Not everyone has large outdoor space to enjoy, with many of us living in urban areas, where space is at a premium. However, we know a backyard of any size is a luxury and can be the perfect family space to play, reconnect, relax and enjoy native birds and plants.
Backyard entertainment areas for the kids
As anyone with children knows, keeping them amused on weekends and school holidays is never an easy task.
A large backyard can hold all sorts of entertainment options: climbing frames, swimming pools and enough lawn for a game of cricket and touch footy.. But, for anyone with a smaller garden, Ask Team Clean has some great ideas to entertain kids.
Smaller backyards may have just enough space for a trampoline, soccer goal or basketball hoop. Great for exercise and distraction from the screens, for a short while at least!
Create a heavenly garden
Find your green thumb, and transform your backyard into a space with gorgeous flowers, shrubs, and plants. Climbing vines will look great on a fence, and you can plant shrubs like grevillea or native bluebells to attract bees and butterflies. Renting? Many local plants can be grown in pots and tubs. Please grow to your climate with a focus on sustainability and water use. For example, don’t plant thirsty gardens that will need a lot of watering if you live in an arid zone.
You could even try growing your own tomatoes, one of the easiest and tastiest foods to produce in a home garden or a pot. Your kids will love helping to plant them, watching them grow and enjoying eating them when deliciously ripe!
Bring wildlife into your backyard
For international readers, not every back garden in Australia is swarming with koalas, kangaroos, and wombats, but there are wonderful conservation parks for seeing native animals! However, depending on where you live, a backyard is a great area to invite native birds, such as rosellas, kookaburras, galahs, lorikeets and many more.
Installing a bird feeder, birdbath and filling your garden with local flowering trees is the best start to attracting native birds to your garden. Please only use good-quality bird food, such as commercial nectar or seed mixes, to ensure the native birds aren’t filling up with little nutrition. Be careful if you have a dog or cat. These house pets are often inclined to chase or hunt birds. However, the effort will be worth it with your family watching your daily feathered visitors washing and eating in your garden.
Remember, having the right plants and shrubs will attract butterflies, bees, ladybugs, and all sorts of incredible and essential insects. Identifying insects on plants can be fascinating for kids. Ensure you tell them to avoid anything that may bite or sting.
Relaxing (and compact) furniture
A backyard should be a place for playing, fun, and a haven for relaxation. After all, you deserve to chill out after a hard day’s work!
Lounge beds and folding chairs are great because you can quickly pack them away to make space when they aren’t in use. First, check out a hanging chair to spoil yourself and have that “me” time. Trust us; once you’ve tried one for 10 minutes, you’ll just have to buy it for your backyard!
Heavy chairs and tables made with metal or glass can be tricky for a young family. Small children can hurt themselves, and this furniture is hard to move when they need space to play.
If you are lucky enough to have loads of room in your backyard, permanent furniture isn’t an issue. But for those of us with smaller spaces, items made of plastic or wood are a great option.
