Designing Your Garden Around Your Lifestyle
Every one of us is different in some way, and that includes the way that we use our garden. When you are considering making big changes to your garden, you will want that new garden design to compliment your lifestyle. So, how do you go about doing that? Here are some tips for designing your garden depending on your lifestyle and needs.
Low Maintenance Garden Design
If you want a lovely garden but do not want to spend a lot of time on its upkeep, then your garden design should be low maintenance. You can achieve this by:
- Choosing hardy evergreens, shrubs, ferns, and grasses which will require very little maintenance once established and give shape to your borders.
- Increasing the amount of hard landscaping in your garden, reducing the size of your borders and lawn or perhaps even getting rid of them altogether.
- Considering hardwood fencing or furniture instead of softwood. Softwood will require more maintenance than hardwood.
Family Friendly Garden Design
If you are looking for a garden that is suitable for your family to spend time in, you can achieve this through:
- Allocating a separate play zone that is filled with child friendly plants and is protected by fencing. This will allow children to run wild without having to worry about their safety.
- Considering a built-in trampoline, which is constructed to be level with the ground to eliminate the risk of falling.
- Reducing the amount of water in the garden, removing ponds or water features.
Sensory Gardens
Designed to stimulate the senses, including vision, sound, touch and smell, a sensory garden is ideal for children and individuals with sensory processing disorders. To incorporate a sensory element into your garden design, consider:
- Incorporating hard landscaping to allow easy access to all areas of the garden. Consider making any footpaths wider with sweeping curves if they are to be used by a wheelchair user.
- Choosing plants that stimulate the different senses, such as plants that are highly aromatic, have interesting textures or make a noise as the wind passes through them.
- Install features of interest, such as wind chimes or sculptures, or perhaps pebbles that change colour as they get wet.
There are many different options for making your garden fit you and your lifestyle.