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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu for considering a house with a garden of this size?

40 replies

ForeverHomeSearcher · 02/02/2020 11:03

I've name changed as this could out me.
Dh and I are considering moving in the next year.

The area we like just doesn't have the space we want in our price range so we're casting our net a bit wider and considering doing work to get the house we want.

The plan is that this house would be our home for the next 20 years. We've currently got a young toddler with another planned in the next couple of years.

My husband really values space and not feeling too overlooked. We're looking in quite central areas though so this is tricky to find.

We've seen a house that is great location wise. It's currently only 3 beds and we'd need to extend. It may be that we can't get it at a cheap enough price to extend within our budget.

The other issue is the size of the garden. It's nearly half an acre. It's been split into sections of lawn surrounded by mature beds. Whilst I enjoy gardening, with a small one, I haven't had much chance to do it in the last year. I can't help but think we'd be mad to take on this garden even if we could do the extension.

I'd be interested to hear from people who have a similar size garden and how they find. One option would be to get a gardener in every month to mow the lawns but that might cost quite a bit.

Sorry, can't post an actual photo of the garden as I've name changed.

OP posts:
RedSheep73 · 02/02/2020 11:11

Are you joking? you are worried that the garden is too big? what's the absolute worst that could happen - it get's overgrown. You call it a wildlife garden and don't stress about it. Doesn't all have to manicured lawn, does it.

Original poster
ForeverHomeSearcher · 02/02/2020 11:14

@Redsheep73 very valid point. It does feel very first world problems.

I should add that the current owners have kept it in such a nice condition that I'd feel so guilty if we just let it go to rack and ruin.

OP posts:
CoffeeCoinneseur · 02/02/2020 11:16

Our whole plot is just short of an acre and we have a lovely big square back garden.

Neither DH or I are gardeners so we pay someone to come in and do it. It took us a year to get round to arranging someone though - at first we thought we'd be able to do it ourselves and by the time we admitted defeat it was a total mess so it took the gardener a few days, lots of trips to the tip with bags of waste, and cost several hundred pounds.

In the summer you won't get away with a gardener coming once a month, our gardener comes every 2 weeks as a minimum. And then every 3-4 weeks in winter.

He's a proper gardener too, he doesn't just mow lawns, he sorts the borders, thins, trims, moves and adds plants.

StillCoughingandLaughing · 02/02/2020 11:16

How much of the space would be used for the planned extension? If you could build that and put a patio on the back of it, you would still have a good size garden that was perhaps more manageable.

Also, I know this wasn’t what you asked, but beware of falling into the trap of thinking you need more space, when actually what you need is less stuff. You have one child and are planning another - you really don’t need more than three bedrooms.

user1493494961 · 02/02/2020 11:19

Sounds fine to me, lovely for kids.

HairyFloppins · 02/02/2020 11:19

We are on a corner plot with a massive garden and we got a ride on lawn mower in the end. We used to have gardeners but they have never returned after the first couple of times maybe underestimating the size.

Our is mainly lawn so fairy easy to maintain. It was fantastic whilst the children were small but now they are older we are going to downsize to a house with a smaller garden.

JigsawsAreInPieces · 02/02/2020 11:24

We've got a 2-acre plot which is too big for us to look after so we have gardeners in to do the mowing, weeding, pruning etc leaving us to do the garden planning and planting.

Original poster
ForeverHomeSearcher · 02/02/2020 11:25

@CoffeeCoinneseur I suspected once a month was optimistic! Would you say the use/enjoyment you get from it is worth the cost?

@StillCoughingandLaughing very good points. We tend to be the social hub for our families so quite often have people over. The current kitchen is just not big enough. The extension wouldn't take much away from the garden as I suspect it would need to take half the current patio which is level with the back of the house. The garden slopes so we'd need to do extensive ground work otherwise. Having said that the foundations under the patio might not be strong enough either.

I just don't want to let my mind runaway with me before we've really considered the practicalities.

OP posts:
MrsJoshNavidi · 02/02/2020 11:28

I'd love a bigger garden! You could have chickens, and bees!

