Well, it’s here. Or at least I think that summer is finally starting to show its smiley face.
That being said, our garden is not looking ready for the summer sun and if I am honest, we have no one but ourselves to blame. We started to let the garden maintenance slide for the last couple of years and this year it shows.
After renting our house from my parents we finally have been in a position to buy the house we live in. Investing in the garden and sorting it out is something we are both immensely eager to do.
Planning The Changes
First on the list of garden titivations is some raised planters. After years of struggling with planting space having raised planters are going to make me super happy. I want to plant perennials in there as this time, my garden space has to be low maintenance but still beautifully planted.
Entertaining Space
The one thing our current garden is lacking is a really striking entertaining space. It sounds ridiculous since we have a large flat concreted space. However, this space is open and uninviting. I would love some kind of garden structure to entertain and to offer shade. For me, garden tents are great for keeping the children in the shade during the day, and for giving cover of an evening when the weather turns colder.
We also need to add lighting to our entertaining space, so I have been looking at lighting options for outside for a little while now. It makes sense to do this at the same time as its full overhaul.
Fake It Or Grow It?
The biggest question we have so far on this garden planning front is, do we bite the bullet and go for fake grass or real grass?
I must admit I am super mixed over this one. I adore the smell of fresh grass. Love the texture of it when the weather is warm and it’s cool underfoot. However, on the flip side it’s hard work. With 2 children playing on it constantly the real grass is patchy at best and painful to look at if I am honest.
Funds might be the deciding factor in this one. Fake grass is not cheap. In fact, it’s rather expensive, but the trade-off for that is that it has almost no maintenance. It looks great all year round and for me it won’t develop bold patches where Joshua plays football, especially in front of the goal mouth!
Dedicated Seating
Our new garden space needs to have some more permanent seating. Benches and a table that stay there year-round.
If we are using some kind of shaded or covered area, I want to make sure we can use it regardless of weather conditions allowing us to sit out there whenever we want.
Storage
Storage is massively important to our garden. We still have the mass of plastic toys all pre-schoolers love to keep and I hate to just leave the garden strewn with toys.
Finding compact and yet multipurpose options for seating is going to be a must. Like buying benches with storage underneath. They would work perfectly. We still have garden sheds, but we are probably going to have to paint and offer them up some TLC before they fall down!
What are your key areas to focus on in the garden?
*Collaborative post*
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