The long summer holidays will be starting soon, and if you have a garden or outdoor space that you can enjoy, then it is a great place to play in on warm summer days when the kids have plenty of energy to burn. You can play with water, kick a ball, have picnics, make mudpies, hunt for bugs, and have a barbecue. But as idyllic as that kind of thing can sound, it can be a nightmare for parents if your garden isn’t really one that is child-friendly. If you’ll be on edge over summer thinking that they might trip over, get stung, or knock planters over, then it doesn’t sound like the most child-friendly places. A proper family garden is one that has something for everyone. You just need to figure out what that looks like for you, with the specific needs of your family.
Seating
For a lot of families, one of the first requirements is having somewhere to sit and relax, as well as eat and entertain outside. So a sitting area is usually a good idea. Do you have garden furniture at the moment? If not, now would be the time to look for a bargain (as well as things like reduced price BBQs). It can be most convenient to have the seating area near the door, so you can all nip in and out, but just choose where will suit your family best, and where in the garden catches the sun for most of the day.
Play Area
Next it is time to think about the play area. If there is a specific dedicated area to play, then it can relieve other parts of the garden and stop a lot of wear and tear (as well as parent worry and stress). It could be a patch of ground on the patio, with something like sandpit or water table. You could also look for something like artificial grass from somewhere like New Lawn to have for the main lawn, which could be an ideal football pitch for your little ones, as well as being the base for a swing or climbing frame if you have part of your garden that is flat. If you want to keep the garden looking tidy, then a lock-up toy chest that will work outdoors can be a good idea. Then it can take the garden from kid-friendly in the day, to looking smart for entertaining in the evening.
Boundaries
If you want to prevent things like balls, pets, and even the children themselves from ending up in the neighbour’s garden, then having some boundaries, whether with shrubs or fencing is a must. The most indestructible plants to have for these kinds of things are flowering currant, forsythia and philadelphus (just make sure that they aren’t too prickly). If you’re looking for something else, then tough climbing plants like honeysuckle or blackberry bushes could work well over some existing fencing.
As you can see, just a few simple changes can make your garden a really great place to be this summer; stress-free for all.
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