Ideas for this bizarre garden? With photos!

[ownerofalonelypig]

Hoping for some low cost ideas of how to make my garden a bit more usable and child- friendly.

I have two girls: 8 and 15 months who would like to be able to play outside! It's too small for the big swing set we had in our previous garden, sadly, and so poorly thought out that it's difficult to know how to make it more fun.

It's rented so I don't want to spend much and can't really completely landscape it.

Main annoyances are that you step out immediately on to the grass and there's a random path to nowhere running through the centre with small stones - ideal for my little one to eat and would hurt if fell on to. The only thing I can come up with is to get some of those big foam mats to cover the stones when she's playing outside.

Also, there's a small alley that goes down the side of the house that is turfed for some bizarre reason - what could you do there?!

Any ideas very welcome- photos and plan attached! Oh and yes, I know it would help to cut the grass! 😂

It’s big enough for a den or Wendy house - could pick one up second hand. You can also get sandpits that incorporate into tables . Couple of beach mats would be ok over the stoney bit? Toy kitchens are good for outside play as well

Surely eating stones isn’t an issue because such small children wouldn’t be outside unsupervised anyway? And by the time they're old enough to play unsupervised they’ll be past the stone eating stage. I’d just put a blanket and playhouse on the grass. If you’re really worried you could put a small temporary fence across the top half to block off the trees and stones.

if the alley doesn't lead anywhere, you could put up a netball hoop at the end of it, and use spray chalk to put markers where to shoot from. if it does lead somewhere and it's wide enough, you could put up a wall mounted chalkboard for the girls to draw on. space hoppers are also great fun to bounce around on, and you could get a little outdoor tent like this to play bus with.

This garden looks very like the garden my former boss had. The central bit was used as a sort of rockery. I always felt by putting it in and adding a sloping element they emphasised a slightly odd layout by creating an even odder one.

If you can use the side grasses area for swing or playhouse it could work. I’m no expert as our garden is a postage stamp so we use the local park for run around activities

We used to have a trampoline in ours but obviously needs supervision and its one child at a time if bouncing.

That path is begging for some chalk and hopscotch. Sand table by the path for youngest.

Could you put some fake turf over the stones: you can pick it up quite cheap and as it’s designed to be outdoors you can just leave it there. I’ve put some pots out and let DD loose with seeds, watering can and a little trowel: she loves it and it means I get flowers popping up all over (never in the flower beds or pots!) I also find the hose with a cheap sprinkler attachment on hot days is fab - better than a paddling pool as you don’t have to worry so much about little ones around it.

I wouldn't worry too much about eating gravel either, or doesn't taste good so unlikely to be done often!

I agree with second hand playhouse and sandpit, and blackboard would be good for both those ages. Grass right outside house - are the slabs in the gravel cemented in? You could move them to be outside the door for now, just cut them into the grass. Or get some pavers from freecycle.

Thanks for all the responses and links! Very kind ☺️

Great ideas- unfortunately the alley bit is very skinny (makes the grass very difficult to mow!) but I'm sure dd will make some kind of den out of it. I do like the netball hoop idea though!

To the pp who suggested I would constantly supervise the baby, I would be much too busy sitting on a sun lounger and sipping sangria to do so - soz.

Since it is rented, ask the owner what you can do. They might be okay with changes that you fully pay for. Some rentals don’t allow changes in front, but allow changes in back. I would ask.

And if you do ask, be very polite- that strange path/stonework might be the owner’s own work.

Agree with cake - worth delicately asking!

Do you have anyone to help? Would the LL let you bag up the stones (use rubble sacks), move the slabs aside and lay turf in the section in front of the patio doors (the middle of your garden)? Easier shape to mow certainly. You could keep the stony/slab area nearer the gate to halve the job and maintain some of the owner's beautiful patio. At least it's off to the side

If they say yes but want you to store the stones for the end of your tenancy you could tuck the slabs/ rubble sacks down the alley area out of sight.

The shaped slabs could be relaid across the lawn as a stepping stone curving path. Would save having to store/ look at a pile of stacked slabs and gives you a surface to walk on on wetter days. Lift them to one side for mowing and put back to save time and effort trimming round them.

Or another idea, maybe the landlord would agree to you relocating the central stony mess (ahem patio/path) to adjoin the existing section between the gate and your patio doors. It would form a larger squarish "patio" in that quadrant of the garden and could safely be ignored in favour of the large lawn. Remember to lay some weed membrane first.

What direction does the garden face - where's the sunniest spot? Even better if that corner (gate to patio door) receives sun. You could chuck a large garden rug (Aldi have some large sizes on the website/instore at the mo) over the slabs/stones and dress it up with some patio furniture.

I almost feel like the bizarre stones/slabs in the centre are hiding something or covering a manhole?! Why wouldn't someone just turf over the whole thing

It sounds like a lot of effort but could be done in a day - if the LL is amenable. It would transform the area!

I'm just trying to think of low-cost/gentle solutions that they'd allow if they're a bit precious about changes to the garden.

Aldi XL garden rug available instore (similar available from Dunelm, Wayfair if it's sold out):

here

You could put some foam tiles on top for the baby if you're using the rug on the hard slabs/stones. Or put patio furniture on top of it and have a blanket/foam tiles on the lawn for the little one

Would agree with asking landlord politely - if it was my garden would be only too happy for someone to do work on it as long as not just concreting over whole thing or digging up grass to put really cheap fake grass down. The path is odd as it doesn't seem to go anywhere. We have a path so can take bins out easily but leads to gate. Hopefully that one isn't just hiding dead bodies!

Also I'd try and pull up by the root or spot-treat (spray) the weeds throughout the lawn and under the trees. Once they get a hold they can multiply quickly.

At the moment you have a nice amount of healthy grass, I'd be looking to protect it from a weed invasion

I'd 100% be looking to solve the stone mess first followed by the weeds/lawn mowing.

If you were particularly green-fingered and your LL was amenable I might look to tidy up the area under the trees to the right and dig a proper (smallish) flowerbed under them for visual appeal. And another small/medium flowerbed by the fence in the area that receives the most sun - a lot of summer flowers require sun 😎
Just something manageable, not Kew Gardens!

I'm about to buy some log roll from Wilko (plus the stakes they sell to support it) to go round my flowerbeds and separate them from the lawn. It's not expensive and makes things look a bit tidier/defined.

Hope some of these ideas help!

Such good ideas! Thank you! I'm always so touched when people reply to my threads! (This is a NC as obviously could be recognised!)

Thanks also for the dead bodies suggestion- lovely final thought for the day!

I'll speak to the landlord and see what he says. If he's not keen (probably due to the bodies), I'll just have to make do with foam tiles and rugs!

You're welcome! I hope there are no dead bodies

Hopefully you can sway the LL with talk of relocating their stones to form an "even better corner patio" or the offer to restore them at the end of your tenancy (if they're bagged up in the meantime). And a much easier to mow lawn - surely music to a LL's ears!

You'll have to let us know how you get on!

I would erect a small gazebo on one side and lay rubber mats on the floor and over the concrete. The gazebo can become a fort, a Wendy house, a castle or anything you want. From charity shops you can get some old curtains and some nets to make it like an Arabian tent.

If you dont want to put mats on the concrete, try digging a channel all around and plant mint, creeping thyme and lavender. This will fall over the concrete to,soften it and will make a lovely scented blanket for running over and sitting on.