GardenLife Magazine Archives - Page 13 of 13

How to design a child-friendly garden

by Mark Bailey | Sep 15, 2013 | GardenLife Magazine

How many times a year do parents suggest – vainly – that their kids take a break from the screen and go out into the garden? Enough times for most of us to lose count. But one reason why gadgets win out over gardens is that most of our gardens just aren’t that child-friendly. Parents often think that a child-suitable backyard involves a plain expanse of grass with minimal plants to be crushed or decapitated by footballs and other missiles. But, if you think about it, even the most imaginative child can’t do much with a bare lawn.

So, if you really want to get the kids out into the garden, try some of the following.

Break up the layout
The best kids’ gardens are broken up into different areas. Screens, trellises and hedges can create different zones for hide and seek or dens. Children like having their own “secret” places in a garden, where they can retreat from parents or siblings, or hold court to their toys, and you don’t need a large garden to achieve this.

Add play spaces or equipment
Timber play equipment, trampolines and play houses make the garden more attractive to your children and their friends, and there are affordable cabins to sort all ages – from storybook-style playhouses for younger children, to games dens for teens. The great thing about sheds, summerhouses and cabins is that they can evolve with your children – from Lego or doll space for a seven-year-old to a party or games room for sixteen-year-olds.

Invite in some wildlife
Wildlife makes a garden more interesting to most children. Birdfeeders can attract birds, and small damp corners are excellent for mini-beast hunts. Plants such as buddleia, lavender and asters (michaelmas daisies) attract butterflies. For a more examples of butterfly-friendly plants, check the Royal Horticultural Society website.

Even dig up the lawn?
The problem with grass is its inability to survive football games, bowling practice or rugby tackling – at least long-term. So parents with sports-mad children may consider artificial grass. It won’t turn brown halfway through summer, or into a mud patch in winter. And premium artificial grass even contains different shades of green, making it look realistic.

Don’t be too precious
Outdoor fun in the garden Put yourself in your kids’ shoes. You’ve been forced to turn off the TV, and cajoled into playing in the garden. But at the first kick of the football, a parent shouts at you to “Watch out for the plants”. It’s not exactly a recipe for good times. If you do want to plant precious shrubs or delicate annuals, then go back to the zone idea: let the children have free rein in most of the garden, in return for having a no-go zone where you can grow things.

But do be safe

Steer clear of plans like laburnum, lily of the valley and foxglove, which are extremely poisonous.Other common plants can also cause stomach upsets, or irritate skin or eyes – if you want to know more, there’s information on websites like the Royal Horticultural Society (www.rhs.org.uk).
Have a garden storage shed or chest where you can lock garden tools, lawnmowers, fertilisers and pesticides well out of reach of children. And if you do use chemicals such as pesticides, then never use the same watering can that you use for watering or that children may use.
When installing play equipment, follow guidelines about safe surfaces, falling distances and ‘fall-out’ widths.
Sandpits are a wonderful thing, but not if they become the chosen litter tray of the neighbourhood cats. If you do have one, make sure it is fully covered when not in use.

Hopefully some of these useful pointers will help you to design a child-friendly garden that the entire family can enjoy!

Avoid commuting in winter – work from home!

by Mark Bailey | Aug 5, 2013 | GardenLife Magazine

It may be summer now, but in no time at all the nights will be closing in, the temperature will drop and we’ll be heading into winter. With rain, floods, ice and snow the winter commute can bring misery to a lot of people – getting stuck in snow, car accidents and slow traffic in poor weather are just a few of the regular problems. So how do you avoid commuting in winter? Why not consider working from home?

There are lots of advantages to work from home (or teleworking or remote working), including:

more time with family
reduced carbon emissions from commuting
less money spent on travel
and people being able to do their jobs better

When phone company O2 shut its UK headquarters for a day in 2012 and let over 2,500 staff work at home, 88% of employees said they were at least as productive as on a normal day at the office, and 36% said they were more productive. So tell that to your boss!

Other benefits of the O2 day of home-working were:

staff saved 2000 hours of commuting time, which they spent either working, with family, staying in bed a bit longer or relaxing.
and they saved nearly £9000, mainly in travel costs.

But can you get your work done and resist the fridge and TV? If you do convince your boss you should telework, or even decide to set up a home business, there are a few practical issues you need to think about. First, where will you work? It’s OK checking your emails in front of the TV in the evening, but doing your job full-time on the sofa is a different kettle of fish. Your back will be killing you by the end of the first week.

If you’re lucky enough to have a spare room or office, that’s a great start, but even then there are distractions. A global survey by Regus found that almost six out of ten people say it’s hard to work at home because of family demanding attention. There are also temptations – not just the TV, but Facebook, Twitter, and the call of the biscuit tin. Even with the best intentions, it’s easy for a ‘quick’ coffee and a go on the Playstation to fill a morning.

The remedy’s in the garden – for many people, the solution is to designate a separate space for working, so they’re not annexing the sitting room, and not being distracted by family, tech or fridge. Much cheaper than moving to a new house with an extra room, or building an extension, is to look at garden offices – timber buildings that are warm, solid and insulated enough to work in all day long, and all year round. They’re a more impressive place to meet customers than your spare bedroom, and they can add to the value of your home. GardenLife has a number of garden rooms and offices starting from around £1900.

Tips for choosing a garden office
If you do decide to build a garden office, be sure to remember the following:

choose a building with thick enough timber (at least 44mm) to make it warm enough all year around
designs with double-glazed windows keep in heat
solid lockable doors provide extra security against theft – important if you’re going to install computers and other office equipment
pick a design and layout that match the nature of your work – for example, do you need storage space? And would a traditional or contemporary suit your image better?
check local planning regulations to see whether you need planning permission – with many garden cabins and offices, you do not need it.

So what will it be? A wet, cold view through a steamed up windscreen of the same old traffic jam, or a cosy desk in a timber garden office with a view of the garden?