Take the concepts and Run with it!
Exploring Botanical Gardens across the U.S. for my Travelogue, I have seen lots of wonderful gardens for children. Many of the ideas can be scaled down for the home garden. Here are a few common types of play that repeat throughout the children’s gardens that I have seen. Who knows you may see some ideas that you can adapt for your kids, grandkids or other family members
Water Play
When my girls were 11 and 15, I moved to a home where we had enough area to install a pond. I have always thought it was one of the best investments I made for our family. The interaction with the Koi, Frogs, Dragonflies and little Mosquito Fish made all of us happier, calmer and more interested in the nature in our backyard. Having a pond is a big commitment but, a small water feature can also be nice for water play, draw in the birds and butterflies and add a pleasant sound to the garden. My girls were older when I installed the pond but, when designing gardens I always kept in mind drowning danger for youngsters. Shallow basins or ponds below ground for waterfalls and streams eliminates drowning danger. Stones should be set in place well or mortared in, so they don’t displace when the children are playing. Using a very small amount of pool or spa chlorine each week, along with running the filters keeps the water features clean. Pond filtration is more complicated but doable. A professional pond builder can set up a good system for you.
My photos run the gambit from elaborate water play fountains in public gardens (check out that giant dragon head fountain!), recirculating streams or creeks (not actually that hard to install), hand crank water pumps, small water falls and a couple of ponds. The idea of this article is to show lots of examples to trigger your imagination. Pick and choose to fit your garden and child or children. Even a small wading pool with a good selection of interactive toys keeps children happy for hours.
Climbing
Sure you can just buy a commercial play set but, how much more fun to customize an area for the children. My daughters friends loved visiting the pond and my garden because it was so beautiful and different. Even the teen agers thought it was awesome!
Climbing and getting up high are both super popular with kids. Climbing nets, logs, ladders, climbing walls, and climbing ropes are among the most popular choices for play. A simple build too, unless you go whole hog on a treehouse or a neat pirate ship like the one shown. Home Improvement stores that carry lumber that have precut stair risers to make things easier.
Some of the photos shown have re-purposed items like logs, branches, and even a day bed frame that I found- it made a cool small ladder!
Little Houses
Who doesn’t love a miniature building that you can actually go inside?! And boy have I seen some neat ones. Here are a few examples.
I have seen more than one Botanical Garden with Miniature House roofs that are planted with low plants. Nice trend! Although, I visited quite a few gardens on the East Coast where summer showers help keep the roof plantings nice in addition to the gardeners irrigation system. On the West coast irrigation would be an absolute must.
The sizes of the miniature houses varies a lot and some are large enough for adult family members too. These small houses can utilize recycled building materials and be as traditional to bizarre as the builder cares to make them. The stained glass house was built by an artist utilizing recycled stained glass and is also beautiful when lit at night. The floors for the houses (and cave) can be dirt, mulch, wood decking or paving. Some of my client’s complained about play houses getting spiders in them so the use of an electric or gas blower, to help clean the ceiling is helpful. Paving the floor helps to make less dirt and mud.
Planting Beds
Kids learn a lot by planting seeds or small plants and watching them grow. Even unexpected stuff like patience, responsibility, fostering of living things and follow through. Whether you grow flowers or edibles, like veggies, or just want some simple pots of succulents or strawberries (my teenage grand daughters favorite) it is a great way to get kids to come outside and enjoy the garden. We have a tiny vegetable garden and yet we grow a just enough veggies and herbs to enjoy but not so many that its overwhelming.
Add compost every time you replant the area, digging it in well. Rotate your crops because, they can benefit from a new soil area each season. Consider composting or having a worm bin in the corner of your garden. And if you aren’t utilizing the beds, you can always grow more permanent plants in them like perennial herbs, berries or low water plants- I love Salvias or Sages as a low water and beautiful plant for beds. Fertilize with organic fertilizers during the growing season every 2-3 weeks.
Its great to use raised planters for these small gardens but you don’t have to. The advantages of raised beds is that you can line the soil below a raised box with aviary wire to avoid ground squirrels, gophers, voles etc…. Raised beds lift the height for easier access- more an issue for adults than children. Also the soil in a raised box can be of better quality than native soils.
Making a scarecrow for your garden could be super fun project with the kids. They can be tried and true method or of a hilarious form- from tin men to aliens. Search the attic and garage for items that fit the project. Finding the components is part of the fun of the project.
Garden Arches and Tunnels
Just like a miniature house, a garden arch can be scaled down to child size (like the first picture in this set). An arch leads you to a different or secret part of the garden, while a tunnel can also be a hiding place or place to have private game planning sessions with friends. Three of the tunnels in these photos are planted with Grape Vines. Deciduous Grape Vines have the advantage of going dormant in the winter and then can be cut back. This avoids a big build up of foliage with dead vines on the bottom. Grapes also have the fruit which is good or bad depending on your point of view. No thorns and edible leaves makes Grape Vines child friendly.
