From the small, inner city dwelling to the large, family sized country home, one of the most effective ways to create a family friendly back yard is by repurposing the space into functional zones.
Zoning the backyard creates areas for playing, eating, cooking and relaxing. Defining these zones using fencing, plants or other materials such as pavers and stepping stones provides autonomy for each space to shine individually while allowing the whole backyard to operate functionally.
“The great thing about zoned gardens is that they are family friendly,” explained landscape expert and Adbri Masonry brand ambassador, Jason Hodges.
“A garden should be versatile. By creating a zoned garden, children can play outdoors in a safe environment whilst parents can supervise in comfort just a few feet away.”
“A zoned garden works well for backyards of all sizes. For smaller areas, get creative and have fun with it.
“Built in seating is a great way to make the most of limited space and a vertical garden on unused walls will add visual interest and character. If entertaining family and friends is your thing, look at adding a built-in barbecue area. It’s all about making the most of the space you have and making the space work for you.”
Here, Jason Hodges provides some design hints on how to create zoned gardens for the whole family.
1. Children’s retreat
Kids love having their own section of the garden and parents love keeping toys, trampolines and swing sets in one place. Section off a corner of the yard and make it child friendly. If the yard is not big enough to accommodate a play house, small tepees are a great alternative. Another fun idea for kids is building your own hopscotch area with large format pavers. Paint them in bright colours and allow grass to grow between them. It creates a fun activity for kids while doubling as a step stone path to connect your spaces.
2. Entertaining Area
Before designing your entertaining area, give some thought as to how you will use it. Will you need a large dining table for entertaining family and friends or would a lounging area be more suitable? A well designed entertaining area should be multi-purpose and suitable for the whole family.
An entertainment zone will become the perfect space for bringing family and friends together will all the comforts of the indoors transplanted to the outdoors. If you are going to be entertaining regularly, choose a quality paver to set the scene for your space as it will be on display every time you have friends over. In addition to looking great, I suggest Euro Stone which is highly durable and your best bet for high use areas.
3. Relax and Unwind
More and more people are building their own relaxation retreats particularly in larger country gardens where space is not an issue. By creating a relaxation area you have a place you can go to read a book, or just unwind whilst still being able to monitor your children’s whereabouts. It’s a holiday at home as you can theme the space to suit your style. Call on inspiration from holidays and the things that make you happy. Add outdoor lounge seating or a day bed and decorate the space using planter boxes from concrete blocks and finish with lantern lights which are very trendy at the moment.
Zoning the area available in a back yard, no matter the size, provides versatility and creates a sense of exploration and adventure through the use of multiple environments within a single area.
