Please tell me what to do with my small garden?

[hotpotlover]

Pic attached :)

We bought the house in August last year and I would like to make the garden look nicer.

What would you do with that garden?

What plants/flowers can you recommend to a busy family with 3 small children under 4?

Thanks in advance xx

Watching with interest as mine is small and also runs round the side of the house so looks small in two areas. Tried all sorts but failed to improve and now thinking I should not have added so many bushes.

It's quite dark due to the bushes. They look like they are the neighbours as the root are not in your garden ?
Cut them back to bring in some light , put it a flower bed.
For now buy a few shrubs that will flower , and maybe some summer bedding when the time is right. You could, also buy some summer bulbs and then towards the autumn bulbs such as daffodils and tuilips.
Your garden needs colour.

Which way does it face and how much sun does it get?

TBH with small children I wouldn't try to do too much - the garden is going to be their play area and they are likely to destroy anything delicate that you put in there. Maybe one pretty statement plant at the end next to the shed? Japanese maple if it gets no sun, maybe a small magnolia or other flowering shrub if it does?

Have a little vegetable patch and encourage your kids to get involved too. Gardening is a great hobby for the whole family. Maybe plant a small fruit tree or two.

Also if you repaint the shed that would make a huge difference

I think the most important thing to do in any garden, but especially when you have young children, is to get yourself a really comfortable chair!!

Think about how you want to use it? Sandpits, football, swing etc and factor that in. Also how much sun does it get?

put a seating in so you use it and can sit and watch kids.

some tubs of bedding would be nice next month, too cold before May, get the biggest pots you can, 2 foot across, put some compost and slow release food in. Bigger pots mean less watering. Pick 3 or 5 colours, too much colour in a small space isnt restful.

if you get Sun then some herbs would be great, Rosemary, thyme, oregano. put in the ground so less watering. Buy some lettuce seeds and grow some cut and come again in a tub.

it’s hard to make suggestions for planting till you know what you want and whether it gets sun.

I wouldn't bother with flower beds on the grass, you'll just be worrying about balls getting kicked in them.
Some raised beds and pots on the patio for growing tomatoes and flower etc with the children. Then if your children are climbers a wooden climbing frame with swing and slide,that'll last until they are 10ish but if they are likely to prefer kicking a ball around perhaps not. Although it's likely the balls will go over into the neighbours so perhaps that's best kept for the park.

If you wanted really low maintenance, get rid of the turf and plant just clover instead, it only grows a few cm and doesn't need mowing and as it flowers is better for the bees.

Be warned if you plant a small ' wildflower' patch, within a year or two they take over the entire garden - I speak from experience as my entire garden is meadow like.

Cut back the bushes
Repaint the shed and the fences
Pretty lights on both
Jet wash the patio
Let the kids have the rest

Could you make a little veg patch and grow some easy to grow things like radish, lettuce, spring onions and strawberries? Would be great fun for your children.

I'd also cut back the climber on the fence a bit to let in more light. Paint the shed (and fence too if you can) a light shade to bring in more light.

A little bed with spring bulbs, summer flowers and a small conifer that you can put trimmings on at Christmas would be pretty all round and something you could enjoy as a family.

If you want shrubs then Euonymous Green and Gold or Pittosporum Tom Thumb add colour and stay small/are easy to cut back a bit to keep them a sensible size.

How about a little mud kitchen or a fairy garden with tiny pond in a bowl?

You could feed the birds (mealworms in a feeder hung from the top of the fence will attract lots of little birds and won't make a mess in your garden like seeds). A bird bath is great for birds too and watching them splash about in it will be great for your kids.

Have fun.

I agree that the first thing to do is give it a really good tidy. Trim back neighbours bushes, paint the fence and shed. Wash the patio...

Although is it your shed? And is it on proper hard standing? If it isn't and you don't need it for storage I'd consider moving it to somewhere less obviously visible or downsizing to a storage box at the side of the patio.

Then a few large raised beds on the patio, by the grass with some small rose bushes, maybe a camellia (keep it pruned!) Maybe a hellebore, some bulbs and some dainty perennials like agapanthus (or astrantia if shaded). Should give you something to look at all year with minimal effort

Nice wee garden. I don't think you need to do a lot really. Maybe paint the shed in a cheerful colour, cut back those overhanging shrubs at the back of the garden, power wash the patio and cut the grass. While the kids are young no flower beds, maybe just a few pots.

I’d power wash the patio as a first step and then I would pain the shed.

