If you do have the budget, a garden can be an absolute game-changer.
A place to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet, somewhere to host barbecues and family meals, or even just try your hand at gardening.
With that in mind, new research has identified the best places in the UK to buy a home with outdoor space — and, naturally, the top spot is right in the middle of the countryside, in North Norfolk.
A total of 346 local authorities were evaluated on seven factors, including average garden space, climate, access to public gardens and allotments, and soil types.
In North Norfolk, the typical garden measures in at 346 square metres, which is 71% larger than the average (at 202 square metres).
This works out at £876 per square metre of garden, when compared to the average regional house price (£303,474).
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Even if your house deposit can’t stretch to include your own bit of green space, there are plenty of public sites on offer, with 72 allotments. This translates to 1.29 hectares per 1,000 homes.
So, if you want as much space as possible for beds full of flowers, or just a gigantic lawn for the kids to play on, then Norfolk gives you the best shot at doing that.
Next in the study from Hedges Direct, came the Cotswolds, which was given an overall score of 66.4.
Are Brits still bothered about gardens?
Despite the financial cost and time commitment to plant parenthood, it’s clear gardens are still a dream for so many Brits.
A new study from Barratt Homes has found Brits are now willing to spend more on a house if it either comes with green space, or there’s at least some nearby.
As many as 57% would actively pay more for a home with a park a 10-minute walk away, with 12% admitting they’d pay 10% more (about £27,000 more, when factoring in the average house price).
Again, there’s impressive access to public gardens here, with 29 historic sites and an extra 35 that are free to access, being part of the National Garden Scheme.
If you want to get cracking on growing some courgettes with your neighbours, the Cotswolds has impressive access to allotments. There are 68 sites, which works out at 1.31 hectares per 1,000 homes.
As for private gardens, it’s significantly more expensive than North Norfolk to have your own, at £1,686 per square metre of land.
Next up, East Cambridgeshire, performed particularly well on soil pH, which can massively influence how well some plants end up growing.
Down this neck of the woods, the pH level is 6.6, which is closest to the 6.5 needed to suit the best range of garden plants.
It’s also got the longest growing season, at 288 days of the year. Vegetable patch, anyone?
The best places in the UK to live if you want a big garden
- North Norfolk (index score out of 100: 68.2, cost per square metre of garden: £876)
- Cotswolds (66.4, £1,686)
- East Cambridgeshire (64.4, £1,383)
- West Oxfordshire (63.5, £2,105)
- South Cambridgeshire (62.9, £1,702)
- King’s Lynn and West Norfolk (62.8, £850)
- Isle of Wight (62.7, £1,151)
- Rother (62.5, £1,141)
- Rutland (62.4, £1,061)
- Bolsover (61.8, £983)
Source: Hedges Direct.
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