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.

Probably controversial but the hot tub. It’s so relaxing, we turn the temperature down in hot weather to cool off. Friends and family said we’d get sick of it but it’s been five years now and we still use it frequently.
Second would be the pond, the wildlife it attracts is fascinating. Even my grumpiest teenager will spend time watching the tadpoles or laughing at the blackbirds having a bath.

Plants!

Evergreen plants around the boundary and through any borders not on the boundary - not leylandii but a mix of plants. Also bright stems like Cornus, Acer, Silver Birch visible from the windows.

Something in flower every month of the year.

Herbs right by the kitchen doors so we can just nip out - two quite large planters so lots of variety. Also plants for pollinators (includes lavender, salvias, hyssop, bergamot), I love watching the bees come and visit! Then the best thing we spent money on last year was a dining table and parasol. It feels like an extra room outside.

Summerhouse. Use it all year round,along with a small firepit.

Pond. Frogs and tadpoles galore.

My fruit trees, herbs, mini ponds and covered outdoor sitting area where we spend most of the summer and can hear the birds singing.

Dwarf varieties of berries like raspberry and blueberries are easy to keep with kids. Strawberries grow every year again and produce runners so put in a raised bed alone and low maintenance

Most herbs grow fine together

Mint and lemon verbena - put alone in pots not ground or with others. They spread from underneath so will swamp everything. They die back in winter and regrow so easy.

Chives, thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage. Can put anywhere. All will survive winter and stay green or regrow and don’t smother.

Parsley - lives 1-2 years. Fine anywhere but might be annual plant if harsh winter

Basil - needs heat. Plant June for the summer only.

@justasking111 have you found the willow has helped with the sogginess?

The peace & quiet.

Watching birds in the bird bath.

The retractable washing line.

My house rabbits playing out (though as PP says they did eat all the plants 🙄). I've had turf laid in my raised beds instead, they are loving it

Bluebells at this time of year.

The very cheap solar lights I bought from Amazon to light up the side of the path come a close second though. I open the door every night to admire them. dh is less impressed

Yes so much so DH put buckets of water on it yesterday because we haven't had rain.

There was a weeping willow in the garden but previous owners ripped it out for decking the Muppets.

My DIL put one into her damp squelchy area last year too but kept forgetting to water it so it hasn't grown as much.

"Weeping Willow Trees. Salix Babylonica. Specimen Trees UK" https://www.paramountplants.co.uk/plant/salixb/salix-babylonica.html?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21400843195&gbraid=0AAAAADo-6BVu8Z8C_dJz1gvL-25m9kTX4&gclid=Cj0KCQjwoNzABhDbARIsALfY8VMac9ca_UN3PyxFve_ePGWJhDVikRM6BLkma6GxGcPKLsS0nzD6Y7EaAqEQEALw_wcB

The wall, it's very characterful, old and weathered. It's perfect for treasure hunts as you can place tiny items in the recesses. We've added a fake door with a mirror in an old bricked up doorway, so it looks like it goes somewhere.

I also love the various focal points we've created where we can sit, enjoy a cuppa and plan the next jobs.

Our DC are older and I wouldn't say our garden was particularly child friendly but it is beautiful and calming with lots of areas to look at and interesting plants.
When the DC were little we got them to "help", they had lots of toys, a trampoline and a playhouse. Now they're teens we have to lure them out with a sun lounger!

Most often DH and I can be heard squabbling good naturedly over colour schemes. DH is the knowledgeable one, he grows a lot of fruit and veg, and I'm better at colour schemes, he just doesn't like admitting it!

Enjoy making your new garden your own!

https://blog.countrylife.ie/gardening/senetti-care-tips/

Found this at the garden centre last week. Lovely colours caught my eye so DH bought it as a surprise.

Mine isn't furniture, although we do have 2 lovely relaxing chairs on the deck with lots of flowers..... mine is the view. We live at a Harbour, with a view of the sea and a very famous bridge. I love seeing the cruise ships, and the little boats, and hearing the water lap the side of the harbour wall.

Sounds beautiful. Children used to find toads in our dry stone walls, great excitement.

I'd love that how relaxing. We had two reclining Adirondack chairs which someone stole out of our garden 😭

Greenhouse - great for starting off plants and getting them to germinate quickly. I use the greenhouse to grow on garden centre plants eg tomatoes and chilli peppers in grow bags, as I find it helps to have mature plants already grown to about 15 - 20cm, to elongate the cropping season. Plus annuals from seeds such as sweet pea, morning glory and traditional cottage garden plants that are easy to grow and enjoyable to have in the borders and as cut flowers through the summer. Also the greenhouse gives the right protected environment for dahlia to start sprouting in troughs before planting them in the borders by late May.

Herb garden - lovely to see the pollinators on marjoram, mint, rosemary, thyme and lavender, plus additional herbs like flat leaf parsley, purple sage and basil in tubs on the patio. We have months of 'cut and come again' herbs rather than buying them in the supermarket. Plus we dry them for winter usage,

The cat 🐈‍⬛ After a difficult few months which involved his leg being repaired and cage rest through the winter it’s great to see him out there living his best life x

Honey suckle and jasmine. The jasmine gives out a powerful smell in the evening and makes spending time in the garden at night so delightful

We had a small seating area constructed, using an arbour from Agriframes.

https://www.agriframes.co.uk/collections/arbours/products/round-arbour

this year I'm having a low level stone wall built around the outside to grow a couple of clematis up the sides and some aubretia and alpines for spring colour

This is such a perfect Sunday morning thread ❤️

Not quite what you’re asking but I have a suction mounted clear acrylic bird feeder on our back doors and my favourite thing atm is sitting in my armchair looking out over the garden and watching a procession of robins, blue tits and other small birds coming to have their fill.

My favourite spot in the garden is anywhere thats provides the right amount of sun/shade/shelter depending on the time of day, temperature, weather and season.

I like to have some seating in these areas so I can grab five minutes of quiet time (I bet you probably need that too) and have a coffee and just chill.

Then I find the areas that I use most benefit from a point of interest - just something beautiful/calming to rest your eyes on. It could be a focal point in your field of view, or just some pots with flowers in bloom close to you. I also have a cheap as chips £12 parasol I can cart around and set up for shade while I keep my sickly white legs in the sun.

Egg chair, mini pond, solar lights, pretty plants, bird bath.

Forgot my swinging egg chair that was a bargain at B&M (£99)years ago , unlike some these days that are £400+!! It’s in a leafy nook ant the end of the garden and it’s bliss to swing in it in dappled sunlight.

Our seedlings sit in the conservatory because it's warmer than the greenhouse until they're strong. Then this month green house or planted out. This year I've insisted one tomato plant stayed in the conservatory for some early fruit

My mini pond. It's only an old washing up bowl with stones and a couple of plants in but I've loved seeing it come to life with insects.