Play Areas For Children
Children love their own play area and will especially enjoy a play house, or even a tree house if they are old enough. It is their part of the garden and the chances are that by keeping most of their rough-and-tumble activity in one place, the rest of the garden will remain looking smart and beautiful.
If you have a large garden you have the potential for a small adventure playground. Climbing frames made from rustic poles blend happily into the garden. Chipped bark spread over the ground to soften any falls and prevent slippery, muddy areas. Always make sure such structures are absolutely stable.
A delightful little crooked house, complete with veranda and a cute chimney, built on stilts with a short stairway leading up to it. It is a dream house for a child with imagination. Always make sure elevated structures are absolutely safe, and take advice from a builder if in doubt.
A play house is a young child’s delight, and it may be possible to accommodate one at the end of the patio so that supervision is possible when required. It doesn’t have to be left in the original wood finish. Painting it an attractive colour may transform it into a desirable garden feature and the children will love it, especially if consulted about the colour.
Children’s needs often have to be accommodated within an existing garden, or designed into a new one in a way that when the facilities have been outgrown, they can be removed without leaving an obstructive space or in need of re-designing.
An area for children reflect their ages, and of course with a growing family there may be a spread of ages to accommodate, all needing different kinds of stimulation.
Growing Plants To Eat
Growing plants that you can eat as well as admire is a bonus. Some vegetables, such as ruby chard and beetroot, even cut leaved lettuce, are pretty as ornamental plants in beds and borders. Try planting vegetables and fruit in beds and borders with flowers.
A kitchen garden is likely to be visually more acceptable if it is broken up into small beds with decorative edging. The crops are easy to cultivate without having to walk on the soil, as all parts can be reached with a hoe from the paths. It is possible to arrange the beds in a geometrical pattern to emphasize the sense of design. The paths between them can also be made interesting, depending on the materials used and how they are laid.
In a cottage garden, it’s perfectly natural to see a corner given over to growing vegetables. Provided it is a weed-free and nest area, it should not look unattractive. Adding a few bright flowers around the edge, like french marigolds will make it look more ornamental-and it is thought that these plants can help to deter pests.
Old fashion cottage gardens often used to have vegetables in the front garden, and crops like pumpkins and squashes were very decorative towards the end of the season. Don’t be afraid to use a few flowers alongside the vegetables. This practice used to be quite common and makes a far more pleasing garden then vegetables alone.
