Has anyone been happy to downgrade their garden?

[MerryMarigold]

Seriously considering a house with a very small garden (too small for a trampoline!). It's wide but v narrow. Noticed last summer that the kids hardly played in the garden as we live near (150m away) a huge park.

The house is perfect apart from the small garden, but I'm wondering if we could live with that. There's playing fields about 5 minute walk away. Kids are 6,6,9. Boys just want to play football and to be honest, any house we can afford doesn't have a big enough garden for football.

I just don't know if they'll miss the garden or not. (They only go on the trampoline when we have visitors!).

I did and don't regret it, but I'm not one for the garden anyway. I haven't stepped foot in mine since October

I don't think my kids know we even have a garden tbh.

. I will miss my compost bin (not that I ever use the compost)

i would hate a small garden. when they are young they can play in garden with you in house. if going to a park you will need to go with them

I know kilmuir. Just that last summer they didn't. They are too big for sand and pottering about now and want proper 'games'. I guess we did have the swingball out the previous year, but we forgot it last year!

I wouldn't. I always think that if civilisation collapsed I could turn my relatively unused big garden into a (small)smallholding.

Is it safe for them to walk to the park on their own or would you have to go with them? That would be a PITA with football living boys IMHO.

I think 3 more years and they could go on own.

I would. We just aren't garden people though. I'm sure in the next couple of years DS will start going outside more and it's nice for kids to get outside without you having to take them anywhere, but outside activities will just have to be tailored to the space we have.

I definitely won't be getting a trampoline though, I hate the way they sit unused in a garden once the novelty wears off but take up so much space and look so ugly.

I hear you! We have exactly the same situation. 3 boys aged 6, 6 and 10. Only use garden for football or swingball.
Current house is way too small so considering moving to either a new build (with small garden) or 10 yr old house, perfect size and location but smallish garden too.
Boys much prefer playing football in local park which is about 5 mins away. I will need to go with them for a few more years too, but can imagine them going on their own when they are older.
I don't mind taking them to the park to be honest and it means my windows have less muddy ball prints on them!

Mrs Star Wars. Yes, I think in 3 years ds1 will be at secondary and ds2 will be 9, perfectly old enough to go to park on their own. Dd is happy enough without a garden, just flowers. There is enough room for flowers.

I have a big garden (by London standards) and feel oppressed by it. It's my first ever garden - I've always lived in flats - and it just feels like one more thing to keep on top of. It requires Real Work. It contains lots of bugs and spiders [shudder]. The children never play in it. They play in the neighbour's garden, but not in their own. The neighbours suck their teeth because my garden is bringing down the look of theirs.

I dream of a small patio garden - just enough room for a table, chairs, a couple of pot plants. That would make me happy.

Though FaFoutis has a point - if mine can never afford to leave home I can stick a portakabin in there for them.

We have a tiny garden, the smallest in the street I'm sure. It's not ideal and I was worried about it, especially with children, but this house was the best we could afford in a fairly expensive part of town so we went for it.

I don't regret it because the pros outweigh the cons. I'd even consider losing even more garden in favour of a small rear extension.

Well, thanks for the support. Offer has been accepted. Eeeek. Very excited. Now to find some tiny garden ideas on Houzz.

Bye bye trampoline thank God

Brilliant! I think you are doing the right thing. Trampolines cause too many injuries so you're probably best to lose it anyway. Best of luck with the move!

Thanks. We have been known to have 9 kids on there, and no injuries so far...but it is an eyesore.

Congrats on your offer.
We have a small garden and our DC are teens and hardly ever set foot in it now. My football mad DS has been going to the park to play with his friends from age 8 1/2. (two mins away and only one quiet road to cross)

I really thought the size of the garden would be an issue for me but it hasn't been, in fact I love it, it always looks "completed" IYSWIM. I have everything I want-pots and plants and seating, plus it is private and sunny.
Our last garden was massive and never looked completed as there was always stuff that needed doing.

Congrats on the accepted offer! I am also moving to a house with a small garden (or should I say courtyard). It is barely 6m x 6m. I have two boisterous boys, however I am not worried - we love going to parks and I don't know how big a garden should be to satisfy their need to run.
I am know for non-stop googling for tiny gardens (and tiny houses by the way) and there are lots of ideas that could be used.
My one will have to have lots of foliage, climber plants, small bike/BBQ store, a table set and stone steps to the access gate.
Good luck!!!

Thanks! Slight spanner in the works when we discovered the house was sold for 80 GRAND less, 6 months ago. No work done on it since, quite a bit that needs to be done. We should have checked, but partly they were vague on the address (no house number as house is distinctive and it's a very small road) and partly our own stupidity as we did not check after the viewing, when we would have seen the house number. Dh is not happy and I think we are retracting the offer, going lower or not at all. I don't mind.

meadow, sounds lovely. Houzz had some really nice ideas. I personally like the mirrored doors!