Making garden safe for baby and useless space help

[meow1989]

This is my second now third attempt as the app crashed so apologies if I've posted twice!

Our smallish newbuild garden got in a bit of a state due to pregnancy and having a newborn last summer. I've cut back borders, added a few foot of patio for toys and need to replant some pots to finish it off. Quite pleased so far.

MY main current concern is that the border around the path and by the patio doors is all stones (see pic) and of course my 11 month old goes straight for them to eat. Wondering what other people have replaced with? I considered bark but maybe that will be just as dangerous with added splinters. The area needs to still allow for water drainage so cant pave. Ds is of course supervised in garden but I'd like to be able to turn my back for a second, to hang washing for example) without worrying he will swallow a stone.

Theres also a stupid area behind and to the side of the shed (pic 2) that I have no idea what they were thinking. The area was grass which obviously died as theres little to no sunlight. I cant move shed back because it has a concreted in bike rack that would then be directly at door of it (why didnt they just move shed back a couple of feet?!). Any hardy plant ideas (preferably seeds I can chuck) for the area? Dont mind it being a bit wild and overgrown as I think the bees and butterflies would enjoy this! Cant use to grow anything in higher planters as tried this and whilst the veg grew, the cats used as litter box so I couldn't eat them. I dont reallybwant it to become a storage area of somewhere ds decides would be fun to crawl around as it's pretty mucky and dirty.

Thanks

Argh, either the app has uploaded the photos multiple times and I cant see them or it's not letting me add them!

Obvs. there’s no pics, but you can buy spongy outdoor rubber matting, we have some under the swing. We got it from Homebase You could cut it in strips to put over the stone area either side of the path.
In the shaded area you could grow ferns, which in general look after themselves and are good for wildlife.

What is under the gravel? If its soil, then the gravel is only there for decoration and to keep the weeds down, so you could just take it up temporarily until your ds won't eat stones?

I wouldn't have thought you'd get splinters from bark. It's bark, not wood, so a different structure. Are you worried about choking hazard or hygiene? It's a temporary problem, by next summer your DC will be a lot more focused in what they're eating ;-) so just taking up the gravel and storing it somewhere for a year might be enough.

For the shady area, ferns as suggested. Or you could just loosed the soil, see what grows naturally, and this would give you a clue as to which of the vast number of plants for shade would be happiest there.

If you cover your planters with sticks driven vertically into the soil about 2-3 inches apart, the cats won't use it as a toilet.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Under the stones is a mixture of soil, sand and concrete. I'm more worried about choking, not thrilled about stone eating but aware that he is 11 months and will eat some dirt at some point.

I tried the sticks in the planters with the cats but they still managed to use the pots. They're trixy!

I'm more worried about choking, The risk will be greater with rounded pebbles than with sharp sided gravel.

How about if you take up all the stones and put them in the useless area, then block it of with a fence or trellis or something to stop your dc going down there, and then replace the stones with play bark.