What's your favourite thing in your garden?

[Ihaveaskedyouthrice]

After years of having a tiny garden we're finally in our forever home and have a decent size garden.

I'd love to know what your favorite thing in your garden is, I'm talking across the range, big things such as garden furniture to small things such as solar lights.

Have three children, including one whose autistic, so we'll be spending a lot of time in the garden and would like to make sure it's well set up.

My potting shed, it's my own bit of space and it has made my gardening life SO much easier, it was a right faff before.

Furniture wise, we all love our double egg swinging seat and our table and chairs get a lot of use, we eat outside all the time weather permitting.

No solar lights though, they're bad for wildlife. Once it's dark we just have the light from the kitchen window or candles.

Growing fruit and watching butterflies.

For kids:
Mud kitchen - muddy buddy
Sandpit - plastic type with lid ( stays dry)
Swing in trees
Metal chalk board on wall

For everyone:
Decent and easy to use Umbrellas, or awnings for shade. Planting for shade in summer

Raised beds for herbs
Fruit bushes - plant once, last forever a Reka blueberries easy

I have a winter flowing honeysuckle and it smells heavenly at just the point in the year when the snowdrops are out.

my view, only trees at the back.

My Awning and outdoor sofa. I can sit in the shade looking out across the garden. I have a load of strawberries along the side of the sofa and a vine growing up the pictured trellis, so I have snacks aplenty all summer without getting up.

My weeping willow we put into a soggy area of the garden last year it's thriving. So pretty to watch it wafting around.

A fantastic thing for kids is to leave the grass to grow a little longer and mow some paths through it for running along. Hours and hours of free fun and fantastic for butterflies and the like.

I have a river at the bottom of mine and we all get in for a dip/splash from time to time, and that is my favourite thing, but I recognise that’s not really what you’re asking.

I’d say it’s my vegetable patch. I have a huge one because I do a lot of gardening, but you can do a lot even with just border beds. Fill them with herbs or other edible things instead of just a random bush or something.

My robot lawnmower.
My "fernery" in a shaded spot.
My creeping thyme in a spot nothing else grows

Thank you everyone, loving all the ideas.

The view, birds and budleia because it brings the butterflies.

A large wisteria ‘tree’ that fills the garden at this time of year with the most incredible scent and colour for about 3-4 weeks. It’s relaxing sitting by it, watching bees and butterflies

Quince tree in a large pot. It’s absolutely lovely at every stage. Soft furry new leaves, flower buds that look like raspberry ripple ice cream cones, pretty blossom, lovely open shape, golden leaves in autumn, big gold perfumed fruit like Christmas baubles in late autumn.
And in November I have quinces to make into jam.

Herb planters by the kitchen door so I can grab fresh herbs for cooking even when the weather is bad.

@MoistVonL can i ask what herbs plant well together please? I have only managed to keep chive alive!

Massive Kettler parasol. It is standalone and swings. It means that we can have constant shade on our otherwise very sunny patio and therefore eat in the shade. It was expensive but well worth it for us.

I think anything that allows you to spend time in the garden is a really good thing. So I’d also say the bench down the end of the garden (even though it’s falling apart), and for the kids, the swings, trampoline and table tennis.

I also have a child with complex SEN and he loves exploring the garden. In the past we had a swing/hammock swing/slide/little house combo which had a huge amount of use. We put a garden room in a few years ago, and I positioned windows in it so that I can sit in there and relax a little, but also have eyes on him.

Other garden toys that he loved were Aquaplay, we used to have it more or less permanently set in on a separate table, and also the Step 2 sandpit with a lid and their water play set.

The plants!! We don't really have any features but I spend a lot on plants.

Congratulations on the move. That's exciting. We went from little gardens to larger garden in the country with massive, old trees. I love them! Especially the apple trees.

Favourite thing we bought was a hammock. Reading in my hammock is my favourite thing. Although I usually fall asleep within 10 mins. Sleeping in my hammock is second favourite thing.

Like our raised beds too. We try to grow veg and herbs in there but we're still a bit shit at that. 😂

I'll keep an eye on this thread for ideas. Enjoy your garden op!

No visible fences just green mixed hedging and trees .
Watching and listening to the birds go in and out of my bird feeders. We currently have a fox and cubs behind the shed and I love watching mum minding the little grey cubs and they stumble about in the lawn.

My bunnies! Unfortunately we can’t grow much as they would munch it all, although there is a beautiful fuchsia bush outside the kitchen window. I have lots of plans for the summerhouse although sadly I doubt anything will get done this summer.

Thyme, rosemary, sage - I pot them with a lots of grit as they like well drained soil and we’re in quite a rainy area. they are tough, woody plants that live for years.

Also oregano, lemon verbena and a bay tree.

Weirdly, my mint actually died, and normally that stuff is indestructible. I chop it in half and repot it every year.

Soft herbs like basil, parsley and coriander I grow in the raised beds with the veg.

I have mint in a pot and I thought it had died last year but it’s back!

Thank you @MoistVonL I do have a nice bay tree which seems to look after itself

Me too!