Do you need a garden ?

[Mylady]

Downsizing from large house with lots of ground which was great when kids little but now drives me insane . I am not a garderner ! However have found a sweet little cottage just big enough but has no garden. Do you live in a flat or house with no garden - how do you feel about it ?

[Duchessgummybuns]

I have a shared garden in my block of 4 flats but I don’t use it as my neighbour lets his dog shit all over it 🙄 I know I could complain but tbh I’d rather live a quiet life as I’m stuck here for the foreseeable.

I dry my clothes on an airer indoors because I’m common as muck me but at least they don’t get darked on?

[Bluntness100]

I think i would always want a little private out door space if possible. I grew up in a flat, we now have a huge garden, which will become too much as we age so will sell at some point in about a decade or so, but I'd still want to be able to sit outside, with a glass of wine or have my dinner, to socialise outside with friends.

[loveka]

I couldn't bear not having any outside space at all. Nowhere to sit outside on a sunny day or warm evening.

In February it is easy to think it's ok, but come April I think you might see it differently!

[SharkSave]

No garden would be a deal breaker for me. I'm no gardener but I love being outside when the weather is nice

[Zaphodsotherhead]

Doesn't it mean your wheelie bin has to live in the house if you don't have a garden? Wouldn't it smell?

I'm looking at the moment, and can't contemplate not having a little bit of space outside for the bins, the washing, and the dogs to go for a late night pee if I'm too poorly to walk them down the road.

[DianaPrincessOfThemyscira]

We live in a small terrace with just a small paved yard - I’d love a garden to be able to chuck the kids out into!

If I was your age with older kids then I’d be with you. A small outdoor space is nice though.

[llangennith]

I couldn’t live anywhere with no outside space; even a terrace or balcony would do. I love being able to sit outside in summer or even a sunny spring day.
Lived in a 3rd floor flat for 8 months a few years ago and it had a pretty communal garden but I never used it as it wasn’t just outside my kitchen door. Missed my own patch.

[givemesteel]

Would never buy a house without a garden, think about the resale, most people will feel like the ones on this thread. It's one thing to buy a flat with no outdoor space, as you expect it but the expectation with a house is that there's some outdoor space.

With the grandchild thing, I think you'll miss not being able to have them at your house, my mum prefers looking after my dc at her house versus coming to mine.

Do you never sit in the sun on a hot day, have friends over for a barbecue, hang washing out? Remember how hot houses get when it's a heatwave, your only alternative will be to sit in a hot house or go out.

I really wouldn't do it.

But if you do haggle super hard so you get a low price as the chances are it will take you a while to sell,as not many people want a house with no outdoor space at all.

[IdaDown]

I’ve a cottage with a small courtyard garden. Enough to put washing out, sit in and have a few pot /wall plants but not big enough to be ‘work’.

Coming from having a garden to potentially none, I think you’d miss some outdoor space.

[SaucyJack]

First floor flat here, so no private garden.

We can live without one, but I certainly wouldn't go without one by choice.

When I win the Euromillions on Tuesday, a house with a garden will be first thing on the list.

[ToadOfSadness]

I must have a garden, have lived in flats for work reasons and always gone home to get some light and air, hate the feeling of being shut in. I absolutely hate living in a flat. At the moment the garden I have feels too small but at least it is a garden.

[MrsPreston11]

I'd be 100% fine without one. My dogs wouldn't.

If your DC aren't little anymore then even less of a need. Mine are still of the age where a paddling pool is the best thing EVER. So I'd miss doing that for them etc.

[Crocusqueen]

I once moved to a house without a garden, thinking it would be OK. it wasn't. I've never been so miserable in my life. I felt trapped - felt like there was nothing between my house and the outside world-no buffer. Hated it. A garden is one of my top priorities now. I'd sacrifice quite a lot of other housing preferences if it meant a garden.

On saying that, some people genuinely don't care and are happier without

[honeyroar]

I'd have to have some form of outside private space. Just a little courtyard with a table and a few pots. I lived in a flat with nothing once and hated it!

