Three Ways To Make Your Office Garden A Wonderful Communal Space

Home & Garden Blog

Everyone needs to get out into nature from time to time, and when you work in a busy office, an outdoor oasis can feel like a lifeline. If you're lucky enough to be the person in charge of maintaining an office garden, it's important to give a little thought to how best to make use of such a sought-after space. Luckily, there are just three simple things you need to do to ensure your office's garden holds a fond spot in the minds of your employees.

Create a welcoming atmosphere--for everyone

Give some thought to the kinds of people who will be using your office's garden and what they'll be using it for. One very common purpose for such a space is as a place for employees to spend their breaks; studies have found that people who eat lunch outside the office in the midst of nature are happier and more productive than those who eat at their desks. So do what you can to give them a good space for it. A wide variety of plants--potted as well as in beds--make everything look gorgeous, and a water feature can be a beautiful yet inexpensive way to make a space look as though it's had real thought put into it. A good patio is an important part of creating a space like this as it gives you the flexibility you'll need to use the garden in a wide variety of ways. Talk with patio builders to choose the perfect materials and items for this outdoor space.

You'll also want plenty of seating. It's a good idea to strike a balance between groups of seats, perhaps surrounding tables, and benches off on their own nearer the lawn and foliage. Sometimes people will want to catch up with colleagues in this space while others will prefer to sit alone--ensure both eventualities are catered for! Make sure you also provide a smoking shelter set a little way away from the main building for everyone's comfort. This should have somewhere to sit down, a roof to keep the rain off and plenty of ashtrays. 

Keep things clean, tidy and well-maintained

Once you've decided what should be in the garden, it's important that you're careful to maintain those things as best you can. One of the most vital things you can do is to have the patio area blast-cleaned every spring. This vital step not only makes your office's green space look much better, but it will also contribute to your employee's safety by getting rid of slippery moss that may have built up over the autumn and winter. Anyone who skids on this is in danger of injuring themselves, and it's important for your insurance and peace of mind that you do what you can to prevent that.

Other than that, it can be useful to get a professional gardener in once every few weeks to tend to the plants and mow the lawn if you have one. Wooden furniture should be covered in the autumn and winter, paintwork should be refreshed annually and your office garden should in general be kept clean and tidy. Plenty of rubbish bins will encourage your employees not to litter the space while a solid fence is all you need to keep out most curious passers-by.

Use your green space as often as possible

No matter how beautiful your office's garden is, people won't use it if it doesn't feel like a part of their ordinary office life. Hold functions and office events out there. Take advantage of the Australian summer Christmas to hold a pre-Christmas break office BBQ outside, or get into the habit of getting everyone outdoors on a day containing a colleague's birthday to present them with their cake. Try to discourage your employees from eating lunch at their desks, and consider if there are any smaller and more informal meetings you could perhaps hold in your garden rather than indoors.

27 September 2016