if you where landscaping garden for your dc, what would you do/include?

[robinredbreast]

im planning on having our garden landscaped all in order for dd

and i'd like to ask people if they where going to relandscape there whole garden what would they do?

we have a good sized garden the only things in it are a cherry tree an an apple tree
the rest is just lawn
the trees ar staying,but the trees are not big enough for a treehouse

the things id like are
must haves
a play house
swings
slide[s]

and maybe
trampoline
seesaw

my dads a bulider and he's doing it for us

i was also thinking of having some type of path going all round the garden so dd can ride her bike/push her pram etc all round the garden.
do you think this is a good idea?
ill use different materials so it does look like a concreate jungle

my dh thinks im going ott as usual lol

but we hardley used the garden before and i really think its gonna get good use now we have dd
is there anything you think is a good idea or a must of ? or would would of done

thanks

patio area to sit in, and bareque in.
it may not seem it right nwo, but she will grow very quickly, and youdont want to relandscape evry ten years.
personally i dont think swings are all that brilliant. far too dangerous. id get some sort of climbing frame type thing, with a slide on it. loadsa around in all sorts of price ranges.

trampolines take up to much room

Like the idea of a pathway all way round garden for cycling/scooting.

DD would adore a trampoline if we had the room, so that would be a biggie for us here - you could have it sunken in some way so it didn't look as imposing in the garden. Would last for ages too as trampolines are something children like for ages.

Lots of grassy area for playing on.

mmm maybe i should add im planning on doing this in the spring for when dd is one year old

ive been looking at those playsets you know with a slide swing seesaw all on one frame
but i guess there for much older children

yep forgot to mention we do have a patio for barbques and another setting area with one of thoses swinging hammocks so the rest is all for dd

what do you think to my idea to have some type of path all around the garden ?so dd can ride her toys round and round?

but although im doing it for when dd is one i want to do it, in mind for it to last a long time

do you find your children spend alot of time in the garden in the spring and summer?

mine are never in the garden. unless locked out of the house. but then iam not a gardener either. so dont ever actually enjoy being out there. all i can see is how much of a jungle it is becoming,but not enough tot do anything about it.
the round and round path seems lke a good idea. obviously the plants would should be non poisonous, preferably thorn free etc.

lol unless locked out
mmm thanks for your great ideas pukka

thank motherh mmm yes i could include a childs garden and dd cpould grow a few sunflowrs etc

well ive been looking at this continuos rubber matting the sort you get in playgrounds, ill have to have a good reserch on materials

My two DDs (3.5 and 19m) would be in the garden constantly if they possibly could. Here is what they enjoy about their garden.

Area for playing on ride ons (decking not ideal as it gets slippery unless it is in the sun all day, if it is you'll have shading problemss). The idea of a curcuit around the garden is what we plan for our two, they will love it as it gives a chance to explore. Going to put willow withie tunnel around one part (really easy to do and cheap too)

Sand pit with lid

Bird feeders - near the house is good.

Pond - you could turn the sand pit into a pond later on if you are worried about safety issues. You can get proper pond protection that is child proof if installed properly. My two love watching the frogs and newts in their pond - you'll get more wildlife in it if you don't add goldfish.

Slide - I would look into a TP frame. There is one which will grow with your child so it suits from very young to teens. You can add a slide, tent etc as you see fit and when you have the cash - great for birthday pressies. It starts off low down then you add legs to it for older children. My DD2 outgrew her 'baby slide at 14 months and now loves the one we have which is designed for 5 year olds

Playhouse - get the right one and you'll have another extendable and changeable thing IMO, a playhouse with pretend kitchen etc when young (birthday pressie ideas again) and a den when older

Vegetable area to grow their own veggies, sunflowers etc. Fantastic learning tool. You can get kiddie garden tools and wheelbarrows too which my two love. A good tip here would be to get your positioning right so that the plants thrive. If you soil isn't good then make it a raised bed with compost in to make life easier. Most children like things that grow relatively quickly and they really love digging up potatoes (really easy to grow too)

If you make the garden her playroom then she may well want to be out there all year round so you might want to think of somewhere for you to sit and watch her in comfort.

