Do you have a garden?

[ScoobyCan]

Just that really.

Do you have a garden? Do you use it?

I'm looking to move house and if I compromise on garden (ie small courtyard garden / minimal upkeep) I can afford a much larger house.

AIBU to suggest (shock, horror) that I don't need a garden? I have two DC who "sometimes" play out / kick a ball around. We like cycling so tend towards taking the bikes out instead. Currently I have a shed and a couple of trees, I don't do borders as I don't enjoy gardening.

Please tell me about your enjoyment of a house with no garden....

Where will you drink your wine on summer evenings?

I’m not your target audience as I love my garden but theoretically I could live with a small space although having some outdoor space is completely non negotiable for me. But, and a big but, it would concern me that I would probably be in far closer proximity to far more neighbours and all of the uncertainty and lack of control that holds.

Yep, a big one. Absolutely love it. Created all sorts of areas, somewhere to eat, somewhere to play, somewhere to encourage wildlife, somewhere to grow food, somewhere to look back at the house. I was fortunate enough to be brought up in a house with a large garden, it was our playground, our refuge, our food supply, and a nice place to be. It does require time though, and that’s not always available with a family. Personally, I would have wanted a garden for my children. OH only had a big house with a small garden, and he says he missed what some of his friends had. But it needs thoughts, it’s what suits you as a family best. Bike riding is fine, but can they go alone?

We have a very small back garden that we never use. I often wonder if we'll use it more as our little one grows up but we're in the UK... I'm pretty sure it's raining or dark for half the year

I'm perfectly happy with our small garden - but we have a very large national park and large playground 10 minutes walk from our house. We also have a couple of large ponds and wooded area around 10 minutes away.

What is the area like where you're looking at moving to? Green spaces nearby? Parks / playgrounds?

Yes we have a garden 😊 we went 5 years recently without one as our first place was a flat but we moved to our house last November and we can't wait to use the garden in the summer! I'm due our first baby in June so looking forward to lots of relaxing and playing in the warmth ☺️

Drying washing
BBQs
Kids playing (making dens, trampoline, games etc)
Camping out

We use it all the time, even in winter.

Yes, a small one, 5 fence panels by 3 fence panels. Bit of grass, shed and veg/flower border. My dc's are tweens so don't need the garden space much these days.
I put laundry out all tear round. I'd hate to have to use my tumble dryer or be tripping over the airer.
I sit outside on hot days.

I think even a small courtyard garden is worthwhile though. Where will you talk to bees if you don't have an outdoor space 🐝?

Nothing more fabulous than having a garden big enough for the children to properly run up and down it, have races, a trampoline, a climbing frame, put a badminton net up. Have a patio, a shed, borders, a veggie patch, a compost heap....... I love my large garden, couldn't be in a house with a grass "patch". I know I am very lucky, we live semi-rurally, and the extra space around us is also a definite bonus. We moved from a town center for this kind of benefit.

We have a fairly large garden, and I would LOVE to swap it for one the size of a large balcony! Expensive to make nice, time consuming to maintain, and all for a few days a year when we actually enjoy it. In fact, I'm not sure if I ever enjoy it as I'm always looking at what needs to be done! I would 100% rather go to the lovely park down the road with the children.

We only ever use ours to put the pool up in the summer.

We have quite a big garden but only use about half of it, I have a small fenced off area at the back I can let the kids play safely in and a bit of grass at the side for hanging washing but the rest isnt used by my young children, my older step kids do love playing in the trees and shooting each other with nerf guns though (they don't have gardens at home though) so it's good for them.

We live on 2 acres, about half an acre is a woodland, (we popped the swings and slides and treehouse in the middle so they have to go into it!) my dc are currently in there somewhere building a den or something although I can hear screams and “got you” so they are probably playing hide and seek. The rest is separated into lawned garden, sheds and veggies patches (that part is not finished but we have great plans!) and then the driveway and parking area, we built the house a few years ago and we’re only sorting the garden no as such. I really don’t know what I (or the kids) would do without it.

