One thing we all love about the summer months is the light nights and being able to sit out in the garden with a glass of wine, whilst enjoy time with our loved ones. In my opinion, when the sun is shining it makes me more motivated to want to get out in the garden to potter about and make it look as nice as possible. A spacious garden is something the majority of us look for when buying a house, especially if you’re a parent. Children love the garden just as much as us. It’s a place where their imagination can run wild, whilst taking in the fresh air around them.
We’re currently in the process of landscaping our garden and sprucing it up with a variety of new plants and flowers. I love being able to have a space where the whole family can come together and enjoy the outdoors, but for many of us, we take a spacious garden for granted. For families with a small back garden, it can often make you feel a bit deflated and lack in motivation when it comes to wanting to make your garden look presentable and keep on top of general maintenance work. If this is the predicament you find yourself in but you want to be able to enjoy the space you have, then hopefully I can share some tips that will help you make the most out of your garden.
Simple hacks to make your garden seem bigger
Don’t feel disheartened if your garden isn’t as big as you’d like it to be; there are a few simple but effective changes you make to create a more spacious feel. The first is where you position the furniture within your garden. If you’re restricted by space then create a seating area in the corner of your garden and sit it on top of either decking or paving to create a patio effect. Not only is it containing the furniture to one corner of the garden, the decking or paving also breaks the space up slightly, creating a more spacious feel.
A second effective hack is to paint any fences or walls around your garden white. Although many people may see this as a boring colour, when used in your garden it creates a more spacious feel by attracting natural light and creating a simple backdrop for the plants and flowers in front of it. Using the vibrant colours of various flowers against the white of a wall, will enhance their beautiful tones of colour and show off the range of height and sizes within the flowerbed.
Choosing the right plants
Choosing plants for your garden can often be a difficult task, especially if you don’t have any knowledge on which are the best variety to opt for. One thing we don’t want is to spend lots of money making the garden look lovely, for the littles ones to wreak havoc playing football or something similar which can easily damage plants. With this in mind, it’s important to choose plants which are more likely to withstand child’s play. Shrubs like Stachy’s bring an attractive appearance to your flowerbeds and have a tough stature, which is exactly what you need with playing children about.
Certain varieties of plants can consume a lot of space in a small garden so to brighten up the space you have; opt for climbers such as the popular Clematis or Hydrangea. By doing this you’re not only saving space but including plants full of colour that will blossom as they grow.
Encourage the kids outdoors
With the abundance of technology and gadgets on offer, kids these days can be reluctant to want to play outdoors. There are numerous ways to get the kids out in the fresh air and enjoying your garden; the main ones being creating a bug box or fairy garden. The majority of kids love to get dirty so this is surely going to entice them outside. By simply using some unwanted boxes and craft accessories, you can allow their imagination to run wild as they enjoy their own space of the garden.
One simple way to add a personal touch to your garden and a fun way to get your kids involved is by letting them decorate their own plant pots. This is a fun activity which doesn’t come at a large cost as pots can be bought cheaply from supermarkets or garden centres and the chances are you’ll already have paint and brushes. They can then decide what flowers they’d like to plant and take responsibility for looking after them.
Enjoy your garden!
Hopefully, I’ve been able to give you a few ways in which you can enjoy the garden space you have and simple ways to bring it to life. It would be great to hear if you have any other garden tips or if you thought my post was helpful in the comments below.
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