{"id":10337,"date":"2022-05-05T10:41:43","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T08:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardensillustrated.com\/?p=79884"},"modified":"2022-05-05T10:52:16","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T08:52:16","slug":"how-to-design-a-small-family-garden","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/rss_feed\/how-to-design-a-small-family-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"How to design a small family garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Abigail Whyte\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 05 May 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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For a family with a small garden, it can be challenging to create dedicated areas for play and socialising alongside green, wildlife-friendly<\/a> zones. Filippo Dester from the design studio Garden Club London<\/a> shares his\u00a0 family garden ideas, with designs for a small space.<\/p>\n

Family garden ideas<\/h2>\n

How to design a small family garden<\/h3>\n

Stylish play areas<\/h4>\n

Play areas<\/a> for the children don\u2019t have to be ugly. Aim to style playhouses<\/a>, climbing frames and other equipment to match your decking and other garden furniture, and suit your overall aesthetic.<\/p>\n

Plan your planting scheme and attract wildlife<\/h4>\n

Plan your planting scheme for maximum seasonal variation so that young visitors will engage with nature as they notice the appearance of bright new flowers and fruits or autumnal leaf fall. Children are fascinated by birds<\/a>, butterflies and insects, so a wildlife-friendly garden<\/a> is also a family-friendly garden.<\/p>\n

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A wildlife-friendly garden will also keep the children happy.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Getty<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Create an adults zone<\/h4>\n

Create a sleek chill-out zone that includes a generously cushioned sofa and chair. Filippo also recommends a fire-bowl<\/a> from Solus Decor, which is fuelled by a reservoir of bio-ethanol. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t generate a lot of heat but it is very atmospheric, and since the whole unit is portable, it allows total flexibility, which can be really useful if you are entertaining,\u201d says Filippo.<\/p>\n

Planting in smaller gardens<\/h4>\n

In smaller gardens<\/a>, Filippo\u2019s advice is to concentrate planting into just one or two significant areas. \u201cYou get so much more impact from one really generous ornamental bed than you could ever achieve by dotting the same number of plants through skinny strips around the whole garden.\u201d<\/p>\n

Multi-stemmed trees are ideal for smaller gardens. Filippo recommends Amelanchier x lamarckii<\/em> and strawberry trees (Arbutus unedo<\/em>), which are tolerant of a range of conditions. Here\u2019s our feature on colour and layers in a small garden.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Lighting for small gardens<\/h4>\n

Garden lighting<\/a> can be roughly divided into two types \u2013 the atmospheric and the utilitarian. In both cases, it\u2019s best to keep it as soft and subtle as the situation will allow. Filippo suggests lighting up several significant trees and spreading subtle pools of light along the path.<\/p>\n

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Screened off areas<\/h4>\n

\u201cVeiling one part of the garden is really effective in a small space,\u201d says Filippo. He suggests screening off the garden office, studio or shed from the main garden by a mix of airy perennials<\/a>, such as Cephalaria gigantea<\/em>, Erigeron karvinskianus<\/em> and Pennisetum alopecuroides<\/em> \u2018Hameln\u2019 and domes of Pittosporum tenuifolium<\/em> \u2018Tom Thumb\u2019.<\/p>\n

Lay a garden path<\/h4>\n

To help soften the garden, Filippo recommends putting in a winding path of Vande Moortel clay pavers, laid on a permeable sand base. \u201cLaying them to curve through the most densely planted area helps create a valuable sense of journeying through the garden, on route to the playhouse or studio office<\/a>, rather than just rushing from A to B.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Urban garden with pebble path and railway sleepers.<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Getty<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

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