Make sure you have somewhere shady for the summer too and avoid gravel if you have cats in the neighbourhood.

going to stop now....could go on for ages hth

coby, a garden like that, id want to spend time in there as well!

here is the frame I have seen used for little toddlers and bigger children too. You can start it off low down and there are toddler sized attachments to choose from.

thats the one we have. well, teh older version like that done by elc.
we got it for ds's fifth birthday so never actually used it in th toddler mode. but both younger dc loved it. they would crawl up to it, then use it to stand upright. was brilliant. however, at grand age of 4.10 dc3 seems to have outgrown it.
or maybe thats just cox they are never actually in the gardeN?

pukkapatch - , didn't mention we also have a large feature 'hole' which was supposed to be a huge pond - dug it on a whim before DDs turned up and now I have no soil to fill it in

we have an old compost heap at the back of our garden which the ivy seems to be helpingitself too. your'e welcome to all that soil!

Ooohhhh sell it to me , keep asking on freecycle in hope. Someone actually gave one away a few months ago but I didn't get in quick enough. Did get a big slide though later on.

last post about climbing frame not soil have to wheelbarrow any soil a distance of 300 feet to fill hole so I'm just putting it off - it's full of brambles now too (very child friendly) oohhh and slow worms too - so I say it is a specially designed nature patch when anyone visits

the frame or the soil?
if its the soil, you are welcome to come along with shovel andwheel barrow and cart it all away for free. i'll even throw in a cuppa and some biscuits!
but if its the frame, i keep hoping that dc will rediscover it soon.

wow tahnks for all the v useful information so helpful
that sounds like the best idea to get things that can convert

ohh im soo excited this garden is gonna rock !!

bird feeder im def gonna add that to my plans
what is a willow withie tunnel ?

its not too mich info at all, im v grateful for any ideas input at all

coby what sort of materials are you planing on using on your circiut around the garden ?

circuit is probably going to be paved. We are on a very tight budget (like most people) and tend to use whatever we can get cheap. It will only be pretty narrow so any major falls are likely to be onto the grass either side but my two rarely fall all off thier ride ons tbh. If you sink the path into the grass and (if you can afford it) edge it with bricks laid flat (not on their side so they stick up like this ---) it will look really nice. We shall probably just sink the slabs themselves into the grass without any edging to save money. What you want to achieve is an edge which you can mow over and not have to strim up to. Does that make sense?? Decking is really slippery IME, mine is in full sun but in the winter it is slippery and DDs are always falling over on it.

Will look up suitable willow withie photo / website for you - kids love them you know

Willow Withy photos and kits to buy here and here

HAPPY CHRISTMAS btw

ahhh thanks cobby
thats really nice of you

yes that makes sense i was thinking of having some decking but i think your right too slippery
this garden is south facing so i do need to think about getting some shade although dd has lovely olive skin [ uh oh proud mummy alert]
lol

and a very merry christmas to you too coby x

coby they are sooo cool
gotta get one of those, think ill go for the tunels rather than the den all kids love going through tunnels don't they

you know wooden playhouses ? how long on ave would you say they last i have no idea whn dd would grow out of one what kind of ag would you guess? i know all kids are different but whats your guess

thw whithys are cool, just been browsing them with DH and now we are going to do more withy shopping in the new year (I have you to blame ).

We haven't bought a playhouse yet. DH is going to build one as they are so expensive new (he's a very good carpenterso I'm lucky). We've been looking at wooden playhouses in the hope of finding a cheap one in the sales (hasn't happened yet) and the good ones that are a decent size start at about £600 . I think if you want them to be used for a while you need to get one that is a decent size (8 x 6 min?) with decent headroom. There are two storey ones and some with garages attached etc.

My sister's DCs loved theirs and still use it even though her oldest (DS) is 7.5. It is quite big though and has a 'garage' attached for their bikes etc. She plans to replace the play kitchen etc with a sofa and table etc this in 2008 if they want her to. My DCs are 3.5 and 19m so not an expert on older DCs I'm afraid.

You could possibly convert a shed to your needs - may well be cheaper.

my brother is a carpenter so i guess i could talk to him, theres so many things to look forward to

love the garage idea