By Kendry Lee
If you are one of the many people swapping their urban apartment for a more rural home, then, for perhaps the first time, you may find yourself with a garden. As they become one of the most sought after assets of a property, largely as a response to the internal COVID pandemic, gardens are now undergoing an interesting and significant change. Whereas once gardens were places for to enjoy the summer, with green lawns and neat slabs that allowed an open space for BBQs or for children to kick a ball, now they are designed for year-round utility and for personal projects.
To give you an idea of the possibilities you can undertake with your new outdoor space, we have gathered some of the most popular and interesting uses for gardens, compiling them for your inspiration. So, before you start laying down the concrete or investing in garden furniture, take a look at these ideas.
Sustain Yourself
Sustainable culture is growing. More people are becoming aware of the impact we, as a society, are having on the planet. This is leading a greater number of people looking to reduce their carbon footprint as well as their overall impact on the environment. One amazing and simple way to do this is by growing your own food and even a small garden can feed a family!
Whether you manage only a pot of garden peas or you begin growing enough potatoes for you and the neighbours, producing your own food is both incredibly rewarding and fantastic for the planet, drastically offsetting the amount of carbon you would otherwise incur shopping at a supermarket. Because of the environmental possibilities, more gardens are being turned into personal farms. You may even begin to hear chickens from next door!
Become a Tourist Destination
Even if you have no interest in utilising a garden for personal enjoyment, it can be used as a source of income. Swapping your shed for an annexe or log cabin is an affordable and easy way to establish a room that can be rented out to visitors.
As the tourism industry inside the UK continues to boom, there is a much greater opportunity to make a modest income by letting out a room or two within your home. While there are certain restrictions in the wake of the pandemic, outside space is an ideal and distanced way of operating a visitor’s stay, often allowing guests to come and go as they please, without disturbing your own residence.
Build Your Business
Remote working is now becoming mainstream and a greater number of homeowners, as well as those searching for new properties, are looking to establish a home office. This space can be found outside, keeping work separate from your personal space.
Additionally, your garden office can be a vehicle for a side project or hobby, becoming the necessary step to turn your casual endeavours into a fully-fledged business. It’s now more common to find gardens with therapy studios, painters working in their own sheds, and even barbers getting their start behind their own home!
