Family Garden Design All Tooled Up

I am often asked by clients, or potential clients, to design a children’s garden  or a family garden for all to enjoy. However, in a city you are never that far from a playground, which are often excellent and offer far better facilities than anything you could ever hope to achieve in a small back garden.

When I was a child, I made do with an old pram slung between two ropes and attached to posts, like a swing boat, and a small area of the garden which was my own to mess about with. I never hankered after rope swings, zip slides and cargo nets. I think it is always difficult to disguise the huge play equipment that is available today and I am all for incorporating things that engage children in the garden in more subtle ways, teaching them the gentler side of life through the mystery of a willow igloo, for example. And the best of all in my opinion is the veggie patch.

Which is why I adore these fabulous child safe gardening tools from the design daddy: Alessi. They were designed by Chris Armstrong to promote an active lifestyle and health conscious attitude. The parrot pruners, watermelon watering attachment and snail shovel are so cute and tempting: I want to know what the age limit is!