A lot of family gardens start out with great intentions, and then they’ll slowly turn into… well… a patchy yard. It’s lumpy and muddy and you’ll tell yourself - and others, probably - that you’ll sort it out next spring, but then it’s years later and it’s still not dealt with. 

If that sounds familiar and trying to persuade the kids to play outside is getting more difficult because they don’t like the yard, there is some good news - patchy yards are actually some of the easiest spaces to transform for the better because you’re not starting with anything precious. Plus, you get to create something that actually fits your family. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more. 

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Work Out How You’ll Use The Space 

Before you start buying furniture or rushing through the garden centre grabbing things that look pretty, it’s a good idea to think about how your family is going to use the space. Do the kids want somewhere to kick a ball? Do you want a spot for your morning coffee? Do you need a safe area for the dog? 

Once you know what you want and need, designing the space becomes a whole lot easier. And it also gets a lot cheaper, because you’ll only buy the things you actually need rather than the ones you think you need. 

Fix The Ground First

Most patchy gardens don’t feel that great because the ground itself is uneven or worn out, so levelling it, even a little bit, can make the space instantly much better and far more usable. It doesn’t have to be football pitch perfect as long as you end up with a surface that doesn’t cause any damage to ankles or furniture. 

For families who really don’t want to have to deal with mud, maintenance, and never being sure if it’s dry enough to run around, solutions like artificial turf can change everything - you won’t have to worry about muddy footprints, there won’t be any bald patches, there’s definitely no mowing, and the kids won’t mind being outside because it’ll feel so much nicer. 

Create Zones 

You don’t need professional landscaping to make a yard work for you, but it’s worth dividing it up into zones if you can because you’ll use the entire space a lot more when it’s divided, as strange as that might sound. You could have a small seating area, for example, and a play zone, and a spot for plants. Even a simple outdoor rug or a row of pots can give you a boundary that might help and makes the space look more intentionally designed. 

And kids do love having an area just for them because it gives them a sense of ownership. Plus adults love them because they’ll know there’s one bit of the garden that’s generally going to be untidy, but the rest can be whatever you want it to be without little feet running all over everything. 

Final Thoughts 

In the end, there are all kinds of things you can do to turn your patchy yard into a lovely family hangout - remember, it’s not a disaster, it’s a blank canvas just waiting to be created.