[FluffyWuffy100]

I wouldn’t like zero outside space.

A small yard or a sunny balcony with enough space for a small table and chairs and some plants are enough for me.

[MadMaryBoddington]

I pined and pined for a garden. For a decade I had a roof terrace, which was lovely, but it wasn’t a garden with a compost heap and trees. I always felt like once I had a compost heap I would have made it. I have three now. I feel like I’ve won the life lottery.

I couldn’t go back to no garden now. I’d feel hemmed in.

[seafoodeatit]

I'm another who need at least a bit of
outside space, a balcony at least with room for a teeny table and a clothes horse/washing line.

[WhooooAmI24601]

We have a huge garden that we've spent 10 years doing and I wouldn't be willing to compromise on it in terms of space.

The DCs are young so need the space, we've a spaniel from hell who enjoys barking at leaves, wind and her own echo and in a small garden our neighbours would want to kill us, I love planting and growing fruit and veg and I'd be lost without lots of space. During summer we spend 80% of our free time outside; there's a huge toy shed for the DCs to live in, a huge trampoline for them to exhaust/maim themselves on, I've put huge sleeper-style beds all the way around one side and it's my favourite thing about our home.

Even coming up the drive makes me happy every day because there's always something beautiful in the front garden; the daffodils are just peeping through, the hanging baskets are bright and the snowdrops are waving about. I suspect that my inner calm comes from all of this.

[DarthNigel]

I have a communal garden which I have to walk through a communal parking area to access. I would prefer it if I could open the door and just chuck the Dogs out, but other than that I don't miss having a garden at all. I could never be bothered or had the skills for the upkeep. It has also saved me endless arguments with my Mother who strongly felt I should be out there all the time 'making something of the garden' as well. All the houses that have access to the garden pay in for the upkeep and we have a Gardener, so that works perfectly for me.
We haven't yet lived here in summer but I hope the DD's will use the communal garden as they did our old one (ie for playing table tennis and sunbathing in) and as none of the neighbours really use it I think they will without much bother.

[SpikeGilesSandwich]

I never cared before we had DS but now I wish we had a garden. I'd love him to have a swing or a trampoline and a little play house. I get sick of reading on here how you can just "send kids out to play in the garden" on play dates etc.
On the other hand, we are lucky to have a house at all and we do have a tiny yard.

To pp's asking about wheelie bins, we don't have them. We put everything into bin bags and carry them round the block once a week.
And yes, it's not great and they do get ripped open by animals.

[allegretto]

I live in a flat with no garden. I would really like a garden but can live without one because I have a miniscule balcony. Without the balcony I would struggle.

[BitchQueen90]

Zaphod I'm in a block of 5 flats, we have communal bins in the car park.

[theEagleIsLost]

Our first house has quite a big garden that always felt overwhelming and despite it being very private neighbour one side made it unpleasant to be in and we often ended up going to local parks instead.

Our current house had a small garden and is gravel stones, decking and small wall beds. TBH if I'd realise how poor the parks were round here I perhaps might have put more emphasis on proper garden for the children but we have a lot of indoor space so not sure how much more a priory we could have made it.

Still it's used a fair bit despite us not being garners - kids play on decking and we have patio door out from living room so can have it open in summer months. It is mainly used for washing, which dries better outside, with a few meals sat outside and BBQ when nice weather and few herbs and bird feeders.

I think maybe a courtyard or small easy care set up to care garden might be better than no garden – but it does depend on your circumstances .

[TellsEveryoneRealFacts]

I have to have a garden. I used to live in a flat, so I grew tomatoes in grow bags in the spare bedroom. If no garden I'd have to have an allotment.

[user1471426142]

We went from a flat with communal gardens to a massive garden that we haven’t got to grips with yet. It looks a mess but there is lots of potential and looking out and seeing the sun makes me really happy. Think really hard about it as you’re making a decision in February when it’s cold and no-one is really outside as much. If you were considering this in summer when it’s hot and everyone’s having bbqs, your head might be in a different place. It sounds like you have the choice rather than people who are in central city locations who might not.