Keep it natural
Sometimes, Children just love the simple things, and to be involved - so try to keep your garden a natural haven by using materials that make your patch feel more like a gardeners retreat but still fun for the children.
Use tree stumps to create an obstacle course or garden seating, they can also create a stepping stone across your garden to a secret area – kids will love this! If you wanted to add a bit of colour or a flair or creativity to them you could paint them, or decorate them along with you’re the kids, a great family activity! If you’re looking for other ways to bring a bit of colour to your garden, you could paint a bare fence panel with a bright colour or a wall with chalkboard paint to create an area for the kids to go wild – at least this keeps the other areas of your garden tidy!
Grass it up – But have you thought about artificial?
The garden is an area where your kids can play feeling safe – so it makes sense when they want to try crazy stunts or run around and have fun thinking they’re the next James Bond – However as much as we all love seeing kids have fun, it is a worry about the effects it will have on your garden! However, our artificial grass can save your day – and your garden! It creates a soft landing for those cartwheels that haven’t quite got there yet, a good spot for ball games or just a place to sprawl out. And what’s great is that you have no grass stains on those clothes any more, no mud in the house, and no bald patches on the grass, it will always look good as new (You don’t even have to cut it!!) – Can’t get much better than that! And if you want to bring some more natural life to your garden then flowers such as Alchemilla Mollis, Buddleia and Choisya Ternate, are an excellent choice. They are low-maintenance and are robust enough if they ever needed to take a little trampling!
Follow the (insert colour of your choice) brick road
We all know that children love action and adventure –they love riding their bikes and jumping around all different types of things, including a paving area will allow them to cycle scoot or space hop to their hearts content (without ruining that lovely lawn!). Paving gives you lots of design options, it doesn’t have to be square or rectangle - imagine a wiggling path down the garden which could create hours if fun and instigate that creative little mind!
It’s all about colours and smells!
Senses can teach children a lot at their age and including a small sensory garden can help to stimulate their mind! For sight, bright flowers such as calendula, nasturtiums and sunflowers, can all be pleasing to the eye and we all know the height some sunflowers can get to! Grasses that rustle or seed heads that rattle are great to listen to and can create a lovely calming effect to your garden – something that you can enjoy too! And for smells plants such as chocolate cosmos, chives and mint are great and you can also use them for cooking!
This is something that you can create with them, let them choose some bright looking flowers to add in or some funky lights to brighten up the area at night – this is just the start, as the seasons develop from one into another you will notice the garden change and each month you will have different smells and colours coming out…..Bliss!
The sunken trampoline
Bouncing up and down for hours is great fun for the kids, and not forgetting the adults too! And Trampolines now can be installed into your garden. You can either do it yourself, or get a professional, but it is a clever idea. As well as looking lovely hidden away, it won’t blow over in bad weather, and the children won’t fall off of it – here’s a little DIY guide from Little Green Fingers if this is something you’re thinking of undertaking yourself.
Take cover
We all know that we love to sit out in the sunshine, but we also know the dangers this can bring to children, so you may need to create a covered area for a bit of time out in the cool shade (or the downpour of rain – we are in the UK!). If you want something that’s a bit more natural then look at planting some large trees or bushes which will create a natural source of shade, or if you want something that’s a bit more permanent, then canopies, pergolas or a simple parasol, will all ensure your child’s skin is safe from harm.
Stylish storage
Kids and clutter, sound right? Building some easy access storage can hide it all away, and protect it from the weather. You can create a space under your decking, or choose garden furniture with storage underneath, or create your own purpose built containers using some tin buckets or even pallets!
Have you create a patch of paradise for both you and the kids? We would love to know your tips and tricks!
