When it comes to the upkeep of our homes, the garden is often bottom of our priority list. Well we're here to tell you why it shouldn't be! The weather in the UK is often well, a bit of a mixed bag. If you’re a Brit you’ll know that it’s generally the number one thing we complain about. Do I need a coat? a brolly? Or shall I just return to bed and resign myself to a duvet day? This little meteorological dilemma often leaves us uninspired to venture out into our garden. So why invest in it? Here’s our top five reasons we think landscaping your garden should become the focus of this year’s renovation plans.
1.Improving your family’s lifestyle
Imagine the possibility of sitting outside with your breakfast or having glass of wine after work surrounded by fresh air. The birds are singing and for just a moment you can drown out the world around you. Bliss! Just that little piece of calm added to your day can make all the difference. Particularly in a world full of stress and distractions.
And it isn’t just the adults who can benefit from that sense of peace a garden can bring; children can also gain immeasurably. Your garden can provide that much need space for them to burn some energy and get some fresh air. Many parents have felt the stress of having children couped up inside with energy to burn and they know that it can often lead to bad behaviour. With a practical garden space for them to use this needn’t be a worry. Also with much of children’s need for stimulation being fulfilled by various screens, the need for an alternative within modern family life is clear to see. In my previous career as an early educator, I was very aware of the benefits the natural world could bring to child’s learning and wellbeing. From watching birds and butterflies, to growing vegetables to simply playing games, the value of a practical outdoor space at home for a child cannot be underestimated.
But wait…what if it rains? The thought of getting cold and wet while your cornflakes become evermore soggy or your wine is watered down doesn’t exactly scream bliss. The good news is this really shouldn’t be an issue. A good garden designer works alongside practicalities like the weather to help you achieve the lifestyle you desire. From pergolas to sail shades to outdoor blankets, there are solutions to work with. We can’t promise it won’t rain but we can work with it.
2. Your Mental Wellbeing
If you close you eyes and imagine you’re sat in your garden. The birds are singing, a gentle breeze moves through surrounding plants and trees. It’s peaceful. You breath deeper, your thoughts slow and your heart rate decreases. Suddenly the world doesn’t seem so complicated and stress is, albeit temporarily shown the door.
For the sake our wellbeing, moments like this shouldn’t be fleeting. But nowadays they seem to be. Our minds are repeatedly stimulated, whether it be during our busy daily routines or in our free time moving from one app to the next. The news, social media, a game, tomorrow’s weather, emails; the list is endless. The need to escape becomes greater with each passing day. But what if we had access to that escape on a daily basis? The benefits of the outdoors on our mental health is well documented. The charity MIND talk about this great detail here, noting that spending time in nature can help to relieve feelings of stress, improve confidence and self esteem and help to combat anxiety and depression. In a world where we are all seemingly finding less and less time for ourselves, the garden could and should be a place for everyday solace.
3. Property Value
We all appreciate that by making home improvements we’re adding value to the selling price and saleability of our homes. But gardens can often be overlooked as a space that really can add value.
So are gardens really desirable to a buyer? Well, yes! Sold.co.uk recently noted that a nicely presented garden is a highly attractive feature that buyers would happily pay more for. If you think about it if you were viewing a property would you really be more likely to buy the house if it was an overgrown mess that was a struggle envisage or if it had an outdoor space that you could really picture yourself and your family enjoying. The answer’s obvious. When we’re being shown the lifestyle we can achieve, it’s selling the property to us. A customer of ours once said following the completion of his garden redesign, ‘it’s like being on holiday everyday’. That’s the kind of feeling that a garden can bestow upon people in its presence. And that is a huge selling point of any home.
4. Supporting Nature
With the care of our planet becoming more and more of a prevalent issue for our generation and those to come, we should all be thinking about our impact on the environment. With the combined area of UK gardens totalling an area the size of The Lake District and The Peak District put together, homeowners have a real opportunity to make a difference.
Simple alterations to the design of your garden can make a real difference in this sense. One key aspect is to retain/add to the greenery we have already in order to support wildlife. For instance by planting plenty of shrubs and trees we’re providing a place for birds to shelter and nest. Certain perennial plants can support insects such as bees and butterflies to flourish. For example planting Sedums and Buddleja should really tempt butterflies to pay your garden a visit, while bees prefer plants such as Agastache, Cirsium Revulvare and Lavenders. Anyone who has visited the lavender fields in southern France can assure you that bees love this beautifully scented plant and so thrive in their presence. Adding a simple water feature helps other creatures like dragon and damsel flies, amphibians and again birds to survive. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy; a simple shallow bowl or bird bath will suffice. These examples are by no means exhaustive; there's plenty more that all of us can do to consider the environment when designing our gardens. The woodland trust provide more information on that here.
5. Extra Living Space for Entertaining
Having family and friends round for that birthday dinner, can be a squeeze if it’s indoors. Especially if you’ve a big family! Hence many of us just simply don’t have the space to invite everyone round all at once. However if we opened our minds to the possibility of extending our useable living space into the outdoors, we could host those larger gatherings with ease. You could even use the food you’d grown yourself if you really wanted to show off! From an outdoor kitchen, to a bar area or a simple seating area on a patio, making use of our outdoor space can help us to create enjoyable moments and lasting memories. Making family time a priority in the comfort and convenience of your own home.
If you‘d like to explore your options with regards to your outdoor space, let us know and we‘ll be happy to help inspire you.
Comments