{"id":17064,"date":"2022-05-02T11:47:03","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T10:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tobermore.co.uk\/homeowner\/?p=17064"},"modified":"2025-12-02T16:21:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T16:21:39","slug":"garden-design-with-children-in-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tobermore.co.uk\/homeowner\/blog\/garden-design-with-children-in-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Garden Design with Children in Mind (Top Tips from a Landscape Designer)"},"content":{"rendered":"

You want a space that looks attractive and gives all the features you – the adults – would like. But you also want safe spaces for children to play, with resilient planting that can withstand misplaced toys and miskicked footballs (and that\u2019s just from you, not the kids!).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to garden design for families, zoning your space is often the key. But, as landscape designer Vanessa Drew states, don\u2019t focus too heavily on adding permanent features for young children.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKids grow up fast,\u201d says Vanessa. \u201cOnce they\u2019re older and no longer want to play in the garden, you\u2019ll be left with spaces you\u2019ll want to repurpose again. I always recommend planning for the longer term, with easy-to-adapt features to keep kids happy in the short-term.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Zoning a family garden<\/h2>\n

With a zoned approach, you can define areas close to and further away from your house. For example, make the area closest to your house a \u2018safe space\u2019 where younger kids can play independently, but you can still see them if you go inside.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith that in mind, make the area closest to your house the most hard-wearing space,\u201d says Vanessa. \u201cPut your prize planting and delicate shrubbery further into your garden \u2013 as well as fragile structures like your greenhouse!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s likely you\u2019ll want a patio area close to your house for dining and entertaining anyway. So, when the kids have grown up, the space won\u2019t need to be drastically altered.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Products
Products Used: Historic Bracken Paving Slabs & Garden Stone Bracken<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Read more: Ideas for incorporating hard landscaping into a small garden<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Play equipment<\/h2>\n

For many proud, garden-owning adults, play equipment can be a pain. It takes up a lot of room, quickly goes rusty and discoloured, and just becomes an eyesore.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can give your kids some wonderful play spaces without needing to buy play equipment,\u201d says Vanessa. \u201cAt a very basic level, a rope with a short plank of wood on the end can be hung from an existing strong tree to make a swing, for example.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSimply putting paths and walkways through borders can bring a sense of exploration and adventure for children. This is also great for open-ended play, where you allow the children to play in an unrestricted way and let their imaginations run wild.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trampolines are popular in gardens but take up a lot of ground space.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGet one that can be dug into the ground and made flush with the lawn,\u201d says Vanessa. \u201cThey look neater, they\u2019re safer – you can\u2019t fall off them – and when the kids are bored with them, you can take them out and turn the hole underneath into a water feature or pond.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If the kids really want a playhouse or slide, think about the materials that would best complement your garden. Wooden alternatives are available for most play equipment (a wooden playhouse can be a very attractive feature) and provide a more sustainable option than plastic equipment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vanessa adds: \u201cInstead of buying a small child\u2019s playhouse, you might consider investing in a large shed which can be painted and dressed up with curtains and window boxes to act as a playhouse. When the kids have grown out of it, you can reclaim it as a summer house, workroom, garden studio, or just as a storage shed.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Built<\/p>\n

Planting for family-friendly gardens<\/h2>\n

A question often put to our landscape design team during consultation sessions is what sort of planting you should choose for a family-friendly garden.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vanessa says: \u201cWhen I\u2019m being asked to design a family-friendly garden, I\u2019m often told to keep the planting to a minimum. But a garden without any planting whatsoever would be very bland, so it\u2019s important to get the balance right.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Homeowners may think that container planting in pots will be easier to maintain in a family garden. But – in fact- containers require continual revamping, watering, feeding and repotting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf the correct sized shrubs are chosen, planting directly into the ground is the longest-lasting, lowest-maintenance solution,\u201d says Vanessa.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo your research in advance and choose plants with a maximum growth size that will fit the space. For example, there are varieties of Mahonia that reach three metres in height and spread, but there are also varieties that only reach one metre. This is the same for most shrubs and trees, so choose wisely.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Products
Products Used: Retro Bracken<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Read more: Keeping garden maintenance to a minimum<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Year-round planting for a family garden<\/h2>\n

To get the most out of your family space for year-round interest, choose shrubs that flower or are visually interesting at different times of the year. For example, flowering blackcurrant and Forsythia for early spring. Lavatera for summer interest, Leycesteria formosa for autumnal colour, and llex \u2018Golden King\u2019 for winter interest.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vanessa adds, \u201cApart from flowers, choose variegated, evergreen shrubs which will look interesting for their foliage, even when not in flower. If you aren\u2019t sure where to start, the best bet is to ask at your local plant nursery and see if they can recommend a selection of shrubs for a family space.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Products
Products Used: Historic Heather Paving Slabs, Sienna Setts Oat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You want a space that looks attractive and gives all the features you – the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":21543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[225,299],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design","category-inspiration"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGarden Design with Children in Mind (Top Tips from a Landscape Designer) - Homeowner<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For those of us with younger children, it can be tricky to know how to plan for an outdoor space that caters for everyone's needs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tobermore.co.uk\/homeowner\/blog\/garden-design-with-children-in-mind\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Garden Design with Children in Mind (Top Tips from a Landscape Designer)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For those of us with younger children, it can be tricky to know how to plan for an outdoor space that caters for everyone's needs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tobermore.co.uk\/homeowner\/blog\/garden-design-with-children-in-mind\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Homeowner\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-02T10:47:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-02T16:21:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tobermore.co.uk\/homeowner\/wp-content\/uploads\/garden-design-with-children-in-mind-blog-homeowner-2023.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"770\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"469\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Erin Simpson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Garden Design with Children in Mind (Top Tips from a Landscape Designer)\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"For those of us with younger children, it can be tricky to know how to plan for an outdoor space that caters for everyone's needs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tobermore.co.uk\/homeowner\/wp-content\/uploads\/garden-design-with-children-in-mind-blog-homeowner-2023.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erin Simpson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tobermore.co.uk\/homeowner\/blog\/garden-design-with-children-in-mind\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tobermore.co.uk\/homeowner\/blog\/garden-design-with-children-in-mind\/\",\"name\":\"Garden Design with Children in Mind (Top Tips from a Landscape Designer) - 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