A children’s
garden encourages exploring with nature, learning about plants, using
imaginations to have fun.
A patch of
garden space for them, to grow and look after vegetables and flowers (with your
help), will help them to appreciate how things grow and gives them the
responsibility to take care of a living entity. They can dig in the soil, find and watch bugs
and little creatures, experience the joy of watching seedlings sprout, to taste
the fruits of the harvest, and to see how seeds form.
Having a play
area which is safe and visible to you, but ‘their’ place to enjoy; will
encourage confidence, imagination, physical activity and most likely
friendships.
Incorporate items that appeal to all the
senses:
Sight:
lots of colorful flowers
Sound: a safe water feature, such as a pondless
water fountain or wind chimes
Touch: different textures of plant material and
structures
Smell: fragrant plants
Taste: plants that produce edible fruits and
vegetables
Suggestion for structures:
A tunnel, a maze, play structures, tree houses, sandboxes, and/or benches to climb or sit on.
Play structures:
- There are many different designs.
- Be advised of safety standards with regards to heights, materials used and visibility.
- Depending on space and cost, try to buy (or build) ones that have:
- different textured surfaces, such as rope walls, and slippery slides and poles
- encourage imagination such as steering wheels, peep holes
- physical activities such as climbing, swinging, sliding
Suggestions for plants choices:
- climbing plants such as clematis, pole beans, English cucumbers
- tall sunflowers, pansies, snap dragons, bachelor buttons, cosmos,
- spreading groundcovers such as thyme (also fragrant)
- edible fruits and vegetable:
- cherry tomatoes
- carrots, lettuce, potatoes
- raspberries, saskatoons
Suggestions for ground surface material:
1. Bark mulch
2. Paving stones
3. Gravel
4. Sand
5. Rubber crumb (made from recycled tires)
Photo by: www.gsnaples.com
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