CHILD FRIENDLY GARDEN SPACES
Make your garden fun for the whole family saysLeigh
Dig deep for your inner child and consider how best to create a garden to satisfy all ages.
IT’S ONLY A few months until Christmas, and with luck this year you may be able to share it with family. If that’s going to include children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and whatever other sort of children your family comprises, take a bit of time now to make sure they’ll have as much fun at your place as you do.
I’m pleased I don’t have to introduce the sort of child-friendly elements to the garden that could ruin the botanical symphony I like to think I’ve created. Coloured plastic playpens and tacky trampolines don’t sit well with paved terraces, standard camellias and garden art, so we are lucky we also have a shallow stream perfect for paddling, splashing and eel-spotting, big trees for climbing (is that still allowed without safety harnesses?) and plenty of dense planting for hide and seek.
Some people decide to wait till their own kids are grown before developing the ultimate urban oasis, but why deny yourself the pleasure of a lovely garden when you can have an outdoor living space that accommodates all ages? So dig deep for your inner child and consider how best to create a garden to satisfy all ages.
Mystery is a great element to help shape a kids’ garden and if you have any thick shrubberies or hedges, you’re ahead of the game. Grab your clippers and create a ‘secret tunnel’ through the foliage, or a
shallow depression where a kid can hide. Old tin trunks, rustic boxes and the like can be stashed in such places and used to contain balls, frisbees and other toys.
If you don’t happen to have a stream, consider whether a pond or water feature will fit into your landscape scheme. You can tailor it to your particular style and it will enhance your garden design and provide a place for kids to paddle, splash one another and possibly meet goldfish and frogs. Make it safe with an iron fence — you’ll be able to see what the bigger kids are doing, and the littlies can remain outside the fence but still put their exploratory fingers in the water.
If you have room, some open space with a hard surface is great for kids to kick a ball around, ride a bike or play hopscotch which, I’m told, is making a comeback. This could be a clear area with planting around the edges (choose tough plants), some interesting rocks to climb or sit on, and even a smart timber sandpit (with a cover to exclude rain and cats).
If you have the skills for it, you could add a pergola along one side which could double as a climbing frame. Put an outdoor table and chairs under it so you can relax while watching the kids play. Kids don’t like to be excluded, so siting their stuff well away from yours simply won’t work. They’ll hang around you with droopy bottom lips and kick the legs of your table while you’re trying to pour the wine. But if there’s an elegant pergola/climbing frame nearby, everyone will be happy. You may even be allowed to have a turn when they’re not using it.