Fun, family garden
With five kids running around, aged 9 months to 11 years, I can safely say that the garden is the most important space in our home.
As well as providing a playground and space for adventure, it can also be enjoyed by the entire family if designed and created correctly.
While I can’t give away too much of my ambitious plans quite yet, here are my top tips on how to create a garden the whole family can enjoy.
This is the most important aspect to my own garden.
At the Mackay household, we have a skate ramp out the back and a sandpit where the younger kids spend time creating sand cakes while the older siblings make magnificent structures. Out the front, they can climb rock climbing holds and use the swings we attached to the pergola.
The fun doesn’t only have to be for the children though. The positioning of the swings means they are multifunctional and can also be used as seating.
For outdoor fun all year round, we placed artificial turf under the pergola to create an extension of the lounge. the local thrift shop or look for secondhand items online. Wooden beams, mismatched chairs or a giant wooden slab can be reinvented to create your own unique dining setting.
One of the most popular features I am asked for is a vegetable plot.
While it is easy to ‘‘throw in’’ a vegetable garden, it’s important to create it in a way that kids can get involved in growing their own vegetables and herbs.
Try a raised bed (around 200-450mm off the ground) and put large capping surrounding the bed so that the kids can sit along the side or lie on their bellies to reach in and get to the plants. This can also be used as additional outdoor seating.
Encourage the kids to do the planting, weeding and watering. When they see their vegetables grow, the excitement then spills into being able to eat them.
Trampolines, sandpits or jungle gyms are better placed around the boundaries, leaving space for a clear lawn.