February is the most popular month for families to start planning their new garden design. We have put together a few suggestions to get you started, no matter what size your family (or garden!) may be.

1. Consider the Interest of Your Children

Are your children or grandchildren sporty? Do they love building dens and playing hide and seek? Or maybe they prefer to get involved in gardening! If you consider exactly what your children (or grandchildren) love to do, this can help you make the most of the space you have and ensure they love spending time outside with you when the warm weather hits!

2. Safety First

Whilst features such as a pond may look beautiful, you will need to ensure that this cannot be accessed unsupervised so fencing around the area may be a good idea. This can also apply with access to front driveways and roads. You must also consider that some plants may be toxic or an irritant so try to avoid these if your child, or even a pet, enjoys ‘exploring’. If you are concerned that your garden already contains these plants, you can have your garden examined by a professional horticulturalist.

3. Zone Your Garden

If your garden is big enough why not consider creating different zones for different members of your family? The child friendly zone may contain play equipment (with rubber chippings or bark underneath to ensure they are safe should they fall), a lawn or turf area for games and sports, or even small vegetable beds for them to look after and grow their own plants. A family seating area could be located adjacent to this; meaning they can have their own space, but you can still ‘keep an eye’ on them!

Whatever you decide to do with your garden this year, we would recommend ensuring you make sure every member of your family can enjoy it. Visit our Landscape Design Page or get in touch for more information.