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goylesgirl

Anyone have a shady kid's garden?

goylesgirl
18 years ago

Hi, I am looking for suggestions for a shady kids garden. I live in a small city on the coast of Connecticut. My yard is almost completely in the shade and I am trying to think of ways to make it enjoyable for the kids as a lawn has proven very difficult to grow back there.

Comments (5)

  • srburk
    18 years ago

    Being in zone 9, I'm not a lot of help as to specific suggestions, but I'd say the first order of business is a ground cover that is hardy and doesn't mind being stepped on.....................Beyond that it might help a bit if you can give an age range, because it makes a difference in the selection of plants--if you have one young enough that tasting plants might be a problem, then we'd know to say away from toxic plants.

  • diggerb2
    17 years ago

    yes we have shady kids garden. and with no grass growing, our solution was using gravel on the back 1/3 of our city lot. we got tired of the 'mud children' running thru the house. we covered the area with newspaper(about 10 sheets deep) topped it with landscaping fabric, and put down 7 tons of pea gravel in an area about 20ftx30ft. we used railroad ties 3 deep in a square to make a sand box (4 tons of sand) at one end, built a fort/treehouse/swing set at the other end. all for about $600.00 in the summer we tossed in a small wading pool and had happy kids until they were about 10. the sand box is now a zen garden. the fort has been reworked as a tea house, the gravel is still there
    as nothing has grown there yet. we've added 1 raised bed
    to plant a screen of magnolias and azeleas to give more privacy. and now we hide there from the teen-agers.

    mostly what you want is the mud to stay outside and the kids not to sun burn. all along we had flower beds along the edge of the property. This year I'm planning a small shed next to the sand box that i can use as a studio/guesthouse. yes we live in a city. our lot is 50'x125' the back yard is about 50'x75'

    diggerb2

  • myloki
    17 years ago

    Our swingset is in the shade and near some old tree stumps, so we had a local tree service dump fresh woodchips in the area. We made "hills" over the stumps (atleast a foot deep) and made a path and mulched area around the swing set that are several inches deep. The woodchips make a good cushion for falls, are pretty tidy once they are strampled down, and have lasted pretty well. There are a few weeds coming up here and there, but for the most part, after a year, it still looks pretty good.
    I have not done much in the way of planting with the kids in mind (the path leading to the swing set is planted with white flowering plants though), but am planning to add hardy bananna and elephant ears.

  • ImaHockeyMom
    17 years ago

    I'm a little confused.... Are you looking for a yard for them to play in, or a garden for them to grow plants in?

  • quiltglo
    17 years ago

    Our backyard is wooded. We have lots of different mosses and grow typical shade plants. I don't find anything different is needed for the kids, although it took some work to remind them to stay out of the beds at first.

    We have a neat path running through the woods and I'm getting the water feature up and running this year. We have lots of rocks, so I just build bubblers using those. Looks natural to the area and doesn't cost me much.

    Gloria

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