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 pond. It has a waterlily and baby fish. It’s endlessly entertaining with all the birds that visit for a bath and a drink.

squirrels

Wooden swing on patio. When we had small children we had children’s swing but this is long enough for teens to fall asleep on. Birdbath is lovely to watch . Apple trees to see out of the kitchen door but not so much fun when I have a surplus- as does everyone locally. Herb pots on the steps outside the kitchen door. North facing bank of daffodils which means I have daffodils when all others have finished.. and this year a glorious crab apple in bloom.

My bird table!!!! Loads of sparrows and starlings in just lately. I can sit outside with the birds singing.... absolute bliss ❤️

magnolia tree

So many things - lovely trees thanks to people who gardened here before us - magnolia, flowering cherries, rowan and bay. Shrubs - my favourites are camellias and pieris. I love the peonies too - a mauve tree peony and other pink and coral ones that I've planted. The ponds with ferns surrounding them. Our different acers - red, green and pink. My 'Birthday Girl' rose given to me by my brother and sister-in-law. All my different hardy geraniums - so pretty and easy to grow - my favourite is psilostemon - so spectacular with its black eyed magenta flowers. My little wild plum tree in a pot, given to me by my grandchildren.

Cold frames built by my husband so I can grow my own plants - he did that because he didn't want me to miss my greenhouse that I had at our previous house. No room here - we've downshifted in terms of the size of the garden. I can achieve just as much with this new arrangement, so I'm happy. He also built me a potting shelf!

Garden benches from my parents garden - so many happy memories of sitting with them, usually having a g and t and scotch in my dad's case. Garden ornaments from my mum's parents which she also had in her garden, now here with me - a beautiful ornate stone urn on a plinth and another stone plinth which we've topped with an armillary sphere. The beautiful old sandstone wall of next door's barn which forms our boundary. Lights twinkling at night in leaded lanterns I found in a charity shop. I love my garden - it makes me feel peaceful and happy.

The blackbird who sings so beautifully in the late evening.

Our pond too. Love the tadpoles (although the fish usually eat them before the become frogs). We have Very Large Goldfish. last father's day we bought DH a black, white and orange goldfish we called 'Jaffa'. Jaffa has either fathered or mothered a number of very tiny black, white and orange fish. We also have a newt. And we did have a wonderful toad for a bit who became quite friendly.

My blue wall with added planters so it’s even more colourful in the summer

Thankyou. I have a very wet area at the bottom of the garden with heavy clay soil. Have considered planting a weeping willow. Sound like it could be a good idea

I have a 20 year old Sarah Bernhardt peony, she always has masses of blooms and is my pride and joy.
The amazing show she puts on is fleeting, but I enjoy every minute of it.

Not read other’s comments or ideas, so sorry if I’ve repeated.

I love soft lighting in my garden.

also water features.

I don’t particularly like gnomes, but I like some garden figures, especially hidden fairies and or elves.

I like a garden to feel “cosy”, and mine is small so it’s easy to achieve.

if you now have a larger space, you could create different areas, and specific child friendly sections, and grown up spaces for when the children are abed, and you can chill there alone or invite whoever you wish, to share it.

Depending what the garden soil is like, you can either plant straight in the ground, or if you have got horrible clay like mine, I plant up in tubs.

You can plant flowers or herbs or even grow fruit and veg, your children could learn so much from your new venture 😁

The convenient thing about tubs, is that they can be moved around the garden.

I hope you get a lot of enjoyment from your new space, and it’s multifunctional.

Oh, you and the children could create (from sticks, stones, bottles etc), an insect “hotel”.
Youll likely see lots of ideas on YouTube.
You can make it as large or small as you’d like.

Its also useful to create a compost heap to put your veggie kitchen waste, and grass cuttings when you’ve mowed.

if you’ve room, a water butt to make use of rainwater from the house guttering is great for watering your plants, so much better than tap water.

Oh yes! My blackbird sings the best once he’s found the very tallest branch of of the tallest tree, and then he’s in his element.

LOVE the sound of your garden from your great description.

Thanks all so much for your replies, have loved reading them all.

Right now I love my white hibiscus flowering at the top of a few steps, on one side of the garden.

Same as @Littleoakhorn I love my winter flowering honeysuckle. It was in this garden when we first moved here and I managed to save it and getting cuttings from it so I can get it growing all around the garden. The bees love it. I remember one fresh late January day it was covered in buzzing bees.

We used to have a swing seat and we are planning on getting another one here. It's a soothing place to sit and read a book or have a doze for a few mins in the sunshine.

The self seeded violets which are popping up every where. As are the aquilegia in all different colours.

We have our dining table in a corner to make it feel secluded as our garden is quite overlooked. The parasol has fairy lights on it which are more pretty than functional, so I want to get some festoon lights around the area to make it a bit more usable in the summer.

I think my absolute favourite thing is the little copse of silver birch trees we planted. They are very close together to keep them smaller but in doing this they have also not grown inwards so you could stand in the middle of them. I think this is something kids would love, a little hiding place.

I like having a garden that doesn't show its whole self in one, so you have to go around corners and discover new things, plants etc

We also moved from a tiny garden to a much bigger one, and inherited lots of lovely things but my fave are the fruit trees and bushes. The kids adore helping harvest whatever the squirrels have left us, plus the veg patch which I learn a bit more about each year. We have a huge trampoline that gets a lot of use, and a big Rowan tree that they climb and make things to hang from. Lots of flowers in spring particularly, it’s so beautiful and love all the bees enjoying them.

We are just moving to a new house with larger garden. I cannot wait to get started. I love and have always wanted a lilac bush. This will be my first purchase.

I am also looking forward to plating a herb garden.

I love the idea of some weeping willows (we have a river behind the garden and the end of ours could get quite boggy I think.

Winter flowering honeysuckle sounds like such a good idea.

I would love a water feature to make the most of our very slopy garden and as all the kids are drawn to my parents so I can see how much they are loved, definitely the most loved bit of their garden.

We have found a hammock in the new loft. I am excited about trying that out.

Strawberries and raspberries in the summer. We have then now in our small garden and watching the kids searching for raspberries in particular is great fun.

Some lawn for playing badminton or kicking a ball around with friends.

A sunny seating area for BBQs and socializing with friends.

An open gate policy so that everyone is welcome to pop round for a brew and a chat whenever they are passing.

I've always wanted a pond in the garden.
I've just ordered a half-barrel to make a little one in the corner and I'm very excited.

My cat sleeps on a plump cushion on a patio chair. A magpie that sits in the tree above the chair. At least one hedgehog that I feed and water nightly. I love the critters in my garden.

To sit with the sun on my face with a pet’s arse shoved up against me while I drink tea and do Wordle

The two bird baths. I bought large saucers for plant pots at the garden centre, one a large plastic one and another is a glazed terracotta one that's a bit deeper. One saucer is on top of a very small bird bath I inherited from my dad's garden after he died and the other stands on a large concrete "mushroom" that was in my garden when I moved in.

The birds absolutely love them, sometimes there are seven or eight all in the one saucer, splashing and squabbling. The water goes everywhere and I top them up at least twice a day.

its so kind that your husabnd did this for you!