What did your childhood garden look like?

[DaringAquaViewer]

pear tree
no patio

We had a patio, but it was called a terrace in those days. We always had our tea there in the summer. And no, this wasn’t some manor house, it was a 1950s new-build, with wartime restrictions on size and materials still in force.

Sloping has so much more potential! I’ve never understood the liking for flat gardens. Veg bed at end of garden was on the level of my bedroom window

Rather a lot like the Britains Floral Garden toy sets you used to be able to get in the 70's. Crazy paving, a pond, a couple of small crab apple trees, stripes on the lawn, a greenhouse, climbing roses, a few potatoes at the back, and loads and loads of summer bedding. DDad was a very keen gardener and used to enter 'best garden in Town' competitions each year. He quite often won some prize or other. It was his influence that got me keen on growing things.

We lived in loads of houses but the one I remember most was aged 8-11. Wraparound garden with two massive weeping willows in the front. Side bit I had a veg patch which I tried to grow carrots in but kept pulling them up to see how they were doing.

Swing set. Large apple tree I used to climb all the time. I had vivid dreams regularly about being up in it and then taking flight through the garden. Big patio with crazy paving which my sister broke her wrist on roller skating. Not far from the river, I remember some swans rocking up once and our cat arching her back and hissing at them.

We also lived in California for a year. Yuccas and a big swimming pool. The house we lived in from when I was 3-8 had massive rhubarb plants in. Don’t remember much else. Then the house when I was 11-15 had a small terraced garden on one side and an square of lawn on the other - very boring but the house was very quirky and interesting. House from 16-19 was lawn with beds at the sides and very low maintenance.

Big patio surrounded on 3 sides by the house and then the other side with a flower bed / gates to keep the dogs in when we didn't want them in the main garden.

Huge lawn with conifers all along back, large flower bed, vegetable patch and shed.

Small Edwardian garden in a big city. Big tree, lawn, Quadro climbing frame, outside toilet, mysterious alleyway running behind all the gardens in the road. Nobody knew what this was for - it was suggested this was a “night soil” route. I once climbed over the fence and explored it.

Thank you for starting this thread, as this is something I literally never get to talk about.

I grew up in a small town in Canada, in a rambling Victorian mansion house that was the complete opposite to everyone we knew (bungalows everywhere).

Our garden was mostly neglected, my mum had a career and lots of children. But we had lots of lilacs in different colours, peonies, lily of the valley and orange blossom which all smelt wonderful. Irises which looked deep and mysterious. Initially lots of old elm trees, we eventually lost all of them to Dutch elm disease. An old stable on three floors, the top was an old pigeon rooster, it still smelt of bird poop despite no pigeons roosting there for about 75 years.

But what made it so special was that there were no neighbours at the back - just wild woods, rocky outcrops, no boundaries, no mobile phones. I spent my childhood in there, in summer walking around learning about plants and trees, picking berries, in winter jumping from cliffs into snow banks, with siblings and neighbours and my dog.

There were deer and skunks and raccoons and a zillion squirrels. Nothing scary ever (too far south for bears and wolves, too far north for coyotes).

Coming home with scrapes and bruises, black feet, covered in tree gum, just for dinner and bath. My mum hadn’t seen us since morning, or worried about it.

It was perfectly feral, and a great regret of my life is that my kids couldn’t have the same upbringing.

That sounds amazing @Koulibiak. We had fields across the road so would be out in them all day but were lucky if we even saw a squirrel.

I remember some swans rocking up once and our cat arching her back and hissing at them. Sounds like my kitten when two peacocks marched up our driveway

Some of the gardens on here are amazing. My late parents moved into a new build when I was 2. No garden laid, not even turf in those days it was local authority. They paid lawn but it flooded badly. There was always lots of chicken for the eggs and to eat. Fruit and veg.I had rabbits, guinea pigs. My late father always had a boat( deep sea fishing) later he had a big garage built, got a little caravan. A big van to tow the boat. They were interested in gardening. Front was big 2 levels with a rockery in the middle, huge oak tree. My DM always grew London Pride, and nasturtiums and I used to play with the big furry caterpillars.

They were NOT interested in gardening!

I agree, there are some lovely, evocative descriptions on this thread.

Mine was a 1940's semi. I don't remember much in the way of plants. There was a big, sharp, knobbly edged concrete 'patio' which dropped off precipitously onto fence to fence featureless grass. Just your standard 1980's death trap . We did have a swing concreted into the lawn though, which I loved. I love my garden but I don't come from gardening stock.

Just your standard 1980's death trap One of our childhood games was screwing up all our courage to jump off the terrace above on to the lawn. Mine wasn’t too bad, about 5ft (still over head height), next door’s was more like 2m.

Same @MereDintofPandiculation . I broke my arm doing it. Good times

Our garden was level, so we used to jump off the shed instead, or the fence, or the tree.

Suggests there’s not much point in making your garden safe - kids will always find a way to do dangerous things

We had a game called ‘Best Fallers’ where we’d all line up on a wall and jump off in the most dramatic style. Whoever was judged the most stylish fall got to judge the next round. Great fun.

We used to play The Crystal Maze around the house, and the automatic lock-in games were in the shed. And yes, you really were locked in!