To be sad I have a North East facing tiny courtyard?

[Greenbutterlfy566]

I understand I am Lucky to have any outdoor space at all, but aibu To be sad to have a North East facing tiny courtyard during lockdown with an extremly active DS?

The courtyard is around 4m x 3.5m and is in the dark most of the time. We were going to put our home on the market and then lockdown happened.

YABU ish. You have outside space. Its not nice that its not sunny but its better than nothing.

I don't think it's that unreasonable to wish you had a sunny garden during a lockdown situation.

Is there anything you could do to improve it? AstroTurf so your DS can play in it more? A birdhouse on the wall, bee station, bird feeders, flowers in pots to attract butterflies? Some mirrors on the wall to reflect light? A fire pit? Even if you only have a little BBQ you could toast marshmallows over it after dark. Lots of potential!

BBQs and firepits are not good at the moment for people that can't breathe.

Could you get a climbing tower with a small footprint for your DS?

We have one like this- it's had loads of use over the years.

Same here, and YANBU! At all!
I can't even go and buy some trees to liven it up. Brick and concrete 😐

Ours is just the same but we don't own it so I am jealous of you! We have a climbing tower similar to the one reefedsail has posted and it's been a God send these last few weeks.

YANBU to wish you had more space. However. Here’s mine... (also NE facing) Swap?

I don't see why you can't feel a bit crap about it. It sucks when the sun is out and your garden is still dark and cold.

Thanks all. Climbing tower might be a good idea although I'm Not sure if he'd be too big for one now he's super tall lol.

Could try some green plants maybe but it seems so depressing for DS. Feel guilty for moaning when there's so much going on in the world.

May_yes I would swop it's bigger than mine lol 😁

Yanbu but honestly I would swap yours for my tiny balcony!

We have the same. It gets barely any sun at this time of year but gets a bit better in the middle of summer. We put a paddling pool at the sunny end later in the year.

Look on Pinterest - loads of ideas

Get lots of fairy lights / candles etc so you can use it in the evening as well

Outdoor space is great no matter what is great you just need to know how make the most of it

@Greenbutterlfy566 you sure? It needs digging. The rain actually pools on top of the soil & takes a couple of days to sink in. I dug a mini compost pit last week with a hand fork, the clay is so sticky you could probably make plates with it!

Buy I do sympathise, it's crap not having a garden. We've only been here a month, we were briefly in a flat before this & it was difficult having no outside space. We had a boiling hot south facing bricked yard before that, with no shade & no fence, as it was essentially a parking space. Nice for drying the laundry, but not much else. Hope when this is all over, you can get somewhere with a lovely garden your DC can play in.

In your situation, if I had the money of course, I'd paint the fences or walls in bright colours and put a mirror on the one that gets most light. I'd have a patio with a seating area anyway (I love sitting outside but hate being in the full sun because I burn) and put up plenty of outdoor fairy lights and those twirly things that dangle from branches. Ask in the garden centre for child friendly plants that thrive in shaded areas and put them in big pots around the edges. Put a small lawn in the middle with stepping stones dug into it if it gets too muddy to walk on in the rain. Our front garden faces east/north-east and the grass grows fairly well but not overly quickly so it doesn't need mowing as often as the back. Google ideas for small, north-east facing gardens for inspiration.

No, you’re not being unreasonable.

How old is your DS? I’d go for either a small footprint climbing thing or a little paddling pool and a bubble machine.

And a really comfy garden chair for you.

Same here OP. Tiny, north east facing garden and two small children. It's rubbish.

If it helps, we have the Selwood Holt climbing frame. It's great for smaller gardens. Elder DD is 4 and it will last her a good few years yet.

YANBU to wish you had more space at a time like this. That said, I am a huge defender of small, NE facing gardens. Mine is currently covered in blue forget-me-nots, which followed on from the dafs, and will be followed later by a huge unruly salvia (of course). It's also lovely and cool to sit in on a hot summers day.

Was this area there when you bought the place?

If so, stop whining.

What are your suggestions then @OlaEliza? Anything positive to add?

@Malvinaa81 don’t be mean. Of course it would have been there when she bought it but I doubt she knew she would be stuck inside indefinitely with children. Or should she have predicted this when buying a property?

Hot tub..................

YANBU. Can you draw, paint on the walls? Can always be covered over afterwards. Maybe something to cover the ground, or lots of ball pit balls?

A few nice ceramic plant pots with very brightly coloured flowers, dahlias or peonies for example, really liven up small places and make sitting out in them much more pleasant. Window boxes hanging on the railings and hanging baskets on the walls are also a great idea for best utilising space. Jasmine can be grown in a pot or up a wall trellis and has the most gorgeous smell in the evening. Try not to let the shade bother you too much. You’ll get some sun a bit later in the year.

Yanbu. We have a tiny north facing garden. I hate it. I'd never buy a house with a north facing garden again. We may as well live in a flat. It gets no light so the grass barely grows.