| Hello, Colleen. I came across your original post when I was looking for some ideas to make a garden for my daughter, age 19 months. We've also moved into a new home and have a side yard that is mostly dirt, weeds, and potential right now. At first I was going to put in the traditional swings and a slide, but we have a park nearby with nice playground facilities, so I thought perhaps I'd do something a little different instead -- a little more of a garden, and hopefully a little more magical. I wanted to tell you of two books that I've found that I absolutely love and would highly recommend -- I'm sure you'll find some things you want to add to your plans!: 1. "Great Gardens for Kids" by Clare Matthews. This book has excellent project ideas and is full of bright, colorful illustrations. 2. "Outdoor Play Every Day: Innovative Play Concepts for Early Childhood" by Karyn Wellhousen. This book is intended more as a textbook for early childhood educators and daycare center owners, but it has excellent ideas that are just as applicable to the backyard. It discusses appropriate play zones to stimulate different areas of development, and has lots of simple ideas. After reading these books and getting some ideas from the web I have more ideas than I can implement! Some I'll do now, and I have ideas for things to add and change as she grows. I plan to lay them out in a way that makes a pleasing garden structure, so that when she's older they can be removed and a pretty garden will remain. This year will probably be dedicated to the fundamentals of the landscaping, and I'll add to the plantings each year. Here's my plan: 1. Tricycle Path: I want to run a meandering path around the yard, where my dd can pull her wagon and ride her push car and one day her tricycle. It will leave room for a fairly large expanse of open yard, plus borders around the yard where the other things listed below will go along with plants. The path will need to be relatively flat, and from an aesthetic standpoint ideally I would put in a brick path, but that's probably beyond my budget right now, so I'm thinking of using large square concrete pavers -- I can always upgrade to brick later. I also want to build a low wooden bridge that she can ride over, and roll things down (the yard is quite level so there are no natural hills to follow). 2. In one place the tricycle path splits and comes together again, forming an island. That is where her sandbox will go. I also want to get some larger, round rocks that she can play with like blocks. There will also be room in the island for some plants. 3. Not far from the sandbox a hammock will be hung -- a quiet spot for me or her! 4. Next come some logs which are partially buried in the ground -- some vertically, for climbing and jumping off of the tops, another horizontally to be a balance beam. Also a rustic bench. 5. In the far corner of the yard is a spot for her playhouse, sitting on either slate, wooden decking, or pea gravel. 6. I want to add a music station where I will hang various chimes and bells that she can hit with a stick or pull on a string and make her own music. 7. This can wait until she's a little older, but across part of the lawn I want to place stepping stones with the numbers for a hopscotch course. I also want to add a long water feature which is a flowing course of water that boats can be floated along. (The instructions for making both of these are in the "Great Gardens for Kids" book.) 8. Where there might be active play I'll limit my plantings to things in the ground that don't have any hard sticks jutting out. In other, quieter areas, I'll be freer to use containers and more woody shrubs. In some of the corners where I plan to plant shrubs I'm going to leave some empty spots among the shrubs to form little secret spots for playing. And of course nothing poisonous! 9. Back on the patio near the house I want to build a long, low table that can be used for water play or arts and crafts. The top will remove so that I can store things in the bottom. Hope this helps you with your own ideas! Lori | 
