Garden with kids must haves

[GoldieLocks09]

We’ve recently moved and are very lucky to have a very big garden. I’m looking to create ‘zones’ to try and get the most out of the space. We have a large area that will be for sports - football, tennis, whatever DC’s want to do. I then wanted to create more of a playing area, so was thinking of a trampoline, potential climbing frame / swing set but I’ve found that DS5 is more than happy kicking a ball about, whereas DS1 (almost 2) just kind of roams, so my question is: what is the best garden purchase you’ve made for DC’s that is suitable from a young age ideally 2ish, that has longevity and would also be interesting to DS5. We’ll be purchasing over time due to the cost so want to make sure I’m buying things that we’ll get a lot out of!

We have a water wall - you can buy pre-made or just make your own with bits of drain pipe and a pallet. We’re going to add a chalkboard area because DD loves the chalkboard in a local park.

What about a mud kitchen? Again, you can buy “proper” ones or just give them some pots and pans, and something to dig with to get started.

For DD, we use the plastic flexi-tub trug things to gauge interest, and then if something is really popular we might invest in something more permanent eg put sand in one, and if they lose interest after a week no harm done - you can use the same container with something else in, and you haven’t got a massive sand pit lying abandoned.

What about a sandpit? It's quite easy to just build one yourself if you don't want to buy one.

I also did little garden plots with my kids. They each had their own little plot.

sandpit
Goal

My kids player all the time on their trampoline when they were young. The bigger the better.

My youngest had a sandpit where the lid folded back to make a little seat. She was much more comfortable than when we had the standing up table type plus it didn't drop the sand everywhere. She loved it for years.