My back Garden - What to do ?

I am simply stuck as to what to do to make this garden look okay, I have a 7 month baby and would like to revamp it for the summer, but I dont know where to start. Any ideas ?

 

It's hard to say as much depends on what you want out of your garden. Flowers and shrubs, fruit and veg, both or what? It also depends on how much time you can afford to spend maintaining a garden and with a baby your time will be limited for a year or so.

Your baby will be up and running next summer so you need to think about making the garden toddler safe and friendly. The decking will make a nice play area, but I'd suggest building some railings to prevent falls from it, if you build them properly you'll also be able to reduce the chances of a fall when on the lawn cracking a head on the sharp edge of the decking. If you put up rails around the decking you'll also be able to grow climbers up it. A gate at the side the house would eliminate the chances of an escapee! Looks like the decking could do with a coat of preservative this year - it will make it look better and last longer. A sandpit, maybe in the back corner of the decking would be nice, but a cover would be needed to keep cats (and rain) out.

Cutting narrow borders around the lawn, and around the deck would make mowing easier (though you'll probably need to insert edging) but you could then plant the borders with annuals or perennials. When baby gets older you could start growing child friendly veg for him/her to pick.

Your baby will be doing this next year and loving it!

 

You want to revamp your baby ? ! ! ! I'm not sure thats an option

 

Sell the baby! Give you more time and money to do other stuff.

On the other hand, you might like to have a look at what other people are doing with thier gardens for this year. Decide on what you want the garden for or how you want it to look. If you want baby to be able to play outside, then you have things to consider that I don't have......... as I have sold all my children to the gypsies! Things such as nasty sharp edges or thorns, ponds, concrete.

The decking would be a great play area for a baby/toddler. Put some railings all round it and you have an instant cage. That way the baby can only move so far when you are throwing things at him/her. Also easier to hose baby down after he/she gets dirty. Put a rotary clothes drier up so you can hang the little darling up to dry after. I AM JOKING!

OK. Serious head on now. I would make best use of the grass area to allow your baby to play with a relatively soft floor if baby falls over. The decking is good but looks like it could do with a coat of preservative. Maybe something between the decking and the play area so baby doesn't fall onto the edges and corners.

Some narrow beds around the edges with lots of bright and cheerful plants to cheer the garden up andkeep baby interested. Annuals would be good as they rarely have thorns or anything nasty on them. They are also cheap and easy to replace if the little one tramples on them. Maybe Nasturtiums. Bright and colurful and if baby does put any leaves in his/her mouth they are not poisonous. I would look for anything bright, colourful and fairly low growing. Easy maintenance.

I would also make sure the lawn was kept short. Lots of space for baby to roll/kick a ball and other kiddies toys. Lots of potential, but you first need to decide if it is to be a garden or somewhere safe interesting and friendly for baby.

Have fun and I sincerely hope that baby enjoys being able to play outside.

 

Does all of the lawn slope, or is there a level area where a paddling pool could be sited?

 

I think you're parental instincts will steer you mostly in the right direction, but there are a few pitfuls that hopefully we can help you avoid. Here's ones from my experience so far:

1. Don't bite off more than you can chew. If you try to get everything you want done by this summer, you'll either have to work very hard in the limited amount of spare time you have when you have a young child, or you'll end up with loads of half finished projects by summer, making the garden a mine field for a baby/toddler. Make a list of things you want to achieve, and then prioritise that list in order of what will give the biggest imapct for the least time and effort. Factor in what you're little one is likely to be able to do by certain points throughout the summer, but also bear in mind that they trick you and catch you off guard, suddenly finding ingeniuous ways to do things/get to things, that you didn't expect.

2. I totally agree with Chopper's recommendation about Nasturtium. All top growth parts of the plant are edible, so no panic when it gets taste tested. Once it gets its roots down (about midsummer) it becomes virtually indestructible, so when small hands tear chunks off it, it will just grow back again very quickly, and it's abundant bright coloured flowers are a magnet for bumblebees, another source of fascination for youngsters.

3. If you put railings on the decking, make sure they are not of a type that small heads can get stuck in. Stories of the fire brigade having to come out to liberate small limbs and heads never get boring. Just ask my sister, who got her arm stuck in the letterbox, and had to be freed by the fire brigade, when she was little. Nearly 30 years on, the story is still hasn't worn out.

4. I'd do something with the tree stump in the middle of the lawn. Apart from the fact it will make mowing slightly more difficult, I've observed both in my own child, and also other, that toddlers are preprogrammed to turn their heads to the opposite direction they are going as soon as they get within close proximity of something to trip over.

5. Although you can clearly see that nobody can crawl under the decking, small children might see differently. Down at the fence end of the decking there is a gap that looks just big enough to set off under, get stuck halfway in, and then have to wait, embarrassed, scared and in tears, while someone gently dismantles the decking to get you out.

 

Babies grow sooooo quickly so spend more time on baby than getting a nice garden ... a soft safe place for baby to crawl and play perhaps, with somewhere to dig as she gets older as most little 'uns like to get mucky and that is very good for them ... I am not a fan of decking anyway, but if you have it then just make sure there are no edges at 'baby head' height !
Val