As well as having 3 under 4 I’m guessing from how you asked the question that you don’t have much gardening experience.

I’m with @Houseplanter , although I might actually replace that shed completely and I wouldn’t bother painting the fences - once you start it becomes a regular chore and you’ve got a lot of busy years ahead of you.

Get yourself a small battery-power lawnmower and keep on top of grass cutting in the summer. Some good loppers to keep that greenery tidy and you’ll be fine.

Be aware that sandpits attract cats and get full of rain so if you do get one make sure it has a good lid (or have low expectations).

Tick 😂

Maybe paint the shed like a beach hut?

You could try pelargoniums in pots (they are very forgiving if you forget to water them), but I wouldn't bother with anything else much, small kids and gardens don't really go together all that well!

Some good advice here.

I’ve a similar garden (probably the same width but longer) and north facing.

In my case the lawn was a nightmare. It was north facing (so got very little sun), turned into mud pretty quickly and took ages to recover. So once DS was about 8 I dug it up and made it into a planting area, with larger shrubs and a stepping stone path to the top, and a playhouse/shed type thing at the top. We have a side return down the side of our kitchen so that became the ball throwing area.

I think from the photo you’ve got ivy growing at the bottom. It’s nesting season now so you shouldn’t cut it back at the moment- but in Sept I’d recommend cutting it back REALLY hard. Ours has got a bit out of control and it’s quite hard to stay on top of. That said, birds and insects love it.

My final thought is not to go too high with the fences if/when you come to replace them. One of ours is already high, and then has added height from the ivy. It really affects the light coming into the garden and, though I’m not looking forward to the cost of it, there will be a silver lining once it comes down. All the plants on that side currently lean into the middle in search of light.

Hope some of this of some value! Good luck with it all.

I have a small garden, if I were you I'd get some big pots for the patio area. You can grow whatever you like in pots (they do need watering everyday in the summer though.)

I'd also put a small flower bed along one side, I like flowers and my favourite plants are foxgloves, roses, salvias, wall flowers, alliums...

You could probably fit a small fruit tree in at the end there as well.

I would just keep the lawn mowed and get a paddling pool in for the summer.

And yes to a seat. A nice comfy one.

With small children I would do very little. Possibly some gardening projects they can be involved in such tallest sunflower or tomatoes in grobags just so they get the concept of stuff growing and putting their hands in the soil.

some BIG pots on the patio for flowers & herbs - petunias and rosemary etc.

nice big bench to sit on and have tea

keep the rest as lawn for the kids to play for now and gradually add more flowers / shrubs as you find nice things.

Great idea for the small space.
If you plan to replace the shed (and can manage without the storage space), convert one with windows into a playhouse. Paint it, add some faux curtains, an outdoor rug, with a small table and chairs inside, or comfy beanbags.
Add some stepping stones to it and it could be used almost year round.

For seasonal flowers, old colourful wellies are quite effective as hanging baskets on the fence.

Filling a couple of large washing up bowls on a low table is an easy way to provide some sand and water play - it also deters cats and is easier to replace when required.

Thank you all for your wonderful recommendations.

I haven't really got time to reply in detail now, but we're off to our local garden centre on the weekend to buy some plants xx

I will update with some pictures soon!

I would not cut back at the moment as your shrubs on the fence will be full of beneficial insects. At the garden centre I would by
Stachys Byzantine. Lambs ear. Lovely for
the children to touch.
nigella seeds , really easy to grow and the seed heads after flowering look like Cinderella coaches.
Nasturtium seeds. Great big seeds for the children to plant I. Yogurt pots or plastic fruit trays. The leaves are edible.
Around the edges I would plant lots of different thymes. They are very hard wearing if the children fall in them.
i would also buy a bug kit, they have a miscrospopic jar so the children can see the bugs. Also build a bug house with the rubbish from the garden.
Paint the shed in stripes to make it stand out. In the back corner I would put tall grasses, and small paths so the children can have their own jungle.
On the patio I would get a small grow bag for each child to grow herbs and salad crops.

Start with one bed. Dont try to do the whole garden at once. Go to the garden centre every payday and buy something in flower. At the end of a year you will have flowers year round. Pots are a lot of work, keep them to a minimum, maybe just a couple of statement pots and buy a size bigger than you think you need so that they last longer. Acers do well in pots and look fabulous we were broke sobought tiny ones, they soon grow. Veggies need a lot of attention in the summer, daily watering for a start so think carefully if you want that commitment