The summer holidays are in full swing, so it’s time to make the most of the sunny weather while it lasts by getting the whole family out to enjoy some activities. What’s more, the summer is also the ideal time to get any garden renovations done that you’ve been saving for clearer skies.
If you’re feeling up to the task, why not consider giving your garden a summertime spruce-up with some fantastic Indian Sandstone paving slabs? Here at Bridge Street Stone, we’ve been providing our customers with a range of sturdy and exquisitely cut paving stones for over 30 years, and in that time we’ve delivered stone to a variety of households, from first-time properties to established family homes.
We know how important it is to spend time together as a family, so if you’re looking for a few ideas on how to get your kids away from the TV and into the garden this summer, here’s some inspiration.
Build a bee hotel
With the number of bees in the wild seeing a decrease in recent years, it’s worth taking the time to create your very own ‘bee&bee’ in your garden, as a way of providing bees with a safe place to live. Not only is this a fantastic method of conservation, it’s also a great way of providing your children with the opportunity to observe and learn about bees. As an added bonus, your flower bed will receive a good bit of pollination as a direct result of you creating a habitat for them.
What you will need:
• A small plant pot, no bigger than 9-15cm in size
• Modelling clay
• Some plastic straws or bamboo canes (long hollow objects really! You can also use twigs, logs with holes in them, or bark if needs be)
• A roll of string
• A few wooden pallets
How to build a bee home:
• Start by cutting the straws, bamboo canes, and other hollow objects so that they fit the depth of the plant pot.
• Next, tie the straws (or whatever you’ve used) together with a piece of string.
• Then, place your modelling clay in the bottom of the pot and stick the bundle of hollow objects in so that it doesn’t move.
• Place the pot on its side in your garden (preferably by some flowers so that they’ll be encouraged to move in).
And that’s it! You’ll have your very own bee hotel up and running in no time!
Make an up-cycled bird house
Much like the bee hotel, this is very easy to do and doesn’t require much in the way of raw materials.
What you’ll need to get started:
• An empty container (a 2 litre plastic drinks bottle or large milk container will do the job)
• String
• Bird food
• Really, that’s it!
How to build it:
• First, make a hole in the side of the container (just be wary as plastic can be a bit sharp). The hole should be a circle, and big enough for a small bird to fit through.
• Next, cut some small holes out of the bottom of the container, so any rain that gets in can easily drain out. Most birds aren’t fond of swimming.
• Decorate the outside of the bottle with paints, stickers, whatever you like, before hanging it up.
• Fill the container with birdseed, and tie it to a tree or somewhere else in your garden that’s high up.
Plant a pizza garden
This is a brilliant way of teaching your children the joys of growing their own food. You can grow almost any pizza ingredient in your garden, from tomatoes and peppers to different herbs. The real fun comes once the ingredients have grown and your children are able to munch on a pizza that’s topped with what they’ve grown.
What you’ll need to get started:
• A plot of soil or container
• About 6x different vegetables or herb seedlings (whatever toppings you like really!)
• Compost and top soil
How to do it:
You can grow your pizza garden in any shape, but we think it only fitting to grow it in the shape of a pizza. Begin by laying the soil in a round shape, with different sections for the different types of plants. The plants will require about 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day, regular watering, and pest maintenance.
We’d advise completing the initial tiling using pitchforks and other garden tools, while your children can help out mixing soil for seedlings. If your children are a bit older, they can also trim the tips of herbs off with scissors when the herbs are ready to be harvested.
Obviously, growing food is a long term process, but it’s something you can all monitor together as a family, and enjoy together once all hard work is done.
These are just a few ideas that you can use to create quality family time this summer. Obviously, these are just suggestions, given we’re not experts in the subject of activities for children, however we are experts in paving slabs.
If you are looking to commit to a new paving slab design, we’ve got plenty of beautiful paving stones for you to choose from, in a range of stunning colours like Kota Black, Kandla Grey and Golden Leaf.
Here at Bridge Street Stone, we supply the highest quality sandstone paving in the whole of the UK. Our Indian sandstone is imported straight from ethically operated quarries in India, so if you’re looking to give your patio the perfect upgrade this spring, don’t hesitate to give us a call today on 01282 860571 - our in-house experts are always happy to help!