Short version: we have a small, sloping lawn, is it worth paying c. £1000 to have it changed to a small flat lawn?
Posting this is parenting rather than the gardening section as I'm mainly considering it for DD(6)'s benefit.
Long version: We live in London and have a small garden: a small patio outside the back door, then a step up to a lawn of around 8x4m (plus shrub borders either side). Then another small patio at the back where the shed is. Currently there is a step up from the first patio to the lawn, then the lawn slopes gently up to the back patio. It's not a massive slope but it is a pain. DD is into gymnastics - she can do cartwheels on the slope but I would like her to be able to practice walkovers etc, or move her bar or beam outside in the summer. She would also like a trampoline!
We can't afford to get the whole garden overhauled, but I spoke to a gardener who thought it would be feasible to level the lawn by lowering it and adding a 20cm timber to the edge of the back patio and around the borders (which would form a step to the patio and retain the soil in the borders at their current level). So we'd end up with an 8x4m flat lawn with raised beds at the sides, a step up the patio at the back and a step down to the patio by the house.
Thank you so much for reading this if you've got this far!
Wwyd?
(Further context: DD is our only and there will be no more children! We do have parks nearby, but I would love for us to actually use our own garden far more than we currently do!)