Today I’m sharing some tips for creating a child-friendly garden. When we have children, the garden becomes less of a relaxing space for us to enjoy and more of a play area for den building, ballgames, or even cycling. However, the good news is that you don’t have to let climbing frames and plastic toys overrun your outdoor space. You can do many things to transform your garden into a space that both kids and adults will love.
Tips for Creating a Child-Friendly Garden
Here are some of our top tips to help you create a child-friendly garden:
- Divide Your Garden into Sections
If you have a large garden and want to make the most out of it, consider dividing it into sections. Start by creating an area where the kids can play by laying soft outdoor flooring and adding play equipment or football nets. Then, make an area where you can all sit, relax, and enjoy the sun. You could also section off part of the garden for a veg patch, where you and the children can plant fruit and veg together. This is a great activity to do with children.
- Choose Child-Friendly Garden Furniture
If you want to make your garden safe for children, you need to eliminate any old or damaged furniture from your garden. You can replace this furniture with kid-friendly alternatives such as low garden chairs.
- Think About the Flooring
When planning a child-friendly garden, it’s essential to consider the type of flooring you will use. While grass is excellent, it can be hard to keep looking nice. Instead, opt for artificial alternatives, or consider using woodchip instead.
- Use Natural Items
Kids don’t need plastic toys to play with. They’re often more than happy with natural materials. So, instead, use your imagination and set up simple play areas of natural items. For example, you could use tree stumps to create an obstacle course, or add a swing onto a tree.
- Add a Bug Hotel
Another great idea that is easy and cheap to create is a bug hotel. While many adults don’t like seeing or touching bugs, children love them. In fact, nothing will get your children outside in the garden more quickly than a homemade bug hotel. There’s plenty of family friendly garden ideas in this post.
- Create a Sensory Garden
A sensory garden is not only great for children, but it can be fantastic for adults too. And the good news is that it’s easy to create. For sight, you simply need to plant some colourful flowers such as sunflowers or marigolds. Rattling seeds and rustling grasses are great to listen to in a quiet environment, and the downy leaves of sage can help to encourage little ones to use their sense of touch. You could also include some smelling plants in your garden, such as lavender or curry plants. These plants can help to stimulate your taste buds.
Gardens are not only great for the environment and wildlife, but according to research, they can also be good for us. However, while this may be true, it can be hard to create a garden that is perfect for adults and children. The good news is that you can’t go far wrong if you follow our tips above. Not only will these tips help you to create a space that is perfect for your children to enjoy, but they will also help you to create a space where you can relax and unwind.