The frame work of an arch can be many things but most commonly they are built from Redwood, Cedar or a metal framework. Keep in mind that over time, vines become small trees so the arch should be sturdy with heavy posts.
There are artists who create woven twig/ branch structures like the one in the top middle photo. Grape vines, tree saplings, willow branches or eucalyptus branches are common materials for this process. They are a fleeting sculpture, as the weather breaks them down over time.
I love an Allee of trees- bottom center picture. Here Birch is used to line a path giving a sense of a very long tunnel. A boxwood or myrtle hedge is an example of a scaled down version of edging a path to form an open tunnel (see photo below). Lots of Botanical Gardens have garden mazes, which the children love. This requires some room but forming a smaller tunnel goes along the same principles.
Garden Whimsies
Surprises in the garden are part of the magic of a child’s outdoor world. Here are some fun examples I found in my travels.
I remember when I was I child, the deck rail became a perfect saddle for my imaginary horse. Just throw a layered blanket over the rail and ride off into the sunset. I was careful to use the rail that was only a few feet off the ground!
A child’s imagination can run free with the most ordinary of things. Chairs lined up become a train, climbing trees become sailing ships and a secluded corner of the garden became Peter Pan’s hideout. My photos show some cool items from botanical gardens but, even garden art from rummage or garage sales could be interesting added to planting areas near a path or lawn.
The boulder shown has a bubbler that runs out over the rock making a place where humming birds and other small birds can get a drink – or even butterflies. Seeing wildlife come to the garden is lovely for children- they get so excited!
The topiary are super fun and many have a wire mesh interior making it an easy pruning job to clip back the leaves to the frame. The giant tortoise is wonderful as a make believe pet or climbing turtle. Probably too expensive for a home budget but, a big boulder could work too with or without head and legs.
The woven fence with round balls is actually a giant bird nest with movable eggs around a wooden deck. So fun. As are the mushrooms that make fog as the children play. This is done with a fog machine and motion sensitive panels. This area is one of the neatest things I have seen in the children’s gardens.
A similar idea is the urn or basin with bubbling fog- how mysterious and magical. Even big kids would love that.
Some of the gardens I visit, have a scavenger hunt for the children to find these kinds of whimsies. Even if the gardens in your area don’t have a game like that, it would be fun to make a little list of things you see in a garden. On another visit the children could then go on a hunt for the items on your list. Some sensible prize after a long day of exploring the garden is an exciting conclusion for children.
Swings
Nesting in a hammock chair swing or hammock can be both calming and a space to let your imagination take flight.
Maybe, because they are not as common as traditional swings, children really enjoy gently swinging in a hammock.
We always loved our hammock chair swing. I felt like I was back in the womb! Great place to doze and clear away the stresses of the day.
Be careful not to overload a hammock on a stand. Kid’s weight is not usually an issue but adults should avoid using a hammock hung on a stand if the stand is not rated for their weight or the weight of a couple. Stands can give way and cause injury.
Curvy Pathways
Children’s Gardens invariably have a network of curvy pathways, which the kids love to run along and explore. Whether they are paved or just gravel, the paths take the children to different themed areas in the garden. The more hidden the path, the more fun to explore. Some go through tunnels or arches, some even go underground or over a bridge- with or without troll!
The last picture in the top row is a pour in place recycled rubber mat. I show this picture because it is useful for play areas for toddlers. In larger cities it is available for home installations as well as for parks. The rest of the photos are just examples of curving path areas in gardens. Stepping stones can be a great agility game- hopping, jumping or just stepping on each one.
Garden Trains
An adjunct to children’s gardens are small scale trains that children or adults can actually ride on. Then there are model trains in a garden setting. We have a great one at Descanso Gardens in the L.A. area. This is a specialty type of garden installation but, I did have a few clients who installed Garden Trains at their homes. Here are a few photos from some public gardens just for the fun of including them.
Lois’ Pirate Ship
During the pandemic, when we were all told to stay home, I used some or our stimulus money to build an outdoor play structure for my grand daughters. This is the kind of thing that landscape designer grandmas do!
Luckily, I was also helping my Mom at the time and she had a large area for the project. I basically built a platform up in the trees but, on it’s own posts. Then added many items to it for the girls to climb, swing, jump, slide and generally have fun with. We gave it a pirate ship theme and I used both new and recycled materials to build it. The girls loved it and that’s the most important thing.
I hope you have enjoyed this article about children’s gardens. Its one of the most fun blogs I have written. Some of the Botanical Gardens pictured here include Cleveland, Huntington, Maine Coastal, Oregon, and Descanso Gardens.
The best children’s gardens have plenty of comfortable seating in the shade for parents to rest while the children are playing. Just sayin’.
Have fun with the children in your life and be playful like the child in your heart.
If you enjoyed seeing photos of different Botanical Gardens, and want to join the virtual party bus visiting Botanical Gardens around the U.S.A and abroad, then check out my Travelogue. I send out a monthly newsletter. The Travelogue is a great gift for friends and family too.
