Victoria Clare23/4/04 1:39
24

"dave @ stejonda" wrote in
:

In message , Mookamoo
writes
Any suggestions on doing a child friendly garden. I want ti do
something a bit more imaginative than paving slabs, but still have a
tight budget.

X-posted to urg as they will probably have something to offer

[NB uk.d-i-y not deleted]

How old are the children? They will probably have their own ideas.

Something I always fancied as a kid: a den right inside a big blackberry
bush.

No-one knows you're in there, if they do they can't get you out without
getting seriously scratched, and you can eat it. What more could one ask!

OK, it's not 'safe', it's not sensible, it's not clean or neat. But it
WOULD be cool...


We're doing something similar for my step daughter's garden. It's very
small and she has a 3 yo daughter. So it's all going to lawn, except that
her brother has built a marvellous sort of snail's shell shaped path from
one end, which is a flat terrace, into the middle of the lawn for tricycle
riding and beside that we are planting a Kilmarnock willow, or similar, for
'den' making. All planting will be confined to the edges of the lawn and be
mainly climbers going up wires attached to the fencing. Any other planting
will be at the front of the house, which will also be partly to lawn and
partly to parking. Step daughter isn't remotely interested in gardening, so
for her and her daughter this is the ideal solution in terms of both
'pretty' and 'play area'. The back garden is entirely enclosed with fencing
and a sturdy gate and also has Roger and Rita, the two chickens in there,
plus their run!
Grass might get muddy but it's the safest thing for children to fall onto,
while a paved area to act as a race track certainly seems desirable. As to
the den, I couldn't agree more. I remember an early garden of my childhood
where the gaps in the shrubbery were where we escaped to, certain our
parents had no idea we were there. ;-)

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)