There is a fascinating shift among modern homeowners that is seeing the garden being scrutinised not for its potential beauty but as a potential landscape for generating income. The cultural context behind this contemporary interest is still being unravelled, with many considering the biggest influencing factor being the rising cost of gardens, with outdoor spaces adding increasingly more to house value estimates each year.
If you have a garden space and would be interested in understanding how it might be used for more than sunbathing and barbecuing, then we have some unique ideas for you, those that could see small income being generated with ease.
Selling Produce
Have you ever driven down a country lane and seen a crate of vegetables or eggs left outside a gate, generally one with an honesty box? Well, it’s now increasingly common to see such set-ups in more urban areas too, with residents turning to grow produce in their gardens.
What you sell is completely up to you. Some choose to trim back their herb gardens and offer them to passersby while others harvest the excess of courgettes that they can no longer eat themselves. It’s simple enough to leave them outside and can bring in a little pocket change. And, if it’s a regular occurrence, you may start seeing the same customers return!
Overnight Stays
Those with the garden capacity to house an outbuilding have the potential to generate much more income than pocket change. Bespoke structures, such as log cabins, make for ideal guest rooms and are being utilised in such a way. Homeowners can make use of such buildings not only for friends and family but for Airbnb stays too, welcoming travellers to stay in their gardens whenever they wish to make their calendars available.
This endeavour has the potential to earn levels of income depending on the quality of a stay offered. Those who put more into designing their cabin, such as with utilities and improved comforts, will be able to charge more per stay and, over time, earn greater return on their investment.
Rent Or Share
Those who have ever sought allotment spaces are likely to know just how hard they can be to come by. Some allotment waitlists can take years to obtain. As a result, there is a shift toward utilising neighbourhood gardens instead. Many residents have little time to take care of the upkeep their garden space might require and, as such, are happy for neighbours to do the job for them.
In exchange for access to a garden space, visiting neighbours can enjoy a garden and cultivate their own produce too, earning themselves ingredients for the table or, depending on the harvest, even produce for a market stall.
Budding Florist
In the same way that ingredients can be sold for money, so can flowers. These beautiful blooms, however, are much easier to sell and can often be bought by local grocers and shops for a reasonable price. As such, if you have a few beautiful flowers in your garden, especially those that are visually striking, it can be worth bringing some to your local shop and seeing if they’d like to sell them on your behalf.