Small garden with patio, borders and a bit of lawn. It’s mostly used by the cat though, and my DCs were never that bothered about playing in gardens (used to have a much larger one). I’d be quite happy with a courtyard garden as long as it gets evening sun and is big enough for some chairs and plenty of plant pots.

I’ve got a good size garden. The girls would be lost without their trampoline and I use it summer evenings to lay on a look at the stars!

I very much appreciate my outdoor space but it is hard work to keep on top of as the only adult in the property with everything else to do too.

A courtyard garden - assuming the right kind of courtyard ie sunny and private - could be lovely though as long as there is space to sit out with friends on summer evenings.

yes!
its not huge but plenty of space for washing/bbq etc

im moving to a place with a bigger garden though, because i wanted a bigger garden!

Outside space is not a compromise in this house. ! depends how small the courtyard is?!

we have dogs, and kids present though - so outside space is required!

also - where do you actually drink wine in summer haha!

Yes an absolutely huge one however we lived for many many years with a postage stamp sized front garden and a concrete yard. Moving was a shock to the system.
No regrets with our former house we had a central city location, large house and ended up using the park down the road quite a bit, we also went out more on weekends to the beach or countryside.
Now we live in the countryside (move was driven by work contract) , have acres and spend lots of time in our garden (sometimes because we have to as there is so much of it)
Both are/were great just different
We've had kids in both locations

Friends of puts have NO garden at all but do have a dog & 2 children (6 & 8) They manage well as they have a park opposite the front and overlook a field at the back.

Surely it’s like everything in life, you adapt if necessary?

I have a big garden. I would prefer a courtyard. My children go to the park, swimming pool, skate park etc, they don't need a big garden. In your position I'd go for the bigger house.

I have a large garden (for a house in town). We have a pool and a seating area next to it - I put a gazebo over it in summer and it's a nice place to ho for a quiet read.
Nearer the house is a pa ed area with table and chairs and the bbq. I often eat breakfast or lunch there.
In winter it's rarely used by the humans in the house but I have dogs and they need it.
I'm moving to london soon and most gardens are very small - fine for me it's the pets I'm worried about - if not for them I'd be happy with a courtyard big enough for table and chairs, bbq and comfy seating.

Are you being unreasonable about what?

Small garden. I try to use it as much as possible when weather is good enough to sit out.

I need it because of always having cats. I don't approve of not letting cats have outdoor access.

Small garden. It's about 40 foot by 40 foot.

About 1/3 close to house is now patio. Which we use already and it only went down in November! Rest is lawn and wide beds.

Dry my washing outside as much as I can. And I love love love sitting outside to work on sunny evenings. Eating dinner outside. Having BBQs with friends.

Live literally backing onto a park so kids can run round there now they're a bit older, we don't need sand pits etc like we used to.

We have a garden, but it's just plain and a little overgrown, so we never sit out in it. The idea was to get it done this spring and make it beautiful, but one or two unexpected things mean we might not have the money to do that until next year now :(.

I’d hate not to have a garden. We have 2 DDs and they love growing veg, going on the trampoline and swing etc. I’ve got bird feeders up and we get all kinds of birds on there so the girls have learned loads. We also have a telescope that we put in the garden on clear nights and look at the moon and planets. We like our bikes too but it’s not always possible to go out on them so it’s fab that the girls can still go outside when I’m cooking tea or whatever.

Massive back and side garden and a reasonable front.. we use it all really and have it sectioned off so the dogs have a loo zone away from where I put the washing and where ds will eventually play. And as that bits to the back it’s separate incase anyone leaves a gate open.

It’s a bugger to keep in the summer with mowing, weeding and painting fences.. but we’re a good walk from a park so letting ds out to run about with a ball will be handy and not needing to trail the dogs first thing in the morning or in horrid weathers handy too.. nothing worse than going a walk in torrential rain for it to stop the minute you get back.