Back garden
Encyclopedia
A back garden is a residential garden located at the rear of a property, on the other side of the house
from the public street-side entrance and front garden.
there are over 10 million back gardens.
Such gardens have a special place in English suburban and gardening
culture.
The shape and size of a garden are closely related to
(sharing a single wall with a neighbouring property) or terraced (sometimes called row-housing), in which two lateral walls are shared with neighbouring properties.
In these conditions, land at the back of the property is separated by the property itself, and in many cases can only be accessed by passing through the house.
That land on the side away from the normal access route to the property is called the back garden.
a back garden may be called a backyard garden or a back yard, or a backyard.
for a bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night
, 5 November. Similarly daytime
usage is more common than night time.
housing common in northern industrial
towns in England
, for example.
A front garden is a formal and semi-public space and so subject to the constraints of convention and law. However, the back garden is more private and casual, and so can be put to more purposes.
Many of the freedoms of the use of the back garden come from the restrictions, social or legal, of what are not done in the front.
Usually, clothes are not dried, vegetables are not grown and sunbathing is not carried out in a front garden. All these can happen in the privacy of the back garden. People treat a back garden as private to themselves, and not those they are neighbours to. In some areas talking to one's neighbours over the back wall (the side wall following the property boundary line) is usual, and is a welcome form of neighbourliness, in other places it is not.
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
from the public street-side entrance and front garden.
Number and size of back gardens
In BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
there are over 10 million back gardens.
Such gardens have a special place in English suburban and gardening
Gardening
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
culture.
The shape and size of a garden are closely related to
- how far from its neighbouring property
- its date of construction
- whether it is terraced, semi-detached or detached
- the value of land both currently and at the date of construction
Definition
A back garden arises from the distribution of land around a property. Land will often surround a property, unless it is semi-detachedSemi-detached
Semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
(sharing a single wall with a neighbouring property) or terraced (sometimes called row-housing), in which two lateral walls are shared with neighbouring properties.
In these conditions, land at the back of the property is separated by the property itself, and in many cases can only be accessed by passing through the house.
That land on the side away from the normal access route to the property is called the back garden.
Naming
In the US and CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
a back garden may be called a backyard garden or a back yard, or a backyard.
When it is used
Because of weather constraints it is usual to use a garden more in the summer than in the winter, although some usages are traditional, such as in BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
for a bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night
Guy Fawkes Night
Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in England. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding...
, 5 November. Similarly daytime
DAYTIME
The Daytime Protocol is a service in the Internet Protocol Suite, defined in 1983 in RFC 867. It is intended for testing and measurement purposes in computer networks....
usage is more common than night time.
Significance
While many properties accessing directly onto a street or an access route to a property may not have a front garden, virtually all will have some space at the back, however small, the exceptions being back to backBack To Back
Back To Back is the sixteenth studio album by English rock band Status Quo and released in November 1983. For the first time in the group's history, it featured four singles, "Ol' Rag Blues" , "A Mess of Blues", originally a hit for Elvis Presley , "Marguerita Time" , and "Going Down Town Tonight"...
housing common in northern industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
towns in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, for example.
A front garden is a formal and semi-public space and so subject to the constraints of convention and law. However, the back garden is more private and casual, and so can be put to more purposes.
Functional uses
A back garden may be used for:- growing food
- playing games
- relaxing and sunbathing
- raising plants
- housing pets such as rabbits, fish and guinea pigs
- drying clothes on a washing line
- making a compost heap
- hobbies
- locating a greenhouseGreenhouseA greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
, conservatoryConservatory (greenhouse)A conservatory is a room having glass roof and walls, typically attached to a house on only one side, used as a greenhouse or a sunroom...
, shedShedA shed is typically a simple, single-storey structure in a back garden or on an allotment that is used for storage, hobbies, or as a workshop....
, workshopWorkshopA workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
, outhouseOuthouseAn outhouse is a small structure separate from a main building which often contained a simple toilet and may possibly also be used for housing animals and storage.- Terminology :...
, or garageGarage (house)A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those... - parties
- as a refuge for wildlifeWildlifeWildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
- as a safe area for children
Many of the freedoms of the use of the back garden come from the restrictions, social or legal, of what are not done in the front.
Usually, clothes are not dried, vegetables are not grown and sunbathing is not carried out in a front garden. All these can happen in the privacy of the back garden. People treat a back garden as private to themselves, and not those they are neighbours to. In some areas talking to one's neighbours over the back wall (the side wall following the property boundary line) is usual, and is a welcome form of neighbourliness, in other places it is not.