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Turning A Small Concrete Quadrangle Into A Secret Garden


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We have been allowed to develop an out door space it's an enclosed corridor quadrangle of space between two buildings not wide enough to consider bikes and climbing frames but it long enough to put planters and other interesting discovery activities

 

The space it 2 metres wide and 16 metres long with a door at one end and brick walls all around, it's not very pretty so we want to soften the appearance with plants and stuff

 

At present it's surfaced with slabs but alot of them are broken and need replacing but obviously we are wondering what other options to look at I suggested leaving some of the space clear and just put membrane and bark but the other staff suggested AstroTurf because cats cannt use it as a giant litter box

 

I'm looking for ideas

- what have others done in small outdoor areas?

- what kind of surfaces work/don't work?

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Some years back I had a similar site and put in a half barrel water feature (make sure you do the risk assessment but pros outweighed the cons and the area was heavily supervised) and lots of planters for sensory plants such as herbs (especially feathery fennel), grasses and children's gardening such as lettuce, radish, runner beans, spring onions, carrots etc.

 

As for the surface - where I am now I have just replaced the "real" grass which was blighted by the local cats and did not grow well as it was laid on compacted reclaimed ground. I had artificial grass laid - looks and feels like the real thing and nothing like harsh astroturf. We got several quotes some of which were ludicrously expensive but others were more realistic and therefore affordable.

 

The cats hate it - :D - The children love it with one or two laying down on it and rubbing their faces in it xD - The staff think its great as the children can access this area all the time now (it had become a bit of a no go area) and the upkeep is fab - just brush it down with a stiff broom :1b We have kept all our planters and our "Square foot" garden and our compost bin as the artificial grass has little drainage holes so nothing gets water logged. The only downside that I can see is that we don't have that "grass" smell (I'm sure that some fabreze somewhere will though so maybe come the mowing season I need to run around spraying that in the mornings for that just mown smell xD :lol: )

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The artificial grass sounds ideal. In the winter our patch of grass is soggy and muddy and in the summer it's really dusty where the grass gets worn away.Obviously heard about artificial grass,but not known anyone that has got it. Can you let me know the company you used Sue and i can make some enquiries.

 

There is also something that is laid down (mesh of some kind) and then grass seeded over - has anyone got that?

 

We are going to plant flowers and herbs in pots in our outside area soon - daffodils we planted last year are just beginning to flower. We are trying to make a small "nature" area outside. We only have a small area to use but would like to do something so that the children can see slugs, snails, spiders, etc. We thought of putting a log on the ground and the children can lift it to see all the bugs, worms, etc. Any other ideas would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Sue J

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I've been looking at the artificial grass(but called it astro turf) it looks good

my early years advisor turned her nose up when I mentioned astro turf now I realise I should of said fake grass!

 

I've seen loads of different web sites selling fake grass and it looked fairly easy to lay,

 

Planters/ raised boarders

if we spend money on fake grass then I'm on a very tight budget for the rest of the yard I'm wondering what stuff can we beg or reclaim ie tyres, railway sleepers, any suggestions?

 

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Tyres are a good easy to get resource, we went to local tyre replacement firm an asked if we could have some.. their reply was how many and we will deliver.. we only wanted about 6 to make 3 planters 2 tyres deep... but check they are not ones which have any wire visible and are in a fair condition.. they allowed us to choose the ones we wanted...

 

Tyre play ideas

 

A narrow space.. how about a pallet garden

 

 

water feature?

 

 

or can you attach things to the walls? gutter garden

 

all virtually free...

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Some years back I had a similar site and put in a half barrel water feature (make sure you do the risk assessment but pros outweighed the cons and the area was heavily supervised) and lots of planters for sensory plants such as herbs (especially feathery fennel), grasses and children's gardening such as lettuce, radish, runner beans, spring onions, carrots etc.

 

As for the surface - where I am now I have just replaced the "real" grass which was blighted by the local cats and did not grow well as it was laid on compacted reclaimed ground. I had artificial grass laid - looks and feels like the real thing and nothing like harsh astroturf. We got several quotes some of which were ludicrously expensive but others were more realistic and therefore affordable.

 

The cats hate it - :D - The children love it with one or two laying down on it and rubbing their faces in it xD - The staff think its great as the children can access this area all the time now (it had become a bit of a no go area) and the upkeep is fab - just brush it down with a stiff broom :1b We have kept all our planters and our "Square foot" garden and our compost bin as the artificial grass has little drainage holes so nothing gets water logged. The only downside that I can see is that we don't have that "grass" smell (I'm sure that some fabreze somewhere will though so maybe come the mowing season I need to run around spraying that in the mornings for that just mown smell xD :lol: )

 

Which company did you use??

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When you say you haven't room for climbing frames etc, I wonder if you could consider a lineal climbing wall. I've been looking into them for my childminder setting with lots of very active boys - but I really can't afford them. Maybe a school could ??!!!

 

http://www.traversewall.co.uk/

 

I have a picture in my head of a 'jungle crevasse' to adventure through!!

 

A girl can dream.

 

Honey

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we've got some tyres already our local tyre place was happy to give us as many as we wanted and we've been told any time we want more to just go back and ask (they have to pay to dispose of tyres so most garages will happily donate to preschools)

 

I love the ideas shared so far my husband can get all kinds of gutters and drainage products through work plus pallets so im going to beg what I can off him

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  • 8 months later...

Loving all of the suggestions so far as I have recently started working in a school where the early years outdoor space is little more than a concrete square. We've just extended it to include a small grassy area (about 3 square metres max) and I'm seriously tempted by the fake grass idea. The preschool on the same site replaced most of their grass with astro turf a couple of years ago and it looks great. I can see why some don't like it, as it isn't 'natural, but the maintenance is much easier and it can be used all year round. Real grass needs serious amounts of work to stay looking good, and with children running all over it in all weathers, what we often end up with is a patchy, bare, sad looking muddy area with the odd blade of grass here and there....

 

If I can find out which company the preschool used I'll post the link.

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