Outdoor Space (Bloggers Give Back)

I've mentioned before how much the boy loves being outside, and I mean loves being outside. What that means for me is that my backyard (when it's not covered in snow) is taken over by a sand box, slide, and any number of other toys (shovels, spades, rakes, lawn mowers etc.). Which means I don't get to use it quite as I would like.  

Don't get me wrong we garden, we grew herbs, tomatoes and peppers last year, and we've dug new beds to expand our veggies this year. And there's grass for me to cut, and leaves to rake. But I don't have a really nice relaxing space with comfy outdoor furniture, and my flower beds are exceptionally low maintenance (to survive being run over by small children)

However, my parents (Monster Grandma & Granddad) have a fantastic garden, they spend hours out there in the summer growing food, (it keeps us all fed for months!), planting flowers, and enjoying a pond and water features. This means if I want to sit in a beautiful tranquil setting, we just head over to their place – a little bit of free babysitting, and I get half an hour of p&q!

So when Bloggers Give Back started the project to redesign the garden at George Herman House, I was totally in. Not only is it a worthwhile project to help create a green space for women who are dealing with the challenges of mental and emotional health issues (see my previous post here & check out the website for the event here), but it gives me a chance to see what some great design gurus are going to do, plus imagine what I could do around here, with a toddler in tow, that doesn't take more than minimal upkeep!

It gets even better, we now have some great sponsors for the project – Ikea is donating outdoor furniture, and Tonic Living is contributing outdoor fabrics and sewing! How amazing of these companies to step up and help. This meant I got to browse some fantastic furniture from Ikea and some beautiful fabrics from Tonic Living to come up with what I think could work in a low-maintenance garden.  

So here's my two cents (or you can see it below). A great couch and chair from Ikea to just relax on, some fun fabrics from Tonic to help give a bit of colour, very low maintenance plants like sedum, alyssum, and hostas, and a fountain (I love water features in gardens). And maybe in a few years when my backyard has become too small for the boy and he needs to go to the local park to play, I can look back on all of this for ideas and take back my yard from the plastic toys that currently seem to grow in it!