Family friendly gardens
Harriet Stigner
Several of our gardens have been featured in Gardening Etc recently. Along with the advice and recommendations we shared in this feature, here are some of our top tips on designing family friendly outdoor spaces…
Providing a space where you can safely observe children play is essential for young families, as in this tiered, family garden design in Islington.
Give the kids somewhere to go!
As we suggested to Gardening Etc, zoning your garden with child friendly areas helps to share the scheme effectively, maintaining peaceful spots dedicated to adults too! A Wendy house, playhouse or den are all fantastic options, and can be especially helpful for designating separate spaces in small gardens. Stepping stones leading to these features are fun for younger children, and can create a beautiful journey that will make your design feel cohesive.
A secluded Wendy House, providing a fun space for children as part of a small, contemporary garden design in Clapham.
It's important that you can see play areas designed for infants, whether an inflatable pool on the lawn (always be in attendance near pools and ponds), a sandpit, or a trampoline with netted sides. Some small trampolines can even be set into a lawn or astroturf, see The Children's Garden at Kew for a great example of this.
Trampolines set into astroturf at RBG Kew’s Children’s Garden ©Meg Boldison/RBG Kew
When installing trampolines on a real lawn, we lay artificial grass underneath, where the sun never shines and grass never grows! Easigrass' 'Mayfair' is our favourite.
A real lawn is nicest for children to play, eat and camp out on in the spring and summer months. If you decide to include climbing frames, swings or slides, a soft landing area is essential. Grass is best, but there are many good alternatives like recycled rubber matts.
Older children and teenagers will appreciate having somewhere secret to play that can be screened off with planting or trellis. We can work with you to design a feature of this kind that will adapt well for secluded outdoor socialising in the years to come.
Providing insect hotels and bird feeders can inspire children and support their learning.
Nurture an interest in nature
Learning to identify plants and pollinators is a key part of the national curriculum for children of all ages. Dedicating a raised bed or pots for your children to tend to their own plants in can inspire a lasting love of nature. These might be suited to a space near to the kitchen where herbs and vegetables can be grown, fostering an interest in healthy eating too! Placing insect hotels, bird baths and feeders in this area will bring the space to life and support the natural world.
Structural planting, coupled with child-friendly perennials, can withstand outdoor play in this smart East London garden.
Child friendly planting
Always avoid using poisonous plants in family spaces, especially ones with bright berries that can be tempting to young children such as Yew (Taxus baccata), which is a wonderful structural plant to use otherwise. We’d steer clear of very prickly plants like Berberis, Pyracantha or rambling roses. Alternatively, set them deep in the flower beds where they’re unlikely to cause scratches and tears.
To provide robust structure, small leaved evergreen plants like box, Ilex crenata and Prunus lusitanica work beautifully with large, silver, strappy leaves of Astelia, or the red and purple tones of Phormium. All of these can be placed to protect your flowering herbaceous plants from the rough and tumble of children playing, flying footballs and remote control trucks.
We’ll share examples of all of the species and ideas mentioned above on our Instagram, and you can find a selection of our family friendly gardens here too.