2020newme · 02/02/2020 11:28

I definitely wouldn't let that stop me. I had a garden that was half an acre and put a swimming pool in Grin

I would have thought it was ideal if you need to extend and would advise on making the extension as big as you might need/make it future proof.

Lonecatwithkitten · 02/02/2020 11:29

We have 1.5 acres. 0.75 of an acre we have planted fruit trees in and then a wild flower meadow which we can paths through and then cut down once all the flowers have gone to seed to repopulate for next year. Very low maintenance.
You can plant the borders as herbaceous borders so they only need once a year or put down bark chipping to prevent weed growth.

BennytheBall · 02/02/2020 11:31

We have a big garden.

The best thing we did was change the beds/borders to lawn ratio. It used to have enormous, deep flower beds which were so much work.

It's now laid mostly to lawn with smaller/accessible borders and only 3 central beds, one of which is entirely hydrangeas so requires virtually no maintenance.

We had a gardener but don't really need him now.

CoffeeCoinneseur · 02/02/2020 11:32

@ForeverHomeSearcher absolutely worth it. We basically have an open house in August, the bbq is permanently on ams it's really social.

I love sitting out in the morning and evening with a coffee or glass of wine. The garden is south facing and quite sheltered so we've sat out in March of an evening and been perfectly warm. Our gardener has created a few shady spots too for those rare occasions it's too hot.

Your lawn will absolutely need to be mowed every 10 days/2 weeks in the summer.

CameFromAway · 02/02/2020 11:34

Snap it up! The more space the better.

Bluetrews25 · 02/02/2020 11:35

Nice veggie patch and fruit garden...
You will love the space and the quiet, no parking hassles, being able to make a noise and have the DCs run around.

Bluetrews25 · 02/02/2020 11:36

Oh and room for a nice big shaggy dog....

Fatasfooook · 02/02/2020 11:37

Rewild 80% of it. Very fashionable and good for the earth

EmrysAtticus · 02/02/2020 11:38

Definitely rewild it. Low/no maintenance gardens are the in thing so people will just think you are being wildlife friendly :)

Bluetrews25 · 02/02/2020 11:41

How do you rewild? Just kinda let it run to rack and ruin and let the fecking badgers dig up the whole 'lawn'? Didn't realise I was on trend!

Ellmau · 02/02/2020 11:41

Mowing is probably the easy bit tbh. Is DH willing to do a bit of work in the garden? When the DCs get older they can help, too.

It sounds lovely, though. You'll have loads of room for the DC to play outdoors, which is always nice.

QuestionableMouse · 02/02/2020 11:42

I'd bloody love a bigger garden. Mine's roughly 15ft by 10ft.

You can always mulch the borders, plant low maintenance plants, or turn part of it into a wilder 'nature garden' which is also environmentally friendly.

MCBerberLoop · 02/02/2020 11:46

You could leave a big chunk of the lawn to grow, a lot of London parks leave some lawn borders uncut now and it looks so pretty. There’s a great book called ‘Brilliant and Wild’ which is all about easy perennial borders that are massively low maintenance and pretty and pollinator friendly. I’m always recommending it because it changed my life! I love my garden now!

PilipiliHoho · 02/02/2020 11:47

Buy it! We're looking to move, but all the gardens are so small (or built over) - we've got three acres at the moment, and want to downsize a bit, but not tomorrow a poxy little handkerchief! It depends on the layout as whether you'll need a ride-on mower (they're expensive) but if you have a gardener, half an acre is unlikely to scare off a sole operator anyway. Go for it!

madcatladyforever · 02/02/2020 11:52

My last house had a 150 foot garden and it took me all weekend, every weekend to keep it in a manicured condition.
I can't physically do it any more so I've downsized.
If you take on this place with two young children you'll probably have to change the type of garden that it is and revert to woodland/wild with mown paths through it. Watch the bramble though, you don't want to let that stuff get hold.
You could have chickens/bee houses/bird sanctuaries.
I'd love a big wild garden.

MitziK · 02/02/2020 11:53

You could have fruit trees and a wildflower meadow (which saves mowing weekly).

How much more of a perfect home do you want?