AIBU- garden toys

From what you’ve written about him, my impression was he’s trying to have both - somewhere for the kids to play and a beautiful garden he takes pride and joy in all at the same time. Not everything for the kids now and kicking all the adult desires down the round 18 years.

"
Maybe I don’t understand the complexities for lawn maintenance but I kind of don’t really care if it dies under the toys. These are going to be a feature of our garden for years yet and if we have to pay to have it fixed down the line fair enough. "

DO NOT DO THIS take it from me 😂 you let it die under the slide and Wendy house etc then as soon as it rains there's no grass to absorb and those bits become insanely muddy and unsafe anyway and it's more of PITA

That said I don't agree with your DH either. Group the toys into about 1/3 of the lawn if it's big and have him rotate them to a new section every 3/4 days that's what we do now and it's fine

Just because you have kids doesn’t mean you can’t have something nice for yourself though.

get the children’s area sorted, work together and make that priority ready for this summer. Use the patio area for things like the Wendy house. Smaller toys won’t matter as much.

But to him the lawn IS important

And you're getting a kid's area in a few months.

Manage which toys they use and keep the Wendy house etc on the patio to then

Kids will just enjoy playing outside with a ball and some bubbles tbh

Dunno, we leave the paddling pool out for several months. The grass does die, but it grows back over the winter months. We had a trampoline for several years and again grass died, but it all grew back, didn't need terfing or sowing it just came back. Maybe it depends on the quality of your lawn? When kids are young it seems to be a shame to be a bit precious about lawn useage😬.

You need the big foam mats under the toys on the patio.

I am on the fence frankly.

As soon as the kids are old enough to kick a ball, the garden will be destroyed. Lawn don't survive football, neither do plants around. So your DH needs to make his peace with the loss of his immaculate garden, it's happening!

On the other hand, it's not necessary to ruin the garden if you can avoid it. I wouldn't enjoy my garden transformed into a playground when that can be avoided.

Try to work a compromise: place for the kids, and what he can see from the window. It's only going to get worst, for the lawn, anyway. I still believe there's a special place in hell for people who put plastic grass!

You don’t need to move ALL of them back every morning, can’t you just move a few?

Of your garden is large you need a dedicated space for the Wendy house and mud kitchen. He’s right, the lawn will look shit if all left out. The toys won’t get used all winter but you have to look at the grass everyday.

This, our lawn wasn’t big toy suitable so playhouse, sandpit and water table all lived on the patio.

this all just seems to be creating issue where it doesn’t need to be - from both sides!

If I had your garden and was going to have a kiddy area in a few months, I'd designate a section of the lawn for the larger slide and Wendy house etc and accept it'll die, and arrange for it to be re-turfed/ re-seeded.

Yep.... dead grass is not something to stress about when you have young children!

Can they not play with the toys on the patio until the play area is ready? Maybe not the slide if they will get hurt coming off it, but the Wendy house and sand pit surely? Get some gym matting or the like to go under the Wendy house so it’s more comfortable.

I can see why he doesn’t want the lawn ruined if it’s a matter of months until the play area is ready.

If he doesn't want the playhpuse, sand pit etc on the grass, he needs to put down an area of a child friendly surface for them to play on. Smaller toys... get a big box for them to live in.

Sorry but I'm with your DH here.

It won't just be an unmanicured lawn, the grass will die and trying to get it back is a nightmare

We do this... slide, little climbing frame, swing, water table all come off the lawn at night.

We don't then load them all back on but maybe put the one thing out we want them to play with

As the one in our house who painstakingly weeds, aerates, feeds and mows the lawn, I understand his reticence to let it just die

No. They have better designed gardens than you. You need a children’s area with the things having a permanent home. You’ve (both of you) just not put enough thought into your garden basically. I’d not have a Wendy house plonked in the middle of my lawn, what is that?! It needs a nice home with a suitable material under it so it doesn’t end up in mud. If it’s designed properly you’ll be able to use it as an outdoor play space even in winter.

@Maddy70

nope!

@MotherOfDragon20

He can move the big heavy items around at the weekend - not onto the bloody patio, just a different patch of grass.

thats all it needs to maintain the health of the grass. It can always have a bit of seed put down if there's a bald patch at any time.

is he ND? He agrees & yet sticks to the routine?

tell him to stop or you'll have some planters built with very good blood & bone compost!!

Surely the problem here isn't toys on grass at night though as the sun isn't out??? It's an issue during the day when sun is out on the grass.

I'm not that good at gardening though.