, you may be asking a little bit too much of the space. But on the other hand, if you make concessions, and look hard enough, you can make some amazing upgrades for very cheap. But before all of that, you’ve got to provide the foundations. Starting all over again with your garden can be a godsend. You’ve now got a few months until the summer is truly in force for you to seed the grass, pull up the weeds and work at making the grass even. Once you’ve done these, you’ve got an amazing foundation to build on. And if money is a major issue, you don’t need to put a lot of money into the space to make it sing. If you’re looking for furniture there are many recycled plastic benches that you can purchase and put in one corner of the garden so it doesn’t take centre stage, but still gives you that opportunity to rest and relax in this area.
As you come up with more ideas on how to pepper the space with what you want it can fill up pretty quickly. And as you’ve already got a baseline, as well as a couple of items of furniture, you can begin to realise the vision you’ve had for it. You could put some plants in that adds some colour and not overwhelm the space. Now that you’ve decorated the space by adding a few simple touches, it’s now time to see what everybody else wants…
Making It A Fine Balance
To make the space pleasing to everybody, it can be quite a challenge. You want the children to be happy in the garden, and, no doubt, you want them to get away from the TV. So this means you’ve got to put a few items or playing equipment in there so they will want to come to the garden. What do your children enjoy? If you’ve got toddlers, the swings and slides are an easy option, not to mention cheap. But if you want to put a little bit more in there that entices the children to come out, think about a trampoline! You can either purchase a cheap one that goes in the corner of the garden, or you can install a trampoline that goes into the ground. Trampolines are a way to great exercise, of course, but if you think about making the garden an amazing play area, this could provide the focal point. And, going back to the idea of separating the spaces, either by levels or layers, you can have the trampoline as the highlight and build the playing space around all of this. You’ve got to think about your safety concerns, but if you want to make it a garden that appeals to everyone, you should make the most of each corner.
And then, if you are hoping to make it a more sociable space, what would you like to achieve with this? The summer’s coming up, so barbecues are on the agenda for most families. The great thing about decking is that it automatically provides a safe space for the cook in the family to barbecue, but it can also be a raised platform so the children can stay away. This raised platform can be multi-purpose. You can put the barbecue away and set up some tables and chairs, and you have a lovely dining area when the weather is fantastic. As summer is around the corner, and you want to make the most of the garden in the summer months, especially before the rain sets in come autumn time, decking is a very quick setup. It doesn’t take long, and it’s relatively cheap.
Potential Problems
In a garden that’s supposed to please everybody, you will naturally find a few points of disagreement. Play equipment is one of the most pressing issues. If you want to put in a swing set, a slide, and a few other essentials for the children to be occupied, it can all look somewhat cramped. Not to mention the fact that if you install a lot of these, the vast majority of your garden could be taken up. Think about sections and corners, and this will give you the best idea as to how far a certain item can go. In addition to this, you need to think about the safety aspects. If there are children running around, do you want to put loads of play items into the garden? Instead, you may want to go the other way and have garden toys which can come out when it’s sunny, rather than having static items that can’t be moved. Not to mention the fact that these items, especially swing sets and slides, can easily get rusty if you don’t look after them.
You should also think about if the garden is too focused on the more childish aspects than the adult ones. While we can work at maintaining this balance, you could take a step back and see that it’s not split equally, and in fact, in your garden may look more like a child’s playground. A lot of this is to do with the act of compromise, but you may also need to make peace with the idea that children’s toys can tend to overwhelm any space. So if you really want the garden to be a blank canvas, and can change for various occasions, you might not want to turn it into an overwhelming playground.
A Garden For Now And In The Future…
Finally, you may want the garden to be a space for everybody, but you also have to think about if the space will need altering in the future. Children get older, and as such, they won’t play in the garden as much. So if you’ve turned the place into a makeshift playground, how difficult is it going to be to achieve a new purpose? If you want your garden to go the distance, you’ve got to invest a bit more time and money into it. A garden is one of the big draws for any homebuyer. And as you may want to sell up in the future, it’s worth thinking about what can be done with the space so you are happy now, but also in 10 years’ time.
As our tastes change, we may want to install new items and make it go with the times. But the great thing about the right garden is that it is sort of timeless. You could install water features, or make it a blank canvas so you can put more flowers in, or you may want to start growing your own fruit and vegetables. And with these little changes, the one constant is the soil. And this means that you have got to get into the habit of looking after your grass so it provides that foundation for every use. As a garden can be all things to all people, it’s important that we nurturing. And over the years, the garden could be the most important part of the household. This is why it’s time to get started and make it a space for all of the family to love.
This is a contributed post.