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How to create a Summer-ready family garden

Summer is just around the corner. This year, the summer solstice, which marks the official start of summer, takes place on 21stJune. This brings with it warmer temperatures and longer daylight hours, which means greater demand for green spaces. The most important green space of all is, of course, your own garden. When the migration from indoors to outdoors takes place, you want to be sure that your garden is carefully crafted and meticulously maintained to suit all. To help your garden flourish over the upcoming months, we have put together this guide to creating a garden the whole family will cherish. 

Add a water feature

A well-placed water feature is a vital part of any garden – especially when temperatures start to climb. The cooling effect (or at least impression of cooling) that ponds, fountains and swimming pools all possess is perfect for the summer months. A pond, for example, can attract wildlife to your home – from frogs, toads and newts to mallards and dragonflies. As well as inviting a diverse group of animals into your garden, water features are also renowned for the sense of tranquillity and serenity they invoke. A properly maintained pond or pool does require the investment of both time and money. With the right equipment however, maintenance costs can be kept to a minimum. The efficiency of TT pumps’ trencher range is one such example.

In a garden designed to be used for all the family, there are some precautions you should take to guarantee that children are not at risk of drowning at any time. In the case of pools and ponds, there are a number of preventative measures you can take. From fences to enclosures to covers, there is no shortage of suitable options, it all depends on your preferences and any budgetary restrictions you may have.

 

Create a seating area

No garden is complete without a seating area. If the sun is shining, you need a place to recline and relax with a bit of food and/or a drink. Whether your seating area comprises a simple bench or a more elaborate table and chairs is irrelevant, as long as it is comfortable, suitably positioned and safe for all the family, it is a more than sensible addition.

Make better use of space

Armed with the most effective space-saving solutions, you can more efficiently arrange your green space to prioritise the things you consider most important.

Gardening Lab for Kids

Using a stacked planter for example, allows you to build your collection of plants upwards rather than outwards, giving you the freedom to do as you please with the excess space. This space-saving alternative does not compromise the appearance of your garden either – vertically arranged plants are as aesthetically pleasing as any other configuration. Similarly, by merely restricting the amount of space a plant is able to occupy, potted plants also make for a more economical composition of plant species.

By instituting some of these tips in your own home, you should be well on the way to developing the kind of summer-ready garden you can be proud of.

 

Related features:

How To Create A Family Friendly Garden In London

Gardening Lab for Kids: Rock Bugs

Gardening Lab for Kids: Shoe Garden Project

Chic Gardening Essentials

About author

Articles

Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://new.